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MonticelloHISTORY Construction on Monticello started in 1769 and was completed in 1809. The house and surrounding areas has a total of 43 rooms. Thomas Jefferson was a Renaissance man with interests in numerous areas as you can see when you tour his home. Monticello is beautiful in all seasons, in the Fall especially as the leaves of the area are changing. In the spring the gardens out back of his house are also in bloom. Jefferson's home is a popular tourist destination throughout the course of the year for its unique and beautiful features as well as its historical significance. TOURS 1. House Tour On the house tour you will get to marvel at many of Jefferson's inventions and designs that make his house unique. In the first entrance way you can see collections of his from the Louisiana Purchase. Later on get a glimpse of part of his library, the rest of which was either sold or donated later to the Library of Congress. Paintings of his family and other famous leaders such as George Washington adorn the house. Possibly the most unique feature of the house is Jefferson's bed which sits nestled between the wall of his office and bedroom. A space saving technique, his bed takes up no extra room and allows more space on both sides. The tour takes about 30 minutes.
2. Plantation Community Tour The Plantation Community Tour is a moving walk around Mullberry Row, a street behind Monticello where Jefferson's slaves lived and worked. The guides excel at tying modern history to the past as they describe Jefferson's relationship with his slaves, personal descriptions of slaves who lived and worked there such as the cook and blacksmith, and Jefferson's struggle between his idea that "all men are created equal" as he wrote in the Declaration of Independence and the fact that he owned hundreds of slaves over the course of his life. This walking tour is about 45 minutes long and is highly recommended.
3. Garden and Grounds Tour Monticello has beautiful landscaping with a unique variety of trees and flowers that you can tour. Vegetable gardens also run along the side of Mullberry Row. Jefferson was also a horticulturalist among the many interests he had, and over his life he collected these unique plants from his travels.
HOURS TICKETS Tickets are $15 for adults from November-February and $20 from March-October. Children ages 6-11 are $8, and children under 6 years old get in free. The tickets include the cost of the house tour and the other two tours if you choose to go on them. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
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