Westover

A model of well-planned mid-century urbanism, Westover is a cozy walkable neighborhood of tree-lined streets, independently owned boutiques and friendly restaurants anchored by the Westover Shopping Center. In fact, all pedestrian and bikeable roads and paths lead to this lively community hub. Characterized by sturdy maples and oaks and flower-trimmed red-brick colonials, Westover is such an intimate community, you may encounter the same faces over and over while you explore the area.

It also claims two distinctions: the Westover Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of housing built between 1939 and 1957, and the community boasts the first-ever LEED Platinum-certified house in the state of Virginia, dating back to 2009.

Outdoors lovers will find plenty of green space including the beautiful Bon Air Park, where you can literally stop and smell more than 120 different varieties of roses. Pick up a sub or pizza at The Italian Store before heading to Westover Park or community-owned Dominion Hills Park for a leisurely family picnic.

Shoppers can pop in for a latte and an eclectic gift at the Trade Roots gift store and coffee shop representing thousands of artisans and farmers from Africa to South America, from Asia to Denver. Linger there for live music on many Friday evenings. To mingle with the locals, browse the Sunday Westover Farmers Market for pastries, organic fruits, herbs, farm-fresh vegetables and ready-to-eat items. The market enhances the already strong sense of community.

Dining

Sample Thai specialties at Thai Noy, voted best Thai restaurant in Arlington by Washingtonian magazine readers, or Mediterranean specialties at family-run Lebanese Taverna, a perennial neighborhood fave. Treat yourself to award-winning Toby's Homemade Ice Cream, whose two dozen all-natural flavors are hand made in small batches.

Four-legged friends are welcome at the Lost Dog Café, run by lifelong animal lovers and dog rescuers Pam McAlwee and Ross Underwood. Fill up on salads, pizzas and inventive dog-themed sandwiches (try the Bulldog, Greyhound, Mighty Dog, Diggity Dog, Healthy Dog or Purebred). The wags and woofs are joined on the same sidewalk by the purrs and meows of the Stray Cat Café from the same owners. Felines dance on the café’s walls in vibrant paintings by local artist Jessica Lovelace.

Nightlife

Listen to live music and chill with a pint at family-owned Westover Market’s Beer Garden, where you can choose from 1,000 brews in the “Great Wall of Beer,” a veritable Who’s Who of craft beer.

Arlington has a few less-traveled neighborhoods within its compact 26 square miles that give you a powerful experience of American inspiration and local flavor. You can tour the oldest Arlington house, the Ball-Sellers House in Glencarlyn, and check out these neighborhoods that make Arlington truly one of a kind:

Arlington Ridge

Like its name implies, Arlington Ridge overlooks Washington, D.C. and atop its steep heights are majestic homes. Former Vice President Al Gore maintained a Tudor-style home there. The neighborhood had cinematic fame in the movie “No Way Out” depicting a fictional KGB safe house that stood on the southeast corner of South Arlington Ridge Road and 20th Street South in Arlington. Stop into the Arlington Historical Museum in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood on weekends, and see Civil War artifacts while hearing about the area’s complete history.

Green Valley

The bedrock of Arlington's African-American legacy is in its several strong, historically black communities, such as Green Valley. Settled by free blacks such as Levy and Sarah Ann Jones, they built their homes in this South Arlington community in 1844, nearly 20 years before the Civil War. They, in turn, began selling lots to other free black families such as Solomon Thompson, William Rowe and the Peyton family, thus sowing the seeds of a community primed to blossom even more fully in the wake of the Civil War.

Great Wall of Beer

Westover’s tree-lined roads, boutiques and restaurants, and plenty of green space is part of why Arlington is known as an urban area with a small-town feel. The Westover Shopping Center offers an afternoon of fun, browsing the aisles at Ayer’s Variety & Hardware, shopping at the nearby fair-trade store Trade Roots or chilling with a pint at the Westover Market & Beer Garden. Here you will find Arlington’s Great Wall of Beer, a who’s who of craft brews. On Sundays, pastries, organic fruits, herbs and locally-grown vegetables are on sale at the Westover Farmers Market.

Fairlington

Fairlington’s community of homes was built by the federal government’s Defense Homes Corporation as priority housing for military officers and key government employees. Today you can visit Fairlington’s Farmer’s Market on Sundays, April through November, for fresh produce, coffee and flowers. Look out especially for a chocolate croissant that will make you say ooh la la.

Fairlington is on the national register of historic places. Historical markers show the area was the site of Civil War Union fortifications: Fort Reynolds was built next to the present North Fairlington. Battery Garesche, created to control the higher ground dominating the fort, was at today’s South Abingdon Street at 30th Road. Although located in Virginia, which was a Confederate state in the Civil War, the area was never controlled by Confederate forces.

During the 18th century, John Carlyle owned most of what is now Fairlington. Around 1770, Carlyle established a plantation and constructed a large white house known as Morven in North Fairlington, which stood until 1942 and is long gone. George Washington also owned a small parcel in North Fairlington, now at South 28th Street.

Ball-Sellers House

Glencarlyn

The Glencarlyn neighborhood features the Ball-Sellers House. It is the oldest building in Arlington County, restored to what it looked like during the colonial era. Step back in time in a home built in the 1740s. Visit for free and see how middle class farmer John Ball, his wife Elizabeth, and their five daughters would have lived in Virginia’s Colonial era.