Hotels in Fairfax

Fairfax is a small independent city in Northern Virginia, the historic seat of the much larger Fairfax County that surrounds it, sitting roughly fifteen miles west of Washington, DC. Its compact Old Town keeps a genuine brick-and-courthouse core, where the old Fairfax Court House saw an early Civil War skirmish and, in 1863, Confederate raider John Mosby's capture of a Union general asleep in his bed. George Mason University sits just south of the city line and gives the area a steady flow of students, visiting academics and campus events.

Be honest: beyond the historic blocks, Fairfax is classic DC suburbia, with strip malls, wide arterial roads and serious rush-hour traffic on Route 50, Route 29 and I-66, so most visitors will want a car. Washington Dulles International Airport is a manageable drive away, which makes the city a practical, usually calmer base than staying inside the Beltway. Stay near Old Town for walkable restaurants and character, or closer to the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station if you plan daily trips into DC.