Recommendations activities Downtown

There are many activities to do downtown. My favorite things to do are shopping, eating at restaurants, and going to concerts with friends. For shopping, my favorite destinations are Urban Outfitters and Spring Street. The best restaurant downtown, in my opinion, is Eppies. I love Eppies because their food is comforting and always good. I go to concerts at many different venues, but mainly I go to the Jefferson, the Southern, and the Pavilion.

Farmers Market

An important cultural event for many Charlottesville residents is the weekly Farmers Market that occurs in the warmer months. People from surrounding farms and gardeners bring their goods to the parking lot on Water Street to sell them.  Almost 200 businesses come to Water Street every Saturday from April to December, transforming the parking lot into a vibrant marketplace.

What is the Downtown Mall???

The downtown mall is the cultural center of Charlottesville. All the people of the city and surrounding county can enjoy the varying restaurants and boutique shopping.

Some people like the downtown mall so much that they live on it! There are apartment spaces on top of businesses that are occupied. Recently there has been an increase of people moving downtown to areas like park street and apartments on the mall, water street and market street. 

Stores on the ground floor, Apartments above

first impressions

My first thought on the downtown mall was about how pretty the architecture is. I love how the builders preserved many of the original stores designs so that it keeps the old businesses alive and gives you a feeling of how the mall has changed since becoming a pedestrian mall. One of my favorite examples of preserved architecture is in Urban Outfitters. Inside of the store, over the staircase leading to the menswear section, there is a random door in the wall left over from when it used to be a hardware store.

My favorite downtown spots!  <--- Click here to view full map!

I created a map showing my favorite places on the downtown mall and a route that allows one to view all of the sights and sounds of downtown Charlottesville.

Downtown Charlottesville Today

Today, the downtown mall is a vibrant section of the city that is home to many restaurants, stores, and small businesses. People of all ages and different ethnicities enjoy the downtown mall year-round. The mall has three different entertainment venues that offer a wide variety of music and theater. Also, there is a mix of different restaurants ranging from Christian's Pizza (a local favorite) to Ten (a high-end sushi bar.) Almost all shopping needs can be met downtown because of the many stores. You could go get running shoes, a party dress, groceries and get your watch fixed all in one short trip. People also can jog down the mall or take their dogs for a stroll and enjoy the shade and sites of the downtown area. The McGuffey Art Center is just off of high street and has a small park in front of it with a playground.

Video of Downtown