Best Things to Do in Colonial Williamsburg

Be sure to check out our Williamsburg Virginia Itinerary (including Jamestown, Yorktown, Charlottesville and Monticello) when planning the best things to do in Colonial Williamsburg!

*Last updated April 16, 2024

How Long to Stay at Colonial Williamsburg

How long really depends if you are also planning to do any of the surrounding areas like Jamestown, Yorktown, Busch Gardens or Water Country USA. You can easily spend a week and have plenty to do. For Colonial Williamsburg, I’d recommend at least two days. One day in Jamestown will cover both the Historic Jamestowne National Park Site and the Jamestown Settlement. With one day in Yorktown, you can cover both the Museum of the American Revolution and the Yorktown Battlefield National Park Site. However, Yorktown is a pretty town with a lot of history, so you could spend more time here if interested.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg is the largest “living history” museum in the world! It spans blocks and employs a number of actors who work to help teach people about colonial times. However, I personally think that they do a great job of making history interesting.

Additionally, Williamsburg is part of the “historic triangle” that includes Jamestown (about a 15 minutes drive ) and Yorktown (about a 30 minute drive). Read below to learn more about some of the different trades, historic figures, buildings and dining that you can do while in Williamsburg.

Finally, please be aware that there is not cost to walk around the streets of Williamsburg. However, you will need a pass to enter into any of the buildings or trade sites.

Historic Trades

Be sure to check out my list of the Top 5 Best Historic Trades in Colonial Williamsburg! There are 23 different trade shops. Additionally, you can visit each to learn more and see how things were made 250 years ago.

If you click on the Colonial Williamsburg Event Planner link and scroll down to the “map and program guide”, you will see a list of all the trades as only certain trades are only open on a given day. Additionally, it includes a map to show where each shop is located.

If you are ambitious, you can do all 23. However, I’d plan to at least pick a few that look interesting.

Nation Builders

The “Nation Builders” include actors that play George Washington, Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and more. Additionally, there are numerous performances where you can listen to them talk about their history. However, you can also just run into them at various areas around town to take a picture or ask some questions.

Dining at Historic Taverns

You don’t have to be a foodie to enjoy a meal at one of the local historic taverns. However, be aware that reservations are strongly suggested for dinner at King’s Arms and Christiana Campbells as they literally book up months in advance. If you don’t get reservations, you can try to check day or week of your visit for any cancelations.

We had lunch at Kings Arms and dinner at Christiana Campbells. Additionally, they do not take reservations for lunch, but we had good luck getting a table at Kings Arms by arriving right when they open at 11am. Both are fairly pricy and you are paying for the atmosphere, which includes candlelight and music performers. Regarding food, King’s Arms is more steakhouse and Christiana Campbells is more seafood, but both have additional food choices.

Lastly, there is Chowing’s Tavern, which was closed for a few years for renovations. However, they have recently reopened with very limited days and hours so we did not make it during our visit.

Governors Palace

If you only do one building tour during your visit, it has to be the Governor’s Palace. The Governor’s Palace is a grand building featuring grand halls and walls decorated with muskets and swords. Guided Tours are given every 10 minutes.

Additionally, the cook trade house is located on the Governor Palace Grounds. Also, behind the palace is a larger garden with numerous spring flowers. Finally, behind the garden is the Governor’s Palace Stage, which hosts presentations from nation builders. Some of these include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.

Next to the stage is a garden maze, which the kids absolutely loved. Also, feel free to let them run around while you take a seat outside waiting for them to find the exit.

Finally, next to the garden maze is a large pond. Even during a busy spring break week, the pond area was tranquil. Additionally, we saw numerous wildlife including geese, turtles and a few snakes were evening out sunning themselves. We found the natural landscape was a nice alternative to the history of Williamsburg.

Capitol Building

After the Governors Palace, the Capitol Building is the next largest and most distinguished building. It is located on the opposite east side of Colonial Williamsburg. Guided tours are offered from 9am-5pm and it is definitely worth visiting to hear the history of the House of Burgesses.

Near the capitol building is the jail building, the trade shop for the gunsmith, the Presbyterian Meetinghouse and Christiana Campbells Tavern.

Raleigh Tavern

The Raleigh Tavern has guided tours every 15 minutes, which covers the history of the tavern and it’s place as a meeting site during the American Revolution.

Behind the tavern is the Raleigh Tavern Bakery, which has drinks and bakery items for sale.

Additionally, on certain days, there is a street theater performance “A Way Forward“, check the link for days and times. I thought it was an interesting performance as one of the actors mentioned the Boston massacre. Additionally, another pointed out that these people likely didn’t know anyone from Boston, yet there was a sense of unity between the events that happened in the colonies.

Peyton Randolph House

Peyton Randolph was speaker of the House of Burgesses and president of the first and second Continental Congress.

Tours of the Peyton Randolph House run every 15 minutes, but can have a longer wait as the group size is small and can fill up quickly. The tour includes both the house and the surrounding slave quarters, giving insights into both the wealthy Randolph family as well as the enslaved people who lived on the property.

George Wythe House

George Wythe was a prominent citizen of Williamsburg at the time of the revolution. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a mentor to Thomas Jefferson.

At the George Wythe House, you can take a self-guided tour and explore both the house and the gardens at your own pace. Additionally, the cooper trade site is located on the grounds.

Courthouse

The Courthouse is located prominently along Duke of Gloucester St in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg. About 4 times per day, there is a court hearing “Order in the Court“, that you can attend. Additionally, our kids really enjoyed the show. Also, they ask for volunteers and they have both speaking parts available for the older kids, or you can be part of the jury and sit up front, which is great for younger kids.

