Northern Virginia , almost all of which lies within commuting distance of Washington DC, holds some extremely exclusive suburbs, including McLean and the rest of Fairfax County, which are home to a high proportion of US senators. In contrast, Alexandria , nestled on the Potomac just beyond the limits of the nation's capital, seems at least two centuries removed from the modern political whirl. Further afield, this Anglophile heartland of Virginia's landed gentry - often called "Hunt Country" for their love of horses and fancy-dress blood sports - holds well-preserved eighteenth- and nineteenth-century stately homes, cottages, churches, barns and taverns tucked away along the quiet back roads. It's all very popular with tourists, nowhere more so than Mount Vernon , the longtime home of George Washington, while Manassas to the west was the site of the bloody battles of Bull Run.

Northern Virginia

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