United States · Virginia
Where to Stay in Alexandria, Virginia
Cobbled quays meet the Potomac River at Alexandria, a colonial port city in Virginia, known for its Old Town and the brick Carlyle House.
Find your area →
Where to stay in Alexandria
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Alexandria runs back from the Potomac River through its old grid, and where you stay depends on whether you want the waterfront or the quieter historic blocks behind it. Old Town gathers the colonial houses and the shops along the quays. Old Town is the natural first stop.
Travellers drawn to the historic core settle near the Carlyle House, where the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop and the Lyceum stand within a short walk of the river landings. Inland from the water, the streets around Christ Church and the Lee-Fendall House keep a calmer residential grain. If you have come for the churches and the older homes, base yourself near Christ Church, an easy walk from the centre.
Others choose the riverfront toward the Capital Wheel, downstream on the Potomac, close to the open promenade and the wider views of Virginia. No two of Alexandria's quarters feel quite alike. Which quarter you pick is a matter of taste.
About Alexandria
What is Alexandria known for?
Alexandria is known above all for its colonial waterfront and its preserved Old Town in Virginia. The old port defines the city. Founded on the Potomac River in 1749, Alexandria grew as a trading town whose brick streets still gather the Carlyle House, the Lee-Fendall House, and the row of eighteenth-century buildings that line the quays.
What are the main landmarks in Alexandria?
Alexandria holds landmarks that span its colonial port, its churches, and its museums. The Carlyle House anchors Old Town. Its stone rooms recall the founding merchants, while Christ Church keeps its eighteenth-century congregation, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop preserves an old trade, and the Athenaeum and the Lee-Fendall House stand among the brick streets of Virginia.
What is the history of Alexandria?
Alexandria was founded in 1749 as a tobacco port on the Potomac River in colonial Virginia. The river made the town. Its deep landing on the tidal reach drew the merchants and the ships that carried the trade of the surrounding country, and the port that grew there laid out the brick grid of Old Town, gathering the warehouses and the wharves along the water.
From that early port, Alexandria grew inland from the quays and filled its streets with the houses of its trading families. The Carlyle House and the Lee-Fendall House still mark the merchant era, while Christ Church and the Athenaeum recall the town's civic life. Through every change the river endured.
From a colonial landing on the Potomac River, Alexandria grew into the historic port that anchors this stretch of Virginia.
Where is Alexandria?
Alexandria lies on the west bank of the Potomac River in northern Virginia. The setting is one of tidal water and low ground. The river bounds the city on the east, the old grid of Old Town runs back from the quays toward the higher streets, and the promenade near the Capital Wheel opens the broad reach of the Potomac River downstream from the historic port.
What is the climate of Alexandria?
Alexandria has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers and cool, changeable winters in northern Virginia. Summers run warm and heavy. Hot, humid days settle over the Potomac River and Old Town through the season, while milder winters bring occasional snow to the brick streets, before spring greens the quays and the promenade by the Capital Wheel.
How do you get to Alexandria?
Alexandria is reached by rail, road, and water, a well-linked port on the Potomac River in Virginia. Most travellers arrive by train or car. Rail lines and highways run north and south along the river corridor, tying Alexandria to the wider region, while riverboats reach the quays of Old Town and the promenade near the Capital Wheel from the Potomac River.
Good for
More cities in Virginia
Updated July 2026