Tour of the House and Grounds of Monticello

On Thursday, August 18, after the close of the CDGO Conference, we encourage you to stay one more day to visit Monticello and Michie Tavern. This tour is optional and will have a single fee of $50 per person to cover transportation, tours, and lunch. The offering of these tours is subject to a minimum number of people signing up for them.

Monticello

Monticello is the home of Thomas Jefferson, one of the United State's Founding Fathers, located in the Virginia Piedmont, about two miles southeast of Charlottesville. Participants will tour the home, gardens, and plantation of Monticello.

House Tour
Monticello was designed and redesigned and built and rebuilt from 1769 to 1809. The house is approximately 11,000 square feet, boasting 43 rooms, eight fireplaces, a stable and carriage bays. This guided walking tour takes visitors through the first floor of the house which includes the entrance hall, library, Jefferson's bedroom, and the Dome Room.

Gardens and Grounds Tours
Visitors on this guided walking tour of the gardens and grounds will visit the main garden systems of Monticello -- flower, fruit, and vegetable -- and focus on Jefferson's interest in gardening as well as the agricultural history of the period.

Plantation Community Tours
Monticello was a working plantation -- a center of agriculture and industry -- home not only to the Jefferson family, but to an extended community of workers, black and white, enslaved and free. This guided walking tour visits Mulberry Row and other plantation-related sites near the mountaintop and focuses on the African-American community at Monticello and the economic operation of the plantation.

Michie Tavern

Participants will take a break from their tours of Monticello for a tour and lunch at Michie Tavern, located just one mile from Monticello. Michie Tavern is a Virginia Historic Landmark having been established in 1784 by William Michie. Participants will be immersed in the 18th century as they dine on food made from recipes from the period in a rustic tavern setting while servers are dressed in period clothing. A tour of Michie Tavern will take participants through a recreation of the life at the Inn when it was operated by Mr. Michie.