Historic Old Town on the Potomac, Metrorail into Washington, and neighborhoods from Del Ray to the West End.
01 — At a Glance
Alexandria is an independent city in Virginia on the western bank of the Potomac River, bordering Washington, D.C. to the northeast. The 2020 census counted 159,467 people, and the July 1, 2025 estimate is 160,662. The city profile gives a total area of 15.35 square miles, with 14.93 square miles of land. The city was founded in 1749, incorporated as a town in 1779, re-chartered as a city in 1852, and became independent of Alexandria County in 1870.
Large portions of neighboring Fairfax County carry Alexandria mailing addresses and remain in the county. Belle Haven, Mount Vernon, Fort Hunt, Huntington, and Kingstowne are among the places named that way. This guide is about the independent city, and a buyer can say on the form when a search should also look at those mailing-address communities.
Del Ray and St. Elmo grew with the old Town of Potomac, annexed in 1930 along with land out to Quaker Lane and Four Mile Run. Rosemont and North Ridge lie in the North Ridge / Rosemont planning area. Seminary Hill is home to Virginia Theological Seminary. Carlyle and Eisenhower East sit by the Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail station. Potomac Yard, a former rail yard, has a Metrorail station that opened in May 2023, and Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus there opened in January 2025. Alexandria West covers the West End, including Holmes Run Park.
Major employers in the city include the U.S. Department of Defense Mark Center, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the City of Alexandria, Alexandria City Public Schools, and the National Science Foundation. Inova Health System is the largest private employer on that public list. Inova Alexandria Hospital serves the city.
The ZIP prefix 223 identifies the Alexandria postal area. Delivery ZIP Codes include 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314, and 22315. That postal area extends beyond the city limits into Fairfax County.
02 — History
Alexandria was laid out beside a tobacco warehouse on the Potomac in 1749. Along the way the city spent half a century as part of the nation’s capital, staged one of the country’s first sit-ins and turned a torpedo plant into an art center.
1749
County surveyor John West laid out the first 60 acres of the town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, with 17-year-old George Washington helping. Lots went up for auction on July 13 and 14, 1749. The town took its name from Scotsman John Alexander, who’d owned much of the land.
Source: Wikipedia: Alexandria, Virginia
1753
The Old Town Farmers’ Market has run at Market Square since 1753, and the city calls it the oldest farmers’ market in the country held continuously at the same site. George Washington sent produce from Mount Vernon to be sold there. In 1774 he and George Mason met at Market Square to issue the Fairfax Resolves.
Source: City of Alexandria: Old Town Farmers’ Market · Wikipedia
1755
In March 1755, General Edward Braddock arrived with about 1,400 British regulars. At Carlyle House he met with the governors of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York to plan the campaign against the French.
Source: Wikipedia: Alexandria, Virginia
1791–1847
Washington insisted that Alexandria be included in the new federal district, and the first boundary stone of the capital went in at Jones Point in 1791. In September 1846, voters chose to return to Virginia, 763 to 222. Virginia took back the land on March 13, 1847.
Source: Wikipedia: Alexandria, Virginia · National Park Service: Jones Point Lighthouse
1939
On August 28, 1939, Alexandria-born lawyer Samuel W. Tucker organized a sit-in at the city library to protest its segregation policy. It was among the first sit-ins in the country. The Robert Robinson Library opened the next year and is now the Alexandria Black History Museum.
Source: Wikipedia: Alexandria, Virginia
1918–1974
The Navy started building the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station on the waterfront on November 12, 1918, the day after the Armistice. After years as a federal records center, the city bought the buildings in 1969, and City Council approved Marian Van Landingham’s plan for an art center on May 7, 1974.
Planters and merchants petitioned for a port at Hunting Creek Warehouse in 1748, and young George Washington sketched the shoreline to make the case. The House of Burgesses approved the river site on May 2, 1749. Surveyor John West laid out 60 acres with Washington’s help, and the lots sold at auction that July. An early plat called the town “Alexandria now Belhaven,” but Alexandria stuck.
The county court began meeting at Market Square in 1752, and the farmers’ market has run there since 1753. General Braddock met five colonial governors at Carlyle House in 1755. On July 18, 1774, Washington, George Mason and their neighbors gathered at Market Square to issue the Fairfax Resolves, calling for a colonial congress and a boycott of British goods.
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum is made up of a tavern from about 1785 and the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel. It was the center of Alexandria’s social scene in the 18th century. Hannah Griffith ran the smaller tavern from 1794 to at least 1797, a reminder that women ran businesses in the young republic too.
Alexandria joined the new federal district in the 1790s, and the capital’s first boundary marker was set at Jones Point. Half a century later, residents voted 763 to 222 to return to Virginia, and the city was re-chartered in 1852. The lighthouse at Jones Point, built in 1855, guided ships on the Potomac from 1856 to 1926.
Alexandria annexed land to the west in 1915, including Rosemont and the site of Union Station, which opened in 1905. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial opened on Shuter’s Hill in 1932. The Torpedo Station went up on the waterfront starting in 1918, and the 1930 annexation of the town of Potomac brought Del Ray into the city.
In 1946, part of Old Town became the Alexandria Historic District, the third historic district in the United States. An ACPS elementary school now carries Samuel W. Tucker’s name, and the Torpedo Factory has housed artists’ studios since 1974. By its 1983 reopening, 225 artists worked there.
Source: Wikipedia: Alexandria, Virginia · City of Alexandria: Old Town Farmers’ Market · Gadsby’s Tavern Museum · National Park Service: Jones Point Lighthouse · Torpedo Factory Art Center: History
03 — Shopping & Dining
In Alexandria, “downtown” means Old Town, and Old Town means King Street. It runs from the King Street–Old Town Metro station down to the Potomac, and the side streets hold plenty of good restaurants and shops too.
