A peaceful little getaway between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, Blacksburg, Virginia is home to stunning scenery, great local agriculture and fabulous little shops. If you want to take a weekend (or a week!) away somewhere beautiful, relaxing, friendly and full of great food, the Blacksburg & Christiansburg area is a perfect hidden gem. The city is well known for its esteemed public university, Virginia Tech, and the university culture and history add extra charm and flavor. Game days, festivals and events are great excuses to come out and enjoy everything the area has to offer.
If you’re driving in from DC or Richmond, you can stop by the famous Natural Bridge on your way down for an extra side of the incredible nature that makes up this area of Virginia. If you’re coming from the South, drive on up the Blue Ridge Parkway and don’t forget to listen to bluegrass the whole way up to set the mood for your Southwest Virginia adventure.
Where to Stay:
901 Prices Fork Rd, Blacksburg, VA 24061
The Inn at Virginia Tech might seem like an unusual leisure travel accommodation, but it’s a wonderful place to spend a few days in the area exploring. Beautiful, locally quarried gray “Hokie” limestone blocks make up the majority of Virginia Tech’s architecture, and the Inn at Virginia Tech is no exception. The entrance gives a modern Gothic feel with three large peaks over cut stone columns making a welcoming covered portico, and the entire hotel and conference center is made of the same local stone. As the only full service hotel in the area, it’s located at the heart of the campus, and features large windows to look out onto campus and the mountains beyond.
The rooms are clean, well appointed and comfortable. The beds are super comfy, the gym is clean, and nicely maintained with updated equipment, the staff is friendly and helpful, and the lobby fireplace is a lovely touch on a colder day. Best of all, the breakfast buffet at their restaurant, Preston’s, is a beautiful spread with delicious comfort foods (but also stocked with great gluten & dairy free options if you need those!).
The Manor House at Beliveau Farm
3879 Eakin Farm Rd, Blacksburg, VA 24060
Located about 25 minutes outside of town, The Manor House at Beliveau farm is a darling French country style Bed & Breakfast with five luxurious bedrooms overlooking a beautiful winery. The property is 165 acres and has plentiful hiking paths as well as a winery/brewery onsite.
The rooms all have keyless entry, and each one has a unique charm. If you’re aiming for romance, three of the rooms have giant jet pool tubs and heated ceramic floor tiles. Watch the sun set over the vineyard while drinking a glass of local wine and great food made by the hosts. A perfect rural escape.
Where to Eat:
223 Gilbert St, Blacksburg, VA 24060
Because Virginia Tech is world renowned for its science and technology focus, of course the best wine bar in town is a laboratory of experimentation! Inspired by Haley Henry in Boston, this little spot is co-owned by Virginia Tech professor John Boyer and educational technologist Katie Pritchard. They offer a wide variety of global wines, experimental cocktails, beers, and each month they feature a flight from a different wine region.
The grilled cheese is a classic – with a blend of mozzarella, emmental and Swiss, everything melts together to create the perfect bite of crusty gooey goodness. They also serve a variety of other small plates, charcuterie boards, and other bites. We also highly recommend stepping out of your comfort zone and trying the tinned fish.
301South Main St, #103, Blacksburg, VA 24060
For funky cocktails and creative food in a hip setting, Twisted Liquid is the spot. The bartenders and servers are very knowledgeable and excited about the offerings and they really do make it an experience. If you’ve seen those crazy cocktails with the bubbles of smoke on social media and always wanted to try one, you can make that happen here.
The restaurant is perfect for a date night upscale dinner or grabbing a fancy glittery cocktail named after Marie Antoinette or a Chappell Roan “Pink Pony Club” with your favorite girlfriends.
418 N Main St, Blacksburg, VA 24060
The Maroon Door is a locally owned and operated classic little gastropub that carries local “Off the Mall” beer on tap and upscale bar food. They have a great selection of salads and vegetarian options like the smoked cauliflower tacos, but also burgers and steak if you’re looking for something hearty. Their burgers are made from locally sourced pasture raised beef from Food for Thought. The service is typically fast and everything is fresh and tasty.
