Many vacationers plan to visit Colonial Williamsburg to see the charming houses, formal gardens, and natural settings that are highly rated by family and friends who have visited previously. Families want their children to see costumed characters and hear the interpreters talk about the importance of the American Revolution. Patriots like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and everyday people from the past will stop along the streets to answer questions about their decisions to side with the revolutionary cause or leave.
No matter what the reason for planning a visit, be sure you plan to stay more than one day. There is a lot to see and do, so those who purchase a one-day tickets will be disappointed if not forewarned. There are many other museums, amusement parks, outdoor recreation parks, and ecotourism opportunities in the region, so you can intersperse them with time spent in Virginia’s colonial capital city.
If staying for one day or one week, however, first-time visitors to Colonial Williamsburg will find themselves joining the ranks of the average visitor who comes to Colonial Williamsburg more than five times in his or her lifetime.
Go to the Visitors Center
Signs point visitors to this spot to purchase a ticket and see an orientation film. Because of the size and number of buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, this is important. Take a copy of the free map and schedule of events and spend a few minutes absorbing the information before taking off. You can walk to Colonial Williamsburg’s restored town or you can take a bus. Walk if possible. It is only a short distance and the effect of walking back in time is a pleasant experience.
Visit the Capitol
The Virginia Capitol building at Williamsburg should be among the first places you visit in order to ground yourself in the issues of the pre-Revolutionary times that are on display. (After the Revolution, Richmond became the capital city of Virginia.) You will learn about the formation of American government with its checks and balances meant to ensure against tyranny. You can imagine how the Virginia Burgesses spoke out for the rights of the people. The American experience was forming a free, democratic, and liberal population that was different from any that had ever gone before.
Watch Revolutionary City
During the Revolutionary City reenactment, ticketed visitors are allowed into an area of the city where the theater stage is the street. Patriots will gallop in on horseback. They will wage a war of words from the steps of homes and businesses. Ordinary citizens and enslaved people will enter the street to talk about how the revolutionary spirit is impacting them personally.
Visit Trade Shops
The shops will guide you in understanding more about the late 18th-century world. What was it like to go to the doctor or buy a new dress in the days before modern medicine, fast transportation, and electricity? Buy a hat and recall that women didn’t want to look tanned by the sun! They preferred pale skin with a touch of rose color applied to the cheek. Only common women looked ruddy and tanned. Notice the shoes that were handmade. Find out what medical cures you would have had to endure if you had an upset stomach.
Remember what you learn and ask the costumed characters you see in the street if they’ve had a tooth pulled or how many gowns women own. Ask when they last received a letter or read a newspaper.
Visit Houses
The Governor’s Palace was the finest home in Virginia at the time it was built. Peyton Randolph and George Wythe had fine houses too. Ask about their landholdings outside the city limits. The Powell’s house was simpler. Notice the way furniture is arranged to take advantage of heat from the fireplace or breeze in the winter. Where did they put their Christmas tree? The last question is a trick! When visiting during the holidays, find out that the the eighteenth-century Christmas season wasn't nearly as extravagant as today’s celebration.
Where did they buy food and where was it prepared? Just follow your nose and you’ll see meals being prepared in kitchens separate from the house due to the heat they produced and the chance of fire spreading to the home. In the Governor’s Palace kitchen, culinary historians are making chocolate and pie. The meals they prepare are grand. In other kitchens, cooks make beer and cider. At the Powell house, you can see the close relationship between the garden where vegetables are grown, the kitchen where food is cooked, and the dining room table where it is served.
March with the Fifes and Drums
Almost every day draws to a close at Colonial Williamsburg with the parading of the young men of the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums. Their parades are especially popular during Grand Illumination and the holidays. The military musicians will lead you to Market Square, where reenactors fire cannons and interpreters explain the role of the military and corpsmen in the life of the times.
Return home to appreciate times past and the revolutionary spirit that prevails in the United States of American today.
Are you a history-loving eco-tourist? Bring you bike to Williamsburg. See the town on two wheels or go kayaking with a local author
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