Listed as a National Historic Landmark, Tuckahoe Plantation is best known as the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson, the future president and Founding Father. The estate was built between 1730 and 1740 and has persisted through the centuries thanks to the preservation efforts of its private owners. Indeed, the house—considered by architectural historians to be among the finest early 18th-century plantation homes—is still occupied and surrounded by a working farm. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the grounds or a guided tour of the house.

• The Jefferson connection: Tuckahoe was built by the Randolph family, who had a cousin in Jefferson's mother. Before the Randolph patriarch died, he named Jefferson's father as his children's guardian until the oldest son came of age. Jefferson's family moved to the plantation when he was 2, and he received his first education in a one-room schoolhouse that still stands today.

• The architecture: It is thought that Tuckahoe's architectural features made an impact on Jefferson. He later designed the University of Virginia's Rotunda, the Virginia State House, and Monticello, his own plantation.

• The grounds: The plantation is well-known in the Richmond area for its beautiful gardens. These include the house's herb garden and vegetable garden, as well as formal pleasure gardens ideal for strolling, including a memorial garden near the family graveyards. (Locals can even purchase cut flowers and greenery grown here throughout the year.)