2351 Glade Rd, Blacksburg, VA 24060
Five minutes from downtown, you can enjoy the best of the Blacksburg area in one spot – gorgeous views, a pollinator garden, local beer & great burgers + pizza. There’s a quaint little farm stand, adirondack chairs outside so you can enjoy the beer in the great weather. They often have live music on the weekends, and light up the fire pits at night for a cozy evening.
Their beers range from a classic lager to wacky and experimental: they have a Beet Saison made with beets grown right at their farm as well as a Mole Jalapeno Porter made with roasted jalapenos from a local farm. Tasty non-alcoholic kombucha brews are also available for anyone looking for fun NA options.
Where to Play:
J.H. Bards Spirit Co. Tasting Room
213 Draper Rd SW, Blacksburg, VA 24060
Blacksburg natives Jason Hardy and Jayson Hudson spent many years dreaming of opening up a distillery after founding their bourbon club in 2017. They first opened up in Pulaski county in 2021, but moved to their native Blacksburg in 2024. They are committed to making products that are truly representative of the area, sourcing 90% of their ingredients from right here in Southwestern Virginia.
Their whiskies are where they really shine. The brand has a maple whiskey with maple syrup sourced from the Amish and then blended into their 2 year aged Virginia corn whiskey. It’s absolutely delicious, and only 60 proof, so it’s an amazing sipper. They also do an award winning malt barley whiskey, barrel aged first in an untoasted barrel for 3 years and then another 2-3 years in a toasted barrel for that smoky flavor. Stop by the Tasting Room for one of Jayson’s Old Fashions with one of the best homemade syrups we have ever tasted.
If you’re not into whiskey, don’t worry, they also make a vodka from local corn called Sinking Creek Vodka. Distilled nine times, it’s very smooth and clean, and perfect for cocktails.
3899 Eakin Farm Rd, Blacksburg, VA 24060
A lovely family owned winery, farm and B&B nestled in the hills, they offer some classic french styles as well as some more local varieties – definitely playing to a sweeter palette overall. Joyce and Yvan Beliveau, (both former professors, of course!), purchased the property with a dream in 2001 and eventually opened the winery in 2012.
Wine tasting at the property is friendly, fun and complete with a gorgeous view. In theme with the academic focus of the region, many of the wines have funky names and labels, such as the “Professor’s Crazy White Wine Estate Blend”, which is a blend of the white grapes they grow and has a sweet, honeysuckle and pear taste. They also have a barrel aged vidal blanc, a white port, a few Chambourcins, and a big juicy red blend.
135 College Ave, Blacksburg, VA 24060
The Lyric Theatre is a classic little not-for-profit movie theater that hosts community events, live performances and movie showings. The first iteration of the theater was opened in 1909, but the current location is a remodeled 1930s building. Most of this year’s Oscar winners screened here, and they have a full concession stand for snacks and delicious fresh popcorn. The theater also hosts live community theater events for children and adults throughout the year.
401 S Main St STE 106, Blacksburg, VA 24060
A very cool bookstore in Blacksburg, this shop offers new and used books, locally made drinks and snacks, and a wide variety of fun community and literary themed events. They have a prison book program so people can donate to inmates and a trade-in program to trade in your old books for store credit.
If you want to step out of your comfort zone, the store offers a “blind date with a book”, where staff members have selected a book, wrapped it in brown paper and written a little summary on the outside. No author, no title, so you can’t google it and spoil it for yourself. A great way to dive into something unexpected!
Alexander Black House and Museum
204 Draper Rd SW, Blacksburg, VA 24060
If you’re visiting Blacksburg, you may be curious about the family legacy of the city founders or interested in viewing local art. In 1796, a man named Samuel Black purchased 600 acres, which he never inhabited and split between his two sons. His son John’s land became Virginia Tech. His son William petitioned the state of Virginia to become a town after plotting out the original grid of 16 lots of land. Every other Thursday, the museum hosts a walking tour of the original 16 “squares” of Blacksburg.
After an 1896 fire destroyed the family’s original Blacksburg home, descendant Alexander Black built this gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian to show off his success. In 2002, the city purchased it to save it from demolition and restored it to be the museum and cultural center it is today.
Richard Baldwin, the museum assistant, is a knowledgeable guide of the exhibitions. Currently, Virginia native Matt Gentry’s paintings and journals of the Appalachian Trail are on display until June 6. On the weekends, expert genealogists onsite help visitors discover their family trees, with a special focus on orphans.