Seasonal American
Chef Anthony Chittum, an Eastern Shore native, cooks seasonal menus built on Mid-Atlantic farmers and watermen. There are two settings with their own menus, good for a weeknight dinner or a special occasion.
1120 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteCountry French bistro
Jean-François and Françoise Chaufour opened this bistro across from Christ Church in September 1983. Their daughter, Anne Claire Fregnan, runs it today.
127 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteNew American, Mediterranean accents
Chef-owner Santiago Lopez’s first restaurant, with house-made ricotta, saffron mussels, lamb shank and lobster pot pie on King Street.
911 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteTuscan Italian
Franco and Noe Landini have served Tuscan-style cooking near the foot of King Street since 1979, and they host private events and small banquets too.
115 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteBrasserie & wine bar
Chefs Christophe and Michelle Poteaux opened this French brasserie in 2006. Expect steak frites, duck, prix fixe menus and a garden patio, two blocks from Braddock Road Metro.
606 N. Fayette St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteOyster bar
“Urban beach food” and a raw bar, served around the D.C. area since 2005. The Old Town location is open seven days a week.
818 N. St. Asaph St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteVintage barware & glassware
One-of-a-kind 20th-century cocktail ware, from decanters and pitchers to vintage shakers.
1015 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteWomen’s fashion & shoes
Elizabeth Todd started The Shoe Hive in a closet-sized space in 2003. Today her shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear share one roof on Cameron Street.
315 Cameron St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteCosmetics, skin & hair care
High-end cosmetics, skin care and hair care chosen by the owner, with color matching and one-on-one makeup lessons. It’s been part of Old Town for more than 25 years.
1000 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit WebsiteSaturdays, year-round, 7 a.m. to noon
The market has run since 1753. While City Hall and Market Square are renovated, it’s set up across the street on the 100 block of N. Royal Street and in the Tavern Square courtyard, rain or shine.
100 block of N. Royal St. & Tavern Square, Alexandria, VA 22314
Visit Website04 — Education
Alexandria City Public Schools serves the whole city, from elementary schools through Alexandria City High School and its campuses. The city is also home to several independent schools, including a boarding school founded in 1839.
Boundaries follow the address. Confirm school assignment for each address with the district before you buy.
Search HomesPublic · PreK–5
Twelve elementary schools plus an Early Childhood Center. The ACPS attendance zone locator shows the assigned schools for any address.
Public · Grades 6–8
Two middle schools for grades 6–8, plus two schools that run from kindergarten or PreK through eighth grade.
Public · Grades 9–12
The city’s public high school runs on two main campuses, King Street and Minnie Howard, plus a satellite campus.
Independent · Boarding
An all-boarding high school for grades 9–12, founded in 1839.
Independent · JK–12
An Episcopal day school with three campuses in Alexandria, serving junior kindergarten through 12th grade.
Independent · More options
Bishop Ireton is a Catholic college-prep high school founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Alexandria Country Day School teaches kindergarten through eighth grade.
05 — Lifestyle
The Potomac sets the rhythm here: the Mount Vernon Trail along the water, Saturday mornings at the market, a show at the Birchmere at night. Here’s where people spend their time.
An 18-mile paved trail along the Potomac from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Theodore Roosevelt Island, running right through Old Town with views of the Washington skyline.
Trail DetailsJust south of Old Town under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, with Virginia’s last riverine lighthouse, the capital’s south cornerstone, fishing piers, playgrounds and an interpretive trail.
Park DetailsA 44-acre preserve in the West End with trails, streams, a lake and a waterfall, protected by the Winkler family in 1979 and run by NOVA Parks.
Preserve DetailsClans in tartan parade through Old Town to honor the city’s Scottish founders, a tradition for more than 50 years. This year’s parade is Saturday, December 5, 2026, along with a holiday boat parade on the Potomac.
Parade DetailsOld Town’s parade for its most famous neighbor is Saturday, February 13, 2027, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The 2027 grand marshal is the First Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line.
Parade DetailsEach July the city throws a free birthday party at Oronoco Bay Park, with live music, cupcakes from City Council, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and fireworks over the river.
Event DetailsBaseball and softball for Alexandria kids, with a spring season, a Friday-night opening ceremony and winter clinics for players 4 to 7.
League WebsiteSeasonal soccer by age group from U4 through U18, plus Redbirds FC club teams that hold tryouts.
Soccer WebsiteThe city’s recreation department runs youth leagues in basketball, softball, soccer, swimming and track, plus the Miracle Baseball League for players of every ability.
Youth SportsThree floors of working artists’ studios on the waterfront at 105 N. Union Street. Walk into any studio with an open door and watch the artists at work.
Art CenterThe self-described “America’s Legendary Music Hall” at 3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, with a full calendar of concerts.
Show CalendarCommunity theater in Old Town at 600 Wolfe Street, with a full season of plays and musicals.
Season & TicketsBlue and Yellow Line trains stop at Potomac Yard, Braddock Road, King Street–Old Town, Eisenhower Avenue and Van Dorn Street. From King Street–Old Town, the King Street Trolley runs to the waterfront every 15 minutes from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Station DetailsAlexandria Union Station, a 1905 brick depot on Callahan Drive in Old Town, is served by Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express commuter trains.
Station OverviewI-95 and I-495 cross the Potomac on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge at the city’s southern edge, and I-395 runs along the west side. The George Washington Memorial Parkway follows Washington Street through Old Town.
Roads OverviewExclusive Client Representation