That's what you'll hear a lot of Richmonders say.

You'll also hear them tell you to plan to spend the day. In addition to providing tourists and townies with prime people-watching opportunities seven days a week, this stretch of West Cary Street from Thompson Street to the Boulevard is a compact, all-purpose shopping area with quirky, locally owned cafes and alternative-culture retailers selling wares alongside neighboring grocery and drug store chains.

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(Stacy Warner)

It could be said Shockoe Bottom, as it is now called, is the singularity from which the rest of Richmond exploded into existence. The Shockoe Valley became the first developed area in the region in the early 1700s, on land owned by William Byrd II. This early development set the stage for a tumultuous and rich history that had implications on both a regional and national level.

Many artists and musicians, usually the first ones with their ear to the ground in terms of coming trends, continue to live and work here in spacious, cheap loft apartments, and advertising agencies and production studios occupy many of the old buildings. Further evidence of the Bottom's resurgence are the many old tobacco warehouses being renovated into living space.

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(Stacy Warner)

Taking its name from the creek that once flowed through the area, Shockoe Slip was founded as a small trading post by William Byrd in the 1600s. "Shocquohocan" was the Native American word for the flat stone at the mouth of the creek; "slip" referred to the area's position on the canal basin where boats loaded their cargo. Until the mid-1800s, "the Slip" flourished as the commercial center of Richmond and most of the state until the final days of the Civil War.

Today the Slip, with its landmark restaurants and businesses and hotels, has become a notable example of successful urban restoration and historic preservation.

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There aren't too many places left in this era of strip malls and major shopping centers where you can get all of your shopping and errands done in one day without ever having to get back in your car to drive from one place to the next.

But the shops and businesses that comprise the area known as "On the Avenues" in the near West End is definitely one of those places. On the Avenues, named for the intersection of its two main avenues, Libbie and Grove, gives visitors and customers an old-fashioned shopping experience with a variety of shops all within walking distance of convenient parking. The charming district spans from Libbie and Grove to Granite, Maple and Patterson avenues.

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(Mark Clifton)

Richmond's Kanawha and Haxall canals were first conceived in the late 1700s as a means of circumventing "The Falls," which had stopped Christopher Newport in his tracks in his search for gold along the James River 100 years earlier. The canal system was intended as the critical link that would make the Kanawha and Ohio rivers accessible from the Atlantic Ocean thus establishing Richmond as an important trading port with regard to the western territories. The project was inspired by the success of the Erie Canal.

The James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District is now considered a vital part of the reinvigoration of Richmond's downtown areas, as well as a monument to the city's earliest visionaries.

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(Blythe Rowe)

Monument Avenue began with a statue to commemorate Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in 1890. With the expansion of the burgeoning middle- and upper-classes taking residence in the Fan, streets had to be widened. By 1906, the promenade had officially been designated as Monument Avenue, and has since grown to include statues of notables such as Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, and Arthur Ashe.

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Looking for a little night in your life? From your neighborhood hole in the wall to lush performing arts venues, Richmond's got you covered.

Say you're single and in the mood for something, say, a little more comely? Check out the hopping single scene in Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom. (America Online recently named Richmond one of the top cities for singles, don't you know.)

If a rockin' nightlife of live music and Cosmopolitans is more your bag, you can't go wrong by popping into a Fan bar. The thriving VCU School of the Arts has fueled this little neighborhood of hipster hang-outs where local bands -- ranging from good, bad and yes, ugly -- rage against the break of day.

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(Courtesy Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

You can't take two steps in any direction without finding yourself inside an art gallery or museum in this town. From the sprawling Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on the Boulevard to the campy, alternative Eggspace, nestled underneath a highway on the South Side, Richmond is rife with art and culture. Did we mention the Poe Museum? The Museum of the Confederacy and White House? 1708 Gallery? For art's sake, get out there and explore!

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(Courtesy Paramount Parks)

Looking for a few thrills? Central Virginia is the right place. With three major theme parks, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Paramount's Kings Dominion and Water Country USA, within an hour's drive of Richmond, the area is a hotbed for serious roller-coaster and water-slide junkies.

But don't leave the weak-at-heart at home. Human beings of every shape and condition throw on bathing suits and shorts to drive to Virginia to get a taste of the theme parks' other attractions.

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Next time you're racing from Richmond to hit the rollercoasters at Busch Gardens, or heading up 64 from Williamsburg for a little River City nightlife, you may want to allow yourself an hour or two for some outstanding history and architecture. Nestled between Williamsburg and Richmond along the James River are sprawling and majestic plantations, each with its own distinct personality and history. The gothic allures of Edgewood Plantation include the ghost of Lizzie Rowland, who died of a broken heart waiting for her sweetheart to return from war. J.E.B. Stuart stopped there for coffee on his way to meet General Robert E. Lee as well.

Then there are the secret passages and magnificent gardens of Westover Plantation, home to William Byrd II, founder of Richmond. The plantation is a mecca for history buffs and green thumbs. Berkeley Plantation, halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg on historic Route 5, was the site of the first "real" Thanksgiving in 1619, a full year before the Pilgrims landed on Plymoth Rock. For liquor enthusiasts, Father George Thorpe, an Anglican priest, distilled the first batch of bourbon on the estate grounds. Maybe that's the reason the first 10 presidents of the United States visited Berkeley. . . We'll let you decide.