Wednesday, May 16, 2007

1. "Rock the Boat," Richmond's 400th anniversary party, starts Saturday. To commemorate the Godspeed's 1607 journey from Jamestown to the Richmond region, a replica of the ship will dock at Richmond's Intermediate Terminal (3101 Water St.) May 24 to 26. On May 26, the Richmond Symphony performs at 8 p.m., with fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Free. Info: 804-648-2007, http://www.richmondregion2007.com/rock-the-boat.htm.

2 The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (200 N. Boulevard) is home to "Rule Britannia! Art, Royalty and Power in the Age of Jamestown," which runs through Aug. 12. Mammoth canvases of battles at sea hang near aristocratic portraits. "Elizabeth I: The Armada," owned by descendants of the godson of Sir Francis Drake, has never before been exhibited in the United States. There's also a costume exhibit with royal dress. Exhibit admission is $8. Info: 804-340-1405, http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/.

3. The Virginia Center for Architecture (2501 Monument Ave.) opened in 2005 in a Tudor Revival mansion built in 1919 by John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial. A new exhibit, "The House That Pope Built," is in the high-ceilinged mystery room, so called because historians don't know the room's original purpose. Through May 27 see a Federal architecture exhibit that features border stations and other modern structures. Take a self-guided tour (suggested donation $5) or a weekend tour ($10) with an architectural historian that gives access to more of the 63 rooms on 11 levels. Info: 804-644-3041, http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/.

4. Spring is an ideal time to visit the city's 1 1/4 -mile Canal Walk, which meanders along the riverfront and includes historic markers, a photo exhibit and a lock model that children can operate. In Shockoe Bottom, you're near restaurants under noisy highways and train tracks, while a few blocks west you'll find some welcome quiet on the canal tour boats (804-788-6466; $5). Walk across Brown's Island (there are free Friday evening concerts through June) to the Tredegar Iron Works, passing a bridge that juts into the James. On bridge sides and a boardwalk are quotes remembering three days in April 1865 when Confederates fled Richmond and the Union army marched down Broad Street. Info: 804-788-6466, http://www.venturerichmond.com/.

5. Since its October opening, more than 7,000 people have visited the American Civil War Center (500 Tredegar St.), the first museum that presents the war from three perspectives: Union, Confederate and African American. The exhibit "In the Cause of Liberty" is an interactive learning center in the red-brick structure. Try on soldier uniforms (American-made, but $20 souvenir versions in the museum store come from China) and explore women's home-front roles (stripping thread from carpets to mend clothes) and children's games. On May 26 and other dates, programs that explore the war's legacy are planned. Museum admission $8. Info: 804-780-1865, http://www.tredegar.org/.

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For information on food and lodging, contact the Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau,804-783-7450, http://www.visit.richmond.com/.