Living-history museum presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, includes several hundred restored or re-created buildings from when the city was the capital of Colonial Virginia
General Information
Hours may extend during peak seasons and special events
Individual trades, tours, and sites may have varying schedules
Youth (6–17): Reduced rate
Children 5 and under: Free
Multi-day and combo tickets available
How to Get There
From Williamsburg, VA: Travel toward Duke of Gloucester Street in the historic district, follow signage for the Historic Area, and access parking at one of the designated visitor lots before walking into the site.
Overview
Colonial Williamsburg is a 301-acre living-history museum recreating Virginia's colonial capital as it looked in the 18th century. Costumed interpreters live, work, and talk as colonists did, in a historic area built around Duke of Gloucester Street and the Palace Green, which are closed to cars in favor of pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages. Restoration began in the late 1920s with backing from John D. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the site is now anchored by the Historic Triangle alongside Jamestown and Yorktown.
Notable original buildings include the Courthouse, George Wythe House, Peyton Randolph House, the Magazine, and the still-active Bruton Parish Church; the Capitol, Governor's Palace, and Raleigh Tavern are careful reconstructions. Walking the historic area is free at any hour — you only pay to enter the buildings, watch craft demonstrations, or attend scheduled performances.
Things to Do
Tour the Landmark Buildings
Step inside the Capitol, Governor's Palace, and original colonial homes like the Peyton Randolph and Wythe Houses, plus public buildings such as the Courthouse and the old Public Gaol, once home to members of Blackbeard's crew.
Watch the Trade Shops at Work
Working craftsmen demonstrate 18th-century trades throughout the historic area, including a printer, blacksmith, cooper, cabinetmaker, gunsmith, wigmaker, and silversmith.
Catch a Revolutionary City Performance
Outdoor street theater brings key moments of the Revolution to life along Duke of Gloucester Street on a set schedule.
Browse Merchants Square and the Art Museums
This Colonial Revival shopping district borders the historic area and sits near the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, both run by Colonial Williamsburg.
Visit for the Grand Illumination
Each year on the first Sunday of December, the historic area's Christmas lights are lit simultaneously in a fireworks-capped ceremony dating back to 1935 — one of the best times of year to visit.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Colonial Williamsburg", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
