Experience South from USA TODAY Travel — usatoday.com

From the Blue Ridge Mountains and Chesapeake Bay to the thriving suburbs of Washington D.C., the state of Virginia offers an exceptionally diverse array of landscapes and environments. Visitors to the state's capital (Richmond) and largest city (Virginia Beach) encounter numerous family-friendly attractions and interesting sites providing a peek into the state's rich history. (Virginia was established as the first permanent English colony in the New World in 1607.) Visitors seeking a deeper understanding into the state's complex identity need only make the trek from the Shenandoah Valley's humble agricultural fields to Northern Virginia's massive government buildings such as the Pentagon.

Read More