In the birthplace of America, there’s always something to celebrate – from its storied past to looking to the future. With a burgeoning wine country, a local food scene and a gateway to nature at every turn, Virginia has plenty to fall in love with.
Pony Up!
Annual Pony Swim: Salt Water Cowboys round up ponies on Assateague Island and herd them across to Chincoteague for a Main Street parade and auction. Photo: Hannah Armstrong @hannahelizarmstrong/Virginia Tourism Corporation
Where else can you celebrate a wild ponies swim? Manes shining, tails flashing, heads rearing – it’s a migration spectacle worth seeing, especially for horse fans. Every year, on the last Wednesday and Thursday in July, the Chincoteague Pony Swim sees these majestic creatures herded by Chincoteague’s Saltwater Cowboys across the Assateague Channel near Chesapeake Bay. The ponies are then driven to the local fairground where they’re auctioned off – all to benefit the local fire department – as part of a week-long festival focused on our equine friends and their fans. There’s even more to celebrate, as the swim ushers in its 100th year in 2025.
Ticket to Ride
If riding a roller coaster rather than a horse is more your speed, Virginia has just the ticket. This year, Busch Gardens Williamsburg turns 50. But the theme park is far from showing its age – to mark the occasion, engineers have created a new roller coaster, Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge. Scream with delight while speeding through an abandoned Bavarian village; thrill through flips and curves over 2,500 feet of track at up to 64 kilometers per hour. Your heart will be racing and your adrenaline will be pumping. Chill out at the new secret speakeasy, Bürgermeister’s Hideaway, with German-themed hospitality and ambience. Make sure you reserve the experience in advance because, like we said, it’s a secret.
Major Milestones
St. John’s Church, Richmond’s first church and cemetery (est. 1741), site of Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” speech. Photo: Hannah Armstrong @hannahelizarmstrong/Virginia Tourism Corporation
Speaking of birthplaces, Virginia is also what historians call the birthplace of America. In 2026, the whole country celebrates its 250th birthday, but here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the party has already started. It’s here, in Richmond, where Patrick Henry spouted “Give me liberty, or give me death!” from the city’s St. John’s Church. There will be a special exhibit to mark the anniversary, Give Me Liberty, at the Virginia Museum History and Culture. Virginia American Revolution 250
Sleep in a Mansion
Shenandoah Mansions (exterior) a six-story hotel in Richmond’s historic Fan District, blends elegance and enchantment with 73 guest rooms, a mystical bar, fine dining, and nods to matriarchs, magic, and fever dreams. Photo @ Blake Shorter
Being so steeped in history, it’s no surprise that many hoteliers in Virginia are choosing to reimagine and revitalize the wealth of historic properties – but always with a nod to respecting history blended with modern touches. The Birdwood Mansion, located on the bucolic grounds of Boar’s Head Resort, is set to open in autumn 2025. It’s the ultimate in privacy, with only four guest rooms in the house (along with three cottages), and a kitchen that will welcome chefs from all over the world to create menus – all with the luxury of AAA four-diamond amenities of the resort. A round of golf, anyone? Earlier in 2025, Shenandoah Mansions in Richmond greeted its first guests. Located in the city’s Fan District, known for its Bohemian and Mystical culture – ghost stories included! – the six-story 20th century apartment building-turned-73-room hotel also allows for some of the best views, not to mention the cocktails, in the city.
Valley, Ho!
Food and wellness are the main drivers of two renovated properties, both in countryside settings only in Virginia. European charm and elevated cuisine meet at the Inn at Vaucluse Spring, where chef proprietor Jan Van Haute’s multi-million dollar transformation of the original 1785 manor home ensures culinary travel is alive and well in the instantly calm-inducing surroundings of the mythical Shenandoah Valley. Three Hills Estate in Warm Springs Valley, the former home of the novelist and first woman to top the New York Times bestseller list Mary Johnston, dates back to 1913, but its European-inspired spa will feature wellness treatments tailored to this century. Surrounded by tranquil gardens and sprawling green spaces in view of the hillsides, it’s also on the National Registry of Historic Places, noted for the architect’s interpretation of Italian Renaissance design.la
Beachy Keen
The “Greetings from Virginia Beach” mural by artist Carl Medley brightens the Beach Bully BBQ on 19th Street, a colorful landmark in Virginia Beach’s creative ViBe District. Photo: Hannah Armstrong @hannahelizarmstrong/Virginia Tourism Corporation
When he’s not busy making music or being the creative director of menswear for Louis Vuitton, Virginia Beach’s number one son, Pharrell Williams, is at it again, this time with an ode to his hometown and East Coast surf culture. Atlantic Park will feature a high tech, year-round surfing experience – within view of the Atlantic Ocean – as well as residences, shopping and, of course, nightly entertainment at The Dome, which will have exclusive views of the surf lagoon. Dry off with a stroll through Virginia Beach’s ViBe district, a creative culture/artsy hub for public art as well as local and international artists’ studios open to the public, in a cool industrial neighbourhood that also has a great foodie scene. While you’re in Virginia Beach, don’t forget to shuck and slurp an oyster plucked fresh out of nearby Chesapeake Bay.
Discover more at virginia.org/canada
