Virginia Main Street Communities

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Virginia's Main Street Communities are recognized for their downhome hospitality, locally-owned businesses, family-style eateries, smalltown heritage events and unique outdoor attractions. Their citizens invite you to spend an afternoon, a weekend and/or an entire week getting to know them and their Main Street way of life.

man in strawhat sitting on sidewalk bench

Add Virginia Main Street communities to your itinerary,
and change what could be a simple road trip into the vacation of a lifetime!

Central Virginia

Bedford Bedford's downtown with Main St. clock

Bedford Historic District

Surrounded by the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Bedford gained worldwide recognition as the city that lost more soldiers per capita on D-Day. Congress later deemed the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford. If you are traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway, Bedford is at Milepost 86 at the Peaks of Otter.

Danville

Danville's prosperity from the tobacco and textile trades resulted in magnificent mansions built along its Main Street.

After the fall of Richmond, Confederate President Jefferson Davis lived in the Sutherlin Mansion, an Italian-style villa, which now is the site for the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.

Danville is also known as the
"City of Churches."

Franklin storefronts and awnings in downtown Franklin

A fire in 1881 destroyed all the commercial buildings in Franklin. Then in 1999, Hurricane Floyd's flood waters submerged the Franklin Historic District. What a comeback story for this dynamic Main Street community! Situated on the banks of the Blackwater River, it was once a major transportation center for trains and steamboats.

Lynchburg The Lynchburg Academy of Music building

Lynchburg counts 500 significant buildings in its downtown, including The Academy of Music, where Sarah Bernhardt, Pavlova and Paderewski performed! Four impressive residential districts also encompass the downtown area and include various architectural styles.

Visit the Anne Spencer House, where the Harlem Renaissance poet lived.

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