Virginia Film Festival 2026: Where to Stay and Dine

The Virginia Film Festival runs October 21 through 25, 2026, in Charlottesville, and the city's autumn calendar is built around it. If you are coming from the DC metro, the practical question is where to sleep and where to eat between screenings; this guide lays out what is known and what to confirm before you go.

Quick Facts

• Event: Virginia Film Festival
• Dates: Wednesday, October 21 through Sunday, October 25, 2026
• Where: Charlottesville, Virginia
• Format: An annual autumn festival run in partnership with the University of Virginia, screening features, documentaries and more
• Festival office phone: (434) 982-5277

What the Festival Is

The Virginia Film Festival is an annual autumn event produced in partnership with the University of Virginia. It screens feature films and documentaries across several days, and it turns a quiet October week in Charlottesville into a proper cultural weekend. For specific titles, guests and ticket tiers, go to the festival's own site at virginiafilmfestival.org; screening schedules are not something to rely on secondhand, and this guide does not list them.

Where to Stay

One lodging signal is worth noting. Foxfield Inn has been promoting rooms for the festival dates and encouraging guests to book now and stroll the historic Downtown Mall. That detail comes from the inn's own promotion and is unverified on our end, so confirm availability and rates directly. The general advice holds regardless of where you land: festival weeks fill rooms, and booking early is simply sensible rather than urgent.

Dinner Between Screenings

For a sit-down meal, Fleurie Restaurant is a contemporary French dining room on 3rd Street just off the Downtown Mall, with an elegant setting and a deep wine list. Its listed hours are dinner service Tuesday through Thursday from 5:00 until 9:00 and Friday and Saturday from 5:00 until 10:00; it is closed Sunday and Monday. Because the festival ends on a Sunday, plan a Sunday dinner elsewhere.

For something looser, The Alley Light is a speakeasy-style restaurant and cocktail bar tucked in an alley off 2nd Street, serving French-leaning small plates. Its listed hours run from 5:00 in the evening, Wednesday through Sunday, and it is closed Monday and Tuesday, which makes it one of the few options for the festival's final Sunday night.

Make a Day of It

• Walk the Downtown Mall between screenings; the lodging promotion specifically points guests there.
• Book dinner before you buy film tickets, since evening screenings and dinner reservations compete for the same hours.
• Leave a gap in the schedule rather than stacking every slot; the point of a festival weekend is to linger.

Planning Your Visit

• Festival: Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA. Website: virginiafilmfestival.org. Phone: (434) 982-5277. Office hours listed: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Fleurie Restaurant: 3rd Street off the Downtown Mall, Charlottesville. Phone: (434) 971-7800. Website: fleurierestaurant.com. Tuesday through Thursday 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday.
• The Alley Light: Alley off 2nd Street, Charlottesville. Phone: (434) 296-5003. Website: alleylight.com. Wednesday through Sunday from 5:00 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday.