John and I both work a lot and on totally different schedules, so it’s not easy for the two of us to find time to sneak away together for a day of leisure. When that unicorn type of day does come along, though, we have a few go-to day trip destinations, one of which being Lexington, Virginia. It’s about a 40-minute drive from our house in Waynesboro, and is full of great mountain and river views, scenic downtown outdoor walking, and lots of shops and restaurants, so it feels like a mini vacation for us homebodies. I thought I’d share our favorite spots to visit while in town in case you happen to make it there yourself this season. Keep scrolling for my quick list of must-stop Lexington attractions.

Day Trip Guide To Lexington, Virginia:

1. Duke’s Lexington Antique Center: John and I always stop here first since it’s located on our way downtown. This huge warehouse has aisles and aisles of secondhand treasures, including quite a few mid-century antique dealers, which are surprisingly hard to come by at other antique stores near us.

2. Thriftique: This small thrift store is generally our next stop after finishing up at Duke’s. It’s not nearly as big or well curated as Duke’s, but Thriftique does seem to have more affordable prices, so I don’t mind making the effort to dig.

3. The Palms: By the time we get done with our antiquing, we’re usually pretty hungry. There are two restaurants that we always pick between, The Palms being the first. It has a great menu of classic American food, and a full bar for fun lunchtime cocktails or wine. I especially love their pizza (pictured above) and pasta salad.

4. TAPS: The other lunch place we love is TAPS, which is part of The Georges hotel. It’s a little more upscale than The Palms, with plush seating, elegant décor, and a gorgeous pub-style bar, but the food isn’t fussy or overpriced. It’s delicious, and has great views of downtown if you can snag a cozy window seat.

5. Curated Interiors: After fueling up with lunch, we continue our shopping day with a pop-in to all of our favorite downtown stores. Curated Interiors is chock-full of gorgeous hand-picked retro furniture and accents. If you’re a mid-century enthusiast like me, then you need to make sure you save time to visit this shop. I always leave feeling so inspired, and think that their shop styling is just impeccable.

6. Lexington Mercantile: We love coming to Lexington to do our Christmas shopping, and this mercantile is an awesome place to go when putting together a gift basket of fancy foodie treats. It has all sorts of jarred olives, spreads, gourmet cheeses, and wine. I always end up getting a little treat for myself here, too…

7. Ladles & Linens Kitchen Shoppe: This is the best spot to shop for specialty kitchen wares! I’m like a kid in a candy store at this place. They’ve got all your classic kitchen supplies, but also a whole range of speciality tools, trendy modern cookware (including Our Place), and cookbooks. They have party buffet supplies, and some jarred foods as well.

8. Earth Fire and Spirit Pottery: Here’s another awesome place to visit if you’re on the hunt for a special birthday or Christmas gift. They have an amazing variety of original art available, plus all of the handmade ceramics you could ever dream of—functional pieces like bowls and cups, wall-hung pottery art, stoneware sets, collectible centerpieces, and so much more. I always leave this shop feeling motivated to take my own pottery art up a notch.

9. Chessie Trail: After we finish up with lunch and shopping downtown, John and I typically head toward the river. There’s a lovely 7-mile trail that runs along the Maury called the Chessie Trail, which is what we named our dog after (she’s also named after the character in The Parent Trap, of course). It’s a really nice place to go after the bustling streets of downtown to unwind and take big gulps of fresh air with the sounds of the water flowing along beside us.

Have you been to Lexington, Virginia? What are your favorite things to do? I know I’ve missed a lot of things, and would love to mix up our routine, so please do share your own recommendations. Are there restaurants that we’re missing out on? Shops we need to see? Natural landmarks to visit? Let me know in the comments so we can spice up our next day trip to Lexington, and let me know if you’ve been to any of the places that I mentioned in my list, too!