Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. The population was 45,049 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Albemarle County though the two are separate legal entities. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Charlottesville with Albemarle County for statistical purposes, bringing the total population to 118,398. The city is the heart of the Charlottesville, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson counties. 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 to three U.S. Presidents (Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe), as well as the home of the University of Virginia. The city is also known for Jefferson's Monticello, his renowned mountain-top home which attracts approximately half a million tourists every year. (via Wikipedia)