This section of the website will help you find your to Charlottesville, find your away around the area once you arrive, and provide you some links to general tourist information about Charlottesville and Central Virginia should you wish to extend your visit and enjoy some of the many area attractions.
In planning your travel, please keep in mind that the ALA Annual Meeting will be held in Chicago this year, and later than usual: RBMS business meetings at ALA Annual will be held from Friday, July 10 through Monday, July 13, 2009. Our preconference dates, on the other hand, do fall during our normal season, and in fact coincide precisely with the opening of the first RBMS preconference on June 18, 1959, which was also held in Charlottesville.
Also note that Rare Book School has scheduled a variety of interesting courses during the weeks immediately preceding and immediately following the preconference. Why not come for a course and stay for the preconference or come for the preconference and stay for a course? See the course schedule and registration information (separate from the preconference) at http://www.rarebookschool.org. See also the announcement about the farewell reception for RBS founding director Terry Belanger that will be held on Saturday afternoon, June 20.
- Getting to Charlottesville
- Getting around Charlottesville
- General Tourist Information
By Air
The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO) is a non-hub, commercial service airport offering about 50 daily non-stop flights to and from Charlotte, Philadelphia, New York/LaGuardia, Washington/Dulles, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Atlanta. CHO is served by Delta Connection, United Express (Atlantic Coast Airlines), Northwest Airlines, and US Airways Express (Piedmont Airlines).
CHO is located 8 miles north of the City of Charlottesville, one mile west of Route 29 on Airport Road. Long and short-term parking lots are conveniently located near the terminal building. Long-term parking is $7.00 for each 24-hour segment.
For information on airlines, flights and ground transportation to and from the airport, see the Airport’s website at http://www.gocho.com.
It is sometimes cheaper to fly to Washington Dulles (a bit over two hours by car) or Richmond International Airport (about 90 minutes by car). Because there is no public ground transportation between these airports and Charlottesville, we recommend either renting a car or making arrangements with an airport shuttle or limousine service. For options, refer to the respective airport websites.
By Rail
Amtrak Service information can be obtained on the Amtrak website: http://www.amtrak.com
The local Amtrak Station is:
810 W. Main Street, Charlottesville, VA
(a few blocks from the Downtown Mall)
(434) 296-4559
By Bus
Greyhound Bus Lines schedules and reservations can be obtained by calling 1-800-231-2222 or visiting http://www.greyhound.com/home/
Charlottesville Station information:
310 W. Main Street, Charlottesville, VA
(one block from the Downtown Mall)
(434) 295-5131
By Car
Driving Directions to Charlottesville:
From Washington DC: Take Interstate 66 West until Exit 43A to merge onto US-29 S toward Gainesville. Continue on 29 South into Charlottesville. See map for specific venues.
From Richmond and points east and south: Take Interstate 64 West to Exit 118B to merge onto US-29 N toward Charlottesville. Charlottesville exits are Fontaine Avenue (29 Business), Ivy Road (250 Business), Barracks Road, and Route 29 (N to Washington, S to Charlottesville).
From Staunton and points west and north: Take Interstate 81 South to Exit 221 to merge onto Interstate 64 East. Continue on I-64 E to Exit 118 B to merge onto US-29 N toward Charlottesville. Charlottesville exits are Fontaine Avenue (29 Business), Ivy Road (250 Business), Barracks Road, and Route 29 (N to Washington, S to Charlottesville).
Car rentals are available at all area airports.
On Thursday morning from 8:00am-8:30am, shuttle buses, generously sponsored by local ABAA booksellers, will transport attendees staying at the Omni to the UVa Newcomb Hall Conference Center. On Thursday evening shuttle buses will return attendees from the Colonnade Club reception to the Omni. Attendees staying at the UVa dormitories or other locations are responsible for transporting themselves to all meetings.
A free trolley service (look for green trolley buses) runs between UVa, the "Corner" District along University Avenue, West Main Street and the Downtown Pedestrian Mall (where the Omni is located) every 15 minutes on
Monday–Saturday from 6:38am-11:53pm and every 30 minutes on Sunday from 8:00am-6:00pm.
In addition, regular Charlottesville Transit Service (CTS) buses (Route 7) follow approximately the same route and intervals. Fare on CTS buses is $0.75 per ride. Additional service information may be found on the on the CTS website at http://www.charlottesville.org/transit/ or by calling (434) 296-RIDE (7433).
With either means, going from UVa to Downtown takes about 20 minutes; returning takes slightly longer. Those staying in the UVa dorms should allow extra time to travel to morning sessions at the Omni because trolleys and buses are likely to be crowded. Maps of local area meeting facilities and transportation services will be included in your printed program guide. Additional maps will be found in your totebag.
Click here to download a PDF of maps that will be included in your printed program guide.
There are numerous area taxi services; the largest are Access (434-974-5522) and Yellow Cab (434-295-4131). For a complete listing, see the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport website: http://www.gocho.com/airport/info/transportation/.
Dorm guests may request a parking pass at check-in; cost is $15 for the week. Attendees driving to events at UVa may park in the Visitor Parking Garage off Emmet St. for $2 per hour. For all-day parking downtown, use the Omni garage, Water Street Garage or adjacent open lot, or Market Street Garage (many Downtown Mall merchants will validate for up to two free hours with purchase). Two-hour metered (and a few free) spaces are also available in the Downtown area and UVa Corner District.
Maps of the University of Virginia campus are accessible at http://www.virginia.edu/webmap/, with the historic Central Grounds—the area around the Newcomb Hall Conference Center and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library—visible here: http://www.virginia.edu/webmap/GMcCormickRoadArea.html.
The New York Times recently featured an article summarizing the virtues and attractions of the local community.
A Charlottesville WikiTravel site contains numerous links to area attractions and restaurants. general information: http://wikitravel.org/en/Charlottesville. More detailed dining information is available from Charlottesville's DiscoverOurTown site.
There are two weekly newspapers in Charlottesville, both accessible online and both outlining goings-on, including dining, movies, exhibits, and more: The Hook and C-Ville.
A few additional tourist sites to peruse include the Monticello Wine Trail, and the American Shakespeare Theater located in Staunton, Va, about a 30 minute drive from Charlottesville, and home to Blackfriar’s Theater, modeled on Shakespeare’s original indoor theater.
