Blacksburg

Blacksburg [1] is a moderate-sized town in Southwest Virginia and is home of Virginia Tech (full name: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) [2]. Get in Blacksburg is only accessible by road. It is about 30 miles west of Roanoke. Blacksburg is on US 460, about ten miles north of I-81 (exit 118B). The closest commercial airport is Roanoke Regional (ROA). The SmartWay bus[3] offers direct service from the airport and downtown Roanoke to Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech campus. The closest Greyhound bus station is also in Roanoke. While school is in session, Home Ride of Virginia[4] offers weekend bus service to Northern Virginia, Hampton roads and other Virginia universities. If you happen to be arriving with a private plane, Virginia Tech also has an airport,[5] but with no commercial flights. Get around Through city and university cooperation, Blacksburg has a nice bus system. It is free to all students who have an ID card. It costs $0.50 for everyone else. On Football Games or other large events, this fee is often waived. Blacksburg Transit [6]. See If you are coming to Blacksburg, it is hard to miss the campus of Virginia Tech, especially the much-photographed Burruss Hall. Do During the fall, a major part of the weekend is Collegiate American Football. Let's Go Hokies... The Lyric, the local theater, often has movies for cheap as well as a range of musical acts that pass throught. Former acts include Balkan Beat Box and The Meters As a bustling college town, there are often university activities at all times of day. The Appalachian Trail passes within a few miles of the town, and as a result there are ample hiking opportunities around. Tubing on the nearby New River is a popular activity in the summer. Blacksburg is also within an hour's drive from Floyd county[7] with its increasingly reknown artist community and growing number of cultural events, such as the annual FloydFest. Buy Most everything one needs can be found within the town itself, even without many big box stores around there is still a lot to be found for a very decent price. Stores such as Mish Mish, Xanadu's, and the Common Thread on the Downtown strip provide a very artistic feel to the area. Every Wednesday and Saturday there is a farmer's market one block off of main street where one can find local produce as well as goods hand made in the New River Valley. Apart from the shops in downtown Blacksburg and scattered throughout town, the main commercial shopping area is situated roughly halfway between Blacksburg and Christiansburg, centered around the New River Valley Mall. Every summer in late July an event called "Steppin' Out" takes place in which Main Street in Blacksburg is closed off and vendors from the surrounding counties and states come to peddle goods of all nature. This is a great time to be around for the live music and diverse foods, as well as to purchase a plethora of homegrown Appalachian goods ranging from hand crafted ceramics and wooden bowls to bonzai trees and handmade instruments. Eat The downtown area caters to a diverse crowd, and there are countless watering holes offering pub fare of varying quality, from the Cellar and the Underground, which provide a more traditional pub aire, to places like Cabo Fish Taco which regularly feature electronic and breakbeat music acts such as the Boogieburg Sound System. If one desires a finer dining experience they might want to check out Boudreaux's, The Cellar, Gillie's and Poor Billy's Seafood & Sushi, which provide diverse cuisine of excellent quality for just a few extra dollars. Locals are fond of Mike's Grill, a small restaurant offering typical (but excellent) American food- burgers, fries, etc. for a reasonable price; while the college crowd can often be found hanging around places such as the River Mill, Sharkie's or Hokie House. Sheesha, the local Hookah bar, often features live jazz and afrobeat music, and More than Coffee, a Lebanese cafe is another place renowned for their pizza and hummus. The area around the New River Valley Mall has many chain restaurants. A few, more upscale establishments can also be found around, such as Zeppoli's ,India Garden, Kabuki's Japanese Steakhouse and The Farmhouse in Christiansburg. Drink Go downtown and follow the crowd. Sleep Comfort Inn Blacksburg Hotel 3705 South Main Street, (540) 951-1500, [8]. Close to many area businesses and attractions including the Virginia Tech Campus, The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Radford University, Corning, Montgomery Regional Hospital, the VA / MS Regional college of Veterinary Medicine and the Warm Hearth Village. AmeriSuites Blacksburg/University 1020 Plantation Road, (540) 552-5636, [9]. The AmeriSuites Blacksburg University is conveniently located off the 460 Bypass on Prices Fork Road just two miles from downtown Blacksburg and only one mile from the Virginia Tech campus. Get out Roanoke is quite close. This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!