America's Most Beautiful College Campuses

University of Virginia: Charlottesville, VA

How’s this for honors? UVA is the only university in the U.S. to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site—and Thomas Jefferson chose its founding to be one of only three of his many accomplishments noted on his gravestone (being president wasn’t among them). Jefferson designed the campus’s since-copied layout and even hired its initial faculty and planned the curriculum.

Photo-op: The Neoclassical domed Rotunda, modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.

To-Do List: The Small Special Collections Library showcases the most comprehensive collection of letters, documents, and early printings of the Declaration of Independence. —Ratha Tep