Richmond, VA: A “Free-Fun” Day Trip Guide 🎉

When it comes to free things to do, Richmond delivers! Here are my top picks for a no-cost day out: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 🏛️ This was the main reason I came to Richmond! The museum is fairly large, with a strong collection of European oil paintings 🖼️, plus Asian and African art sections. If you like art, you can easily spend 2+ hours here. A special exhibit featuring Japanese Samurai Armor is on tour in a separate gallery until August—it costs $10 to enter. Unless you really love Japanese culture, you can skip it. Parking in the museum lot is $6 💰, but you can park for free on N Arthur Ashe Blvd. True free fun! 😉 Canal Walk 🚶‍♂️ Felt like a budget version of Paris’ Canal Saint-Martin. Not very memorable—I didn’t even take photos 😅 (is a screenshot from a video!). Nice for a stroll after a meal, but that’s about it. Avoid the James River Pipeline Walk in hot weather—it’s full of bugs 🦟! Maymont House & Park 🌸 A large park with beautiful architecture, an Italian garden, and a Japanese garden (a bit farther out). You’ll see common animals like squirrels, Canadian geese, and robins 🐿️. Lots of people dress up and come here to take photos—worth a quick stop if you have time! 🤳 Carytown 🛍️ Basically a commercial street—not especially pretty, but there are some cute little shops 🧸. Parking is free, so it doesn’t hurt to browse! Final Thoughts: The downtown area felt safe—mostly middle-class white folks, no homeless or drug users in sight. But honestly… it was kind of boring 😴. I finished everything in half a day. As for food—plenty of other posts cover that. I’ll save my recommendations for another time! #Museum #Travel #FreeFun #Virginia #RichmondVA