Seminary Hill - Alexandria, VA

The Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, located in the northern corner of the neighborhood, offers exhibits on the American Civil War, an important event in Alexandria's history. Throughout the year, they also host education and interpretive programs, bus tours, lecture and video series, and living history activities.

Fort Ward was built to protect Washington, D.C., during the war. Over 150 year later, about 90 percent of the fort's earthwork walls are still preserved. At the onset of the Civil War in 1861, Virginia succeeded from the Union, which led to troops from the north capturing and taking control of Alexandria, building Fort Ward amongst others.

On the south end of the neighborhood, Duke Street serves as the restaurant hotspot. Two of the best reside in the Shoppes of Foxchase strip mall. The first, La Casa Restaurant, is a quaint local Greek and Italian restaurant with incredible eggplant parmigiana. Of course, you can never go wrong with the classic pepperoni pizza either, finished off with a glass of the Stella on draft.

If Chinese food stirs up a craving, head to Hong Kong Express instead. This counter-serve cafe keeps locals coming back because of the large portions at affordable prices. The BBQ spare ribs are a must here. If red meat isn't quite your thing, try the sweet and sour chicken. A side of Singapore noodles to round out the dish will do you well.

As local hotspots, both of these places can get packed at times, especially Hong Kong Express, but this only goes to show the popularity and patronage neighborhood residents have here.

Port City Brewing also brings pride to the Seminary Hill neighborhood. Port City craft beer has become popular within the Mid-Atlantic, and neighborhood residents can tour the facilities and sample the beer at their leisure. The $9 to tour the facility plus six drinks of any of the eight beers they have on tap is well worth it. Head here on Friday nights where tours start at 6:30 p.m. Making reservations ahead of time is recommended as spots often sell out.

Walking and biking remain manageable in the southern section of neighborhood, particularly around Duke Street, but the majority of the neighborhood feels bus or car-dependant. While the streets are relatively safe for biking, few bike lanes exist and too few attractions exist way from Duke Street.

Public transportation riders benefit from both the Alexandria-based DASH buses and the D.C.-based Metro buses in this neighborhood. Metro buses travel north into Arlington and the District while DASH buses can take you anywhere you need to go within Alexandria. Frequent riders should pick up a reloadable SmarTrip card which can be used on both systems.

Uber cabs also help to get around town. Regular metered cabs typically won't venture into the suburban streets of Seminary Hill, but with just a few taps on your phone, an Uber can pick you up at your doorstep.

Most residents own cars, however. While parking in the neighborhood often becomes a bear of a task, the access to I-95 and I-395 help to make up for it. Both interstates serve as a border for the neighborhood, 395 to the north and 95 to south, ensuring good access to both.

Parks are in no short supply in this neighborhood. Fort Ward Park, just behind the museum, has nice covered pavilions which make for a great weekend picnic spot with the family. The kids will love the little playground afterwards. Part of the museum's living re-enactments take place in the park as well.

Brookvalley Park and All Veterans Park are two creekside parks along Holmes Run offering jogging and dog-walking trails, playgrounds, picnic areas and garden plots. Check out the observation tower at All Veterans Park for a nice view of Alexandria.

The most popular of the bunch, however, might be Cameron Run Regional Park and the neighboring Great Waves Waterpark. The water park features your standard slides and wave pool while Cameron Run Park has mini-golf and batting cages. Unfortunately, entry into the water park is not free, although prices are reasonable, but all the other neighborhood parks remain free of charge.

The cost of living in Seminary Hill remains relatively on par with the city as a whole, if only slightly lower. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in this neighborhood comes in at $1,394 per month, just 3 percent lower than the Alexandria average of $1,440.

Gas prices sit at a similar range — about 5 percent less than the national average. Getting into the city center on public transportation can be done for $1.60 on a DASH bus.

Food and drink prices fall in line with the rest of the city. You can expect to pay around $15 for a meal a decent restaurant and $5 for a regular-priced beer. Of course, the most popular restaurants are places like Hong Kong Express that are cheaper than this and bars that have happy hour specials.

Like the restaurants, a few small boutique/specialty shops line the peripheries of the neighborhood, but most major commercial shopping takes place outside the neighborhood in Old Town. One of the more popular neighborhood shops is Eco Vapez, a vaporizer retailer with excellent customer service. Anyone who pays a visit to Mike's shop will tell you the attentiveness and knowledge level of staff was very reassuring. On the other side of the neighborhood, Robcyns caters to women and children looking for dancewear, uniforms, shoes and party supplies.

King Street in Old Town remains, well, king when it comes to major shopping needs, however. While the area has become well-known for the many mom and pop shops, interior decorating stores and art galleries, commercial retailers such as American Eagle, Gap and Crate & Barrel exist here as well.

The two main grocery stores in the neighborhood sit on either end, creating great convenience no matter where you live. You can visit Safeway on King Street if you happen to be on the north end or Harris Teeter on Duke Street if you're on the south end of Seminary Hill. Both will cover all your basic grocery needs.

On the other side of Duke Street in Ben Brenman park, the West End Farmers Market also makes great Sunday morning shopping.