Monticello

Jefferson designed Monticello himself, then spent forty years altering it, and the result is a neoclassical house full of his obsessions: a dome modelled on Roman precedent, a clock driven by cannonball weights that runs through the floor, alcove beds built into walls, dumbwaiters hidden in a fireplace, and a library that seeded the Library of Congress. It is listed by UNESCO together with the University of Virginia, which he also designed. The site has changed considerably in how it presents itself: Mulberry Row, where the enslaved households lived and worked, has been excavated and reconstructed, and the tours now tell the story of the roughly four hundred people enslaved here, including the Hemings family, alongside the architecture.

What you actually see

• The house - the dome room, the great clock and Jefferson's inventions throughout.
• Mulberry Row - the reconstructed quarters and workshops of the enslaved community.
• The gardens - the restored terraced vegetable garden and orchards.
• The University of Virginia - the other half of the listing, in Charlottesville.

When to go

Spring and autumn are loveliest, with the gardens at their best in late spring; summer is hot and humid and the house busy. House tours are timed and sell out at peak times, so book online ahead. Grounds tours run separately and are worth taking.

Honest expectations

The house tour is timed, brisk and crowded, with a fixed route and limited time in each room; the grounds and Mulberry Row tours are less rushed and arguably more interesting. Photography inside is restricted. Parking is at the visitor centre with a shuttle up the hill. Combining it with the University of Virginia takes a full day.

Nearby

The University of Virginia is in Charlottesville; the Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah lie west.