190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg, VA 24061
This was the first presenting arts center on campus. The building was an intense collaboration with interdisciplinary engineering, design and architecture teams to create the space. It houses galleries, studios, performance spaces and art labs. The sound in the performing arts theater is tuned specifically to the performer – even the seats aren’t scotch-guarded because it changes the sound.
The event space has hosted some of the most renowned instrumentalists in the world including Yo Yo Ma so make sure to grab a ticket to a performance if you are in the Blacksburg area. It was also wonderful to hear that the theater reserves a select number of tickets for Virginia Tech students for every performance to make sure that there is an opportunity for affordable tickets for the attendees.
The coolest part of the Moss Arts center is The Cube: a completely adaptable space used for immersive environments, installations and research. Four stories high, there are multiple catwalk galleries for technical use, a 140 speaker immersive speaker system that can create real life sounds, a projection system, and a motion capture system. It’s kind of like a black box theater on steroids.
If you can grab tickets, this theater experience is the perfect night out in the Blacksburg area.
108 W Roanoke St, Blacksburg, VA 24060
Voted the best farmer’s market in Southwest Virginia by Virginia Living Magazine in 2024, this gold certified market is a Producer’s only market where all vendors are from a 50 mile radius. Unlike many farmer’s markets overrun with MLMs, everything is made or grown locally by local people. They support low income community members by taking SNaP and they match up to $50 with $50 of food coupons for the market. It’s also dog friendly!
127 N Franklin St, Christiansburg, VA 24073
If you want to do a fun and relaxing afternoon activity, head up to Christiansburg to take a candle workshop at The Chandlerie. The owner, Astleigh Hill, will guide you through a 1.5 hour workshop where you learn about and make your own personal candle. It does need to cure overnight, so you will have to come back to pick it up or pay to have it shipped to you. If you don’t want to make a candle, the store is still worth a visit to see her beautifully curated items. The vibe is chic, elegant, and cozy, and they have a beautiful selection of fragrant hand-made candles and other gifts. For all those Gilmore Girls fans, the store even has a “Stars Hollow” scented candle for purchase year round.
596 Depot St NE, Christiansburg, VA 24073
While you’re in Christiansburg for candles, stop by Old New River Books. The store is a family run bookstore with a wild book archway and all kinds of treasures for collectors. The book store is inside an antique store, so you can do your antique shopping here as well. One of the most unique features of the store is a Blockbuster Store corner. This part of the store is mocked up to look like an original video rental experience. You can buy original VHS tapes and even a VHS player to re-live some nostalgia of the 1990’s.
Jefferson National Forest – Pandapas Pond
Unnamed Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060
The combined George Washington & Jefferson National Forest is a massive public land area covering more than 1.8 million acres in the Appalachian Mountains. The area near Blacksburg offers hundreds miles of hiking trails. The Pandapas Pond area holds an eight-acre man made pond with fishing, hiking, and water canoeing. There’s a nice little one-mile loop around the pond for a casual hiker to enjoy the beautiful Appalachian hardwoods and local wildlife. If you’re a birder, this is a great spot to see some beautiful Appalachian cuckoos and woodpeckers.
In 1948, local electric company owner Jim Pandapas built the area for his employees to have a spot to go for recreation. In the 80’s it was opened up to the public, and transferred to the forest service in the 90’s.
200 Garden Ln, Blacksburg, VA 24061
The Peggy Lee Hahn Horticulture Garden is a beautifully manicured six acre garden oasis located in the Virginia Tech Campus. If you’re visiting campus, make sure you stop by to see what’s blooming. 6 students alongside garden faculty and staff work most of the landscaping in the garden, and they have volunteers come in on Monday evenings. The lush greenery, the beautiful rainbow of the perennial border, and the little pond with the waterfall make for a lovely and romantic stroll.
300 Huckleberry Park Drive, NW, Christiansburg, VA 24073
This incredible 50-acre park opened in 2023 with the area’s first truly inclusive playground, pet friendly play areas, and sports fields. All of the playground equipment is ADA accessible and gives all children a place to enjoy the outdoors. A great place to bring your kids in the good weather, and enjoy a nice day playing around. There is even a large dog park area segregated for large and small dog breeds.