Magazine and Market House

During our visit, the Magazine (which houses the ammunition) was closed for renovations. Each day at noon, just outside the magazine, there is a firing of the cannon through a demonstration.

Next to the Magazine is the Market House. Here, you can visit the outdoor shops selling toys and other goods.

Bruton Parish Episcopal Church

The Bruton Parish Episcopal Church is an active church and holds services weekly. During non-service times, you can tour the church and suggested donations are $1 per person.

You can’t miss it as it is the most prominent church in Colonial Williamsburg on the corner of Palace Green and Duke of Gloucester Street. Inside, they have marked the boxes with names of those who have worshiped here, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry.

Art Museums

The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg include two museums in one building, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. In addition to paintings of the era, there are also period clothing, furniture, clocks, toys, tools and more to experience.

There is a lot to see, but with young kids, we spent about 90 minutes to 2 hours exploring the museums. Additionally, there are some kids craft/art areas that kids are sure to enjoy.

Visitor Center and a Walk back in Time

The Visitor Center is the primary parking lot for most visitors. Here, you can buy tickets or pick up pre-purchased tickets. However, be aware that if you purchased the historic triangle pass, you must pick it up at Williamsburg before using it anywhere else. It is 7 days at the 5 sites: Williamsburg, Historic Jamestowne, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield and the Museum of the American Revolution.

Additionally, there is a bus that travels clockwise around Colonial Williamsburg or you can walk to from the visitor center to the historic area. It is about a half mile to the Governors Palace. You will likely do a lot of walking, but it can be fun to cross the bridge and read the markers that describe when events happened in US history.

Story of a Patriot Movie

The movie “Story of a Patriot” was a groundbreaking film, produced by Paramount in 1956 and began showing in 1957. Showing continuously for nearly 70 years, it is the longest running film in history and has been seen by tens of millions of viewers. However, if your kids are like mine, they may not think it holds up to the modern entertainment they are used to these days. Also, my kids complained that the colonial accents can make it a little difficult to understand as well.

Additionally, if you are looking to save some time during your visit, you can watch the Story of a Patriot on YouTube (link below) before you arrive and it will give a little context before your visit. And if everyone really loves it, you can re-watch it when you arrive at the visitor center.

Shops

There are historic shops throughout Colonial Williamsburg. We stopped and Tarpley, Thompson & Company, which is the premier shop if you are looking to bring home a period dress or tri-corner hat. Additionally, the William Pitt Merchant sells kids toys and the worker there would give a demonstration on how to use the flint and steel, which is also available for purchase.

Carriage Rides

While you are at Williamsburg, you are likely to see the horse drawn carriages going down Duke of Gloucester, the main street. However, be aware that there are a limited number of rides available and the Williamsburg Inn guests get priority booking. Additionally, on busy weeks, the Inn guests may have sold so that no rides are available.

Tickets are sold each morning for that day, both in the main visitor center and the Lumber House Ticket Office. However, the visitor center opens at 8:45 and the Lumber House opens at 9:00, so if you really want to try and get tickets, arrive early to the visitor center for the best chance to get tickets.

Additional Tours

There are additional tours that you can purchase, so be sure to check the events page to see exactly what is offered. One popular tour that is offered regularly is the Stables Behind the Scenes Tour. It is an additional $8 fee per person for a 1 hour tour to see the stable, horses and carriages used in the carriage rides.

It was an interesting tour. However, unless you are really interested in equestrian details, you may want to focus your time on the things already included in your ticket price.

Evening Programs

There are two evening programs, which are also an additional fee and both take place in the Capitol building two nights each. However, whether you are more into witches or pirates, you can choose between “Cry Witch” and “To Hang a Pirate“. Tickets run $19 per person and you can help decide the court outcome. However, we did not do either program as we had some young kids and the programs are both recommended for ages 13 and up. However, if you have younger kids, I definitely recommend going to “Order in the Court” offered a few times per day at the Courthouse (included in CW admission).

College of William and Mary

Our kids are still young enough that college is a while away. However, with older kids, I would definitely take a college tour of the campus of William and Mary. The campus beings just past the “merchants square”, the modern shops and restaurants just west of Colonial Williamsburg.

The Historic Triangle, Jamestown and Yorktown

The Historic Triangle, in addition to Williamsburg, includes Jamestown and Yorktown. Colonial Williamsburg offer a “Historic Triangle” pass, which includes 7 days to visit 5 sites: Colonial Williamsburg, Historic Jamestowne, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield and the Museum of the American Revolution.

Additionally, we used the pass over 4 full days and found it to be a nice option to have the flexibility to go to different sites. If you are going to go 3 days or less, you may be better just buying passes individually.

Busch Gardens and Water Country USA

We did not visit Busch Gardens on this trip as we wanted to focus our time on the historic area and we have Kings Island season passes at home in Cincinnati. Additionally, Water Country USA was still closed when we went during spring break. I’m sure kids would love both places so perhaps we will visit next time we are back in the area.

Conclusion

We had a great visit during our time in spring break! Additionally, the weather was really nice in early April, which I definitely prefer over the sweltering temperatures of summer. The kids complained that I was making them “learn” on their spring break, but I know that they will appreciate that they have experienced these sites when they learn about them in school.

Finally, I’ve included a skit I thought was funny from Saturday Night Live’s take on Colonial Williamsburg. Just a warning, it does include some minor adult language.

I hope you enjoy you trip to Colonial Williamsburg and if you have any question, please feel free to reach out!