One of America's most familiar buildings - it graces the back of the nickel coin - Monticello , three miles southeast of Charlottesville on Hwy-53, was the home of Thomas Jefferson for most of his life. A visit provides a distinctive insight into the most intriguing of America's founding fathers. Surrounded by acres of beautifully landscaped hilltop grounds, which once comprised an enormous plantation, with fine views out over the Virginia countryside, Monticello is a handsome house, whose symmetrical brick facade, centered upon a white Doric portico, belies the quirky irregularities of the interior - furnished as it was when Jefferson lived, and died, here.

To see Monticello you have to join one of the guided tours (daily: March-Oct 8am-5pm; rest of year 9am-4.30pm; $11) that leave continuously from the parking lot at the bottom of the hill. There's often a line, especially at weekends, so try to get there as early as possible in the morning. From the outside, Monticello looks like an elegant, Palladian-style country home, but as soon as you enter the domed entrance hall, with its funhouse mirror and displays of fossilized bones and elk antlers (from Lewis and Clark's epic 1804 journey across North America, which Jefferson sponsored as president), you begin to get a sense that Jefferson was a somewhat more interesting character than the sober statesman portrayed by most histories. His love of gadgets and odd little contraptions, which fill the house, marked him as something of an eccentric: examples of these include the elaborate dual-pen device he used to make automatic copies of all his letters, and the weather vane over the front porch which is connected to a dial so he could see which way the wind was blowing without having to step outside. Even Jefferson's private chambers , which can also be seen on the tour, are rather interesting: he slept in a tiny alcove linking his dressing room and his study, and would get up on the right side of the bed if he wanted to make some late-night notes, on the left if he wanted to get dressed. The upstairs rooms, where Jefferson's daughter lived, are not open to the public.

On the grounds around the house you get a feeling for how Monticello, a five thousand-acre plantation, really functioned. Extensive flower and vegetable gardens spread to the south and west, and a dank passage runs under the house from the kitchen and beer cellar (Jefferson was a keen home-brewer) to the remains of Mulberry Row, Monticello's slave quarters . Despite calling slavery an "abominable crime," Jefferson owned almost two hundred slaves and recent research indicates that he may have also sired a child with one of them. At the south end of Mulberry Row, a grove of ancient hardwood trees surrounds Jefferson's grave, marked by a simple stone obelisk; a footpath beyond winds back down to the bottom of the hill.

Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home

• Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home

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