Charlottesville is an independent city located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The City is named after Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III of England. The area has an incredibly rich history that draws millions of visitors every year to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, Ashlawn-Highlands, home of James Monroe, and Montpelier, home of James Madison as well as the renowned University of Virginia.

As of the 2007 census update, the city proper had a population of 40,750. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, though the two are separate legal entities as an independent City in Virginia. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Charlottesville with Albemarle County and surrounding counties in the MSA for statistical purposes, bringing the total population to near 200,000. In 2004, Charlottesville was ranked the best place to live in the United States in the book Cities Ranked and Rated by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander. Sperling and Sander ranked the cities based on cost of living, climate, and quality of life. Charlottesville is best known as the home of the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson. The city is also known for Jeffersons' Monticello, his renowned mountain-top home which overlooks the City from Monticello mountain.  Tourists and visitors are increasingly attracted to the area's growing wine industry as well as the increasing number of festivals and world class entertainment.  Many celebrities seeking privacy call the area home including John Grisham, Sissy Spacek, the Dave Matthews Band, Jessica Lange, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Chris Daughtry, and Sam Sheppard.

The city is served by four airlines at the  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, Greyhound, and by Amtrak.