Travel South - VIRGINIA, NORTH E SOUTH CAROLINA

Washington DC is the capital city of the United States – and its very political heart. Washington is a monumental city, with impressive white-marble buildings, memorials and some of the very best museums. It also boasts extremely pleasant residential districts, dotted with antique houses, parks and gardens, making for a lively, multicultural city.

Williamsburg in Virginia seems like time has stood still. Founded in 1633, it preserves its colonial past in the area known as Colonial Williamsburg, rich in historic buildings and artisan shops, where you can find actors in costume, called "People of the Past". Continuing on the theme of the state's colonial past, a short distance from Williamsburg is Jamestown, the first English settlement in America, where you can take a guided tour that illustrates life in the early American colonies.

The vast seaside resort of Virginia Beach, with its 57 kilometers of coastline, is one of the most prosperous realities on the entire Atlantic coast, with a rapidly growing economy for several decades. Virginia Beach is the classic summer tourist destination, with hotels, motels, sometimes flashy restaurants, and long sandy beaches that stretch for kilometers. The main street is the lively boardwalk, Atlantic Avenue. It is not surprising that Virginia Beach is also particularly renowned for surfing; at the end of August, it hosts the East Coast Surfing Championships, an important event where top-level surfers compete.

The North Carolina coast stretches for over 480 km and is protected for 320 km by a chain of islands that form a sort of barrier and dotted with picturesque lighthouses. This is still a relatively undeveloped part of the coast, with strips of sand separated from the mainland by narrow channels and connected by bridges and ferries, where even in high season it is still possible to find uncrowded beaches. The main islands in this northern part of the Outer Banks are Bodie, Roanoke, Hatteras, and Ocracoke, where coastal towns with a rich colonial history, old forts, and oceanfront lighthouses can be found. There are also trails for birdwatching enthusiasts and museums related to the area's history, such as the one in Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers took their first flight in 1903. Further south, near Wilmington, we find the Crystal Coast, the historic Cape Fear, and the Brunswick Islands.

Several locations along the coast of North Carolina, both inland and on the Outer Banks, are worth a visit. Atlantic Beach, at the beginning of the Crystal Coast, offers deep sandy beaches, lighthouses, and maritime activities. Beaufort is characterized by buildings from the mid-1700s, as well as New Bern, where the Tryon Palace Historic Site and Gardens are located. It is a collection of elegant Georgian buildings built in 1770 as the residence of Governor William Tryon and used as the first state capital. Bath, a European settlement incorporated in 1705, is the oldest town in North Carolina, with numerous attractions that tell and celebrate its history.

Charleston is one of the most elegant cities in the USA, with nineteenth-century mansions dating back to before the Civil War, warm hospitality, century-old trees, and azalea gardens. In three centuries of history, the city has survived hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, and the Civil War, which broke out here on April 12, 1861. Not to be missed is a visit to the typical villas, decorated with wrought iron and painted in different colors, the Battery, the historic waterfront, the City Market, where you can buy baskets made of hemp from the ancient rice fields, a plantation at Middleton Place, and the Fort Sumter National Monument, where the American Civil War began.

Standing on a plateau between the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville grew into a popular destination. Its several craft breweries, fashionable restaurants and vintage shops draw plenty of tourists, and yet the town didn’t give up on its rustic mountain character, nor on its proud hippie commune, still hale and hearty.

Market Square, set between Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street, thrives with pubs and live music clubs. The area is especially lively on week-ends.

Charlottesville in Virginia is mainly known for its university. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, it was the first to offer studies in subjects that are now common, such as architecture, astronomy, and philosophy, as well as being the first to be independent from religious doctrine.