Virginia State Capitol

Jefferson designed this building from Paris in the 1780s, modelling it on the Maison Carrée at Nîmes — which makes it the first public building in the United States in the neoclassical temple form, and the template for state capitols and courthouses across the country for the next century.

Inside, the domed rotunda holds Houdon's life-size marble of George Washington, carved from measurements taken at Mount Vernon in 1785 and the only sculpture of him made from life. The chambers still house the Virginia General Assembly, which traces its line back to the Jamestown assembly of 1619 and calls itself the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The room where Robert E. Lee accepted command of Virginia's forces is on the tour, as is the hall where Aaron Burr was tried for treason.

Practical: free, self-guided or with a docent, entered through an underground extension on the north side. Closed at short notice for legislative sessions and events, so check before walking over. The surrounding Capitol Square — with the Governor's Mansion, Bell Tower and Washington Monument — is worth the loop on its own.