About Richmond Virginia

Richmond, an ideal location for a dynamic University, serves as a vast learning laboratory, easily accommodating the varied interests and needs of a large student body. Beyond the campus borders, wealth of opportunities are offered to visitors and residents with interests in history, art, sports, nature or just having fun. The "City of Monuments" has more than 50 art galleries and museums, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Science Museum of Virginia, Virginia Historical Society, Virginia Aviation Museum, the Black History Museum and Cultural Center, Edgar Allan Poe Museum and the Richmond Children's Museum. Students can enjoy performances by the Richmond Symphony, the Virginia Opera, the Richmond Ballet, theater companies and music stars at several venues near the university's Academic campus and Medical Center.

The city's diverse historic attractions include St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry made his "give me liberty or give me death" speech; the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson; the Maggie L. Walker Historic Site, home of the first woman to found a bank in the United States; and numerous Civil War battlefields.

Richmond serves as host for professional sports events such as the Richmond Marathon, the NIKE Dominion Open golf tournament and two Winston Cup NASCAR races each year. The city boasts a number of professional sports teams, including soccer, hockey, arena football and an AAA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, as well as a number of amateur and community sporting teams and events. Richmond's Canal Walk is one of many recreational attractions, including 75 riverfront parks and urban wilderness areas that are popular with cyclists, rafters and kayakers. Garden enthusiasts can find havens at Maymont Park, Agecroft Hall or the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

Once the commercial center of Richmond, Shockoe Slip now exhibits great charm with its brick sidewalks, cobblestone streets and renovated 19th century buildings. "The Slip" houses a number of restaurants, shops, hotels, nightclubs and apartments. Down the hill from the Slip, Shockoe Bottom features the historic Farmer's Market and an assortment of art studios, galleries, apartments and eateries, all in renovated and adapted buildings.

A great place for employment opportunities, the Richmond metropolitan area is home to a broad base of corporations, banks, hospitals, media firms, and federal, state and local government agencies as well as high-tech manufacturing companies, including several Fortune 500 companies. Money Magazine ranked Richmond among the best mid-size cities to live in the South.

Richmond affords VCU students the benefits of a thriving metropolitan city, while its intimate neighborhoods, cozy restaurants and cafes, and quaint local markets provide the familiarity of a small town.