Manassas

Manassas is a small city in northern Virginia with a strong Civil War presence. The First Battle of Bull Run was fought nearby.

Get in

By train

See also: Rail travel in the United States

• 1 Manassas station, 9431 West St (In downtown). (updated Jan 2020) Train operators:
  • Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates trains throughout the United States of America. (updated Dec 2020) Routes stopping in Manassas:
    • Cardinal operating three trips weekly between Chicago and New York City with stops in Dyer, Rensselaer, Lafayette, Crawfordsville, Indianapolis, Connersville, Cincinnati, Ashland, Huntington, Charleston, Hinton, White Sulphur Springs, Staunton, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Trenton, and Newark.
    • Crescent between New Orleans and New York City via Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C.
    • Northeast Regional is Amtrak's busiest regional service, connecting Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the many towns and cities in-between. Toward the east end of the route, some trips terminate at Springfield instead of Boston. Some services also continue south into Virginia towards Newport News, Roanoke and Norfolk on three separate branch routes from Alexandria. Manassas is on the branch to and from Roanoke.
  • Virginia Railway Express
    • Operating weekday commute trains to and from Washington, D.C.

By bus

• BestBus, ☏ +1 202 332-2691, toll-free: +1-888-888-3269. Operates service to/from Penn Station in New York City; Pickup/dropoff at commuter lot on Cushing Road by Omniride-PRTC stop. Buses offer free Wi-Fi, electrical outlets, and free water. $25-50. (updated Apr 2017)
• Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission. Operates commuter bus service from Washington DC. (updated Apr 2017)

By plane

• 2 Manassas Regional Airport (MNZ  ^IATA). General aviation but no scheduled flights  

Get around

Manassas is mainly served by I-66, U.S. 29, Virginia State Route 234 Business and Virginia State Route 28, which runs through the City's historic downtown. PRTC Transit operates a limited regional bus system.

Sudley Road (Route 234 Business) runs North/South through Manassas; it is the main shopping artery of the city.

See

• 1 Old Town Manassas.  
• 2 Manassas National Battlefield Park, ☏ +1 703 361-1339 ext 0. Dawn-dusk. Visitor centerː 8:30AM-5PM daily. Two major Civil War battlefields. Walking and driving tours of First and Second Manassas battlefields are available. Free, donations. (updated Feb 2020)

Do

• Splashdown Waterpark, ☏ +1 703 792-8200. 
• Ice Skating @ Harris Pavillion, 9201 Center Street (Old Town Manassas), ☏ +1 703-257-8453. Closed M Tu, W Th 3-8PM, F 3-10PM, Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-5PM. Adult $8, child $7, skate rental $5. (updated May 2017)
• Magic Putting Place, 8902 Mathis Ave, ☏ +1 703 257-7888, info@magicputtingplace.com. Two 18-hole miniature golf courses. (updated Jan 2024)
• Golf: lots of courses, but the premier is Robert Trent Jones GC on the lakeside in Gainesville. The Solheim Cup is played here 13-15 Sept 2024 - the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, USA versus Europe.

Buy

• 1 Manassas Mall, 8300 Sudley Rd, ☏ +1 703 368-0181. M-Sa 10AM-9PM, Su 10AM-6PM. Features many major clothing stores. 
• 2 J.E. Rice True Value Hardware, 9124 Mathis Ave, ☏ +1 703 361-3141. A traditional hardware store in business since 1936. 

Eat

Manassas is fairly close to Washington DC, so there's a decent selection of minority ethnic restaurants in addition to regular fare. In addition, many chains are represented in Manassas including Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, Golden Corral, Great American Steak and Buffet, Red, Hot and Blue, Hooters, Logan's Roadhouse, and local favorite Five Guys hamburgers. Manassas is also known locally for its unusually high number of 7/11 convenience stores per capita. This includes two on Sudley Road that are inexplicably right next door to each other. Local favorites are concentrated in the historic Downtown. The city of Manassas has a meals tax.

• 1 City Tavern Grille, 9550 Center St, ☏ +1 703 330-0076. (updated Aug 2017)
• 2 Foster's Grill, 9417 West St (Old Town), ☏ +1 703 257-7272. (updated Aug 2017)
• 3 Tony's New York Pizza, 9108 Mathis Avenue, ☏ +1 703-330-8909. A Napoli family-run Italian restaurant, with undoubtedly the best pizza, salads, pastas in the area (updated Aug 2017)
• 4 Tom's Diner, 9003 Centreville Rd, ☏ +1 (703) 361-7474. Small American diner food restaurant. Great local alternative to IHOP. (updated Apr 2018)
• 5 Nathan's Dairy Bar, 8948 Mathis Ave, ☏ +1 703 335-9051. Su-Th 11AM-10PM; F Sa 11AM-11PM. Extremely popular ice cream parlor. (updated Aug 2017)

Drink

• 1 Aroma Wine Tasting Room, 9249 Center St, ☏ +1 540-935-8320. (updated Aug 2017)
• 2 BadWolf Brewing Company, 9776 Center St, ☏ +1 571-208-1064. Beer is brewed on site on a 1 barrel system. The taproom offers pints, samples and growlers of beer to go. (updated Aug 2017)

Sleep

• 1 Best Western Manassas, 8640 Mathis Avenue, ☏ +1 703-368-7070. (updated Aug 2017)
• 2 Courtyard Manassas Battlefield Park, 10701 Battleview Parkway, ☏ +1 703-335-1300. (updated Aug 2017)

Go next

• Centreville: don't go there next, go there at the same time. With Centreville road (SR 28) connecting Centreville and Manassas, they're almost two different parts of the same city.

Routes through Manassas

Charleston ← Culpeper ←	W  E	→ Alexandria → Washington, D.C.
Lynchburg ← Culpeper ←	S/SW  N/NE	→ Alexandria → Washington, D.C.
Middletown ← Front Royal ←	W  E	→ Centreville → Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. ← Centreville ←	N  S	→ Culpeper → Charlottesville
END ← Bristow ←	W  E	→ Burke → Washington, D.C.