A City Guide to Historic Attractions and Lodging In and Around Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg

Restored City

The Williamsburg Triangle brings history to life as it leads you down the quaint streets of Colonial Williamsburg, introduces you to soldiers fighting in the Battle at Yorktown and lets you try your hand at canoe-scraping and net-weaving in Jamestown. History-lovers, as well as those who would enjoy an escape from the rush and worry of modern life, will thoroughly enjoy being immersed in a setting that evokes the simple, yet dramatic, beginnings of our country.

Begin your tour of this historic corner of Virginia at America's first permanent English colony, the Jamestown Settlement. Historical interpreters sporting fashions from the 1600s wander the streets recounting stories and sharing tidbits of information on daily colonial life in Virginia. Visit a recreated colonial fort and practice carpentry skills, or challenge a friend to a game of ninepins. Spend some time at the Powhatan Native American Village to scrape a deer hide or make pottery, and hear about the Native Americans' way of life and first contacts with the English. The Riverfront Discovery Area offers an opportunity to help make a canoe or a net the 15th-century way, or climb aboard a replica of one of three ships that came from England in 1607, where you will help raise the sail.

Continue your historic tour at the Yorktown Victory Center and site of the Battle of Yorktown. At the battle site, you will see the spot where, in October 1781, General Cornwallis officially surrendered to General George Washington, altering history and signaling the end of the Revolutionary War. Take a walking tour of the site of the famous Siege, and witness renderings of the battle. At the Yorktown Victory Center, visit a Continental Army encampment, where you will observe how soldiers' wounds were treated 225 years ago, and hear stories of ships lost in the battle. In Yorktown, help collect a bountiful harvest from a 1780 Farm Garden. At "A Children's Kaleidoscope," kids of all ages don the fashions of the Revolutionary War Period, such as the tri-corner hat and red coat of the British soldier.

The third point of the Williamsburg Triangle area is Colonial Williamsburg, with 500 colonial-style buildings and 3500 professionals (researchers, historians, interpreters and archeologists) who are there to help you experience colonial life. With its five indoor museums, such as the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and Bassett Hall, Colonial Williamsburg is a treasure trove of art, ceramics, weapons and silver from the Revolutionary War and Colonial Period.

For an unforgettable dinner theatre experience, visit Rosie Rumpe's Regal Dumpe, a 16th-century London pub, where the rough and tumble cast encourages visitors to behave just as rowdily. After dinner, take a candlelit walk with a Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown group tour, where you will hear about the area's ghosts and spirits, a witch trial and the Pirate Blackbeard.

If you are looking for a unique and unforgettable holiday experience, autumn and the Christmas season both offer special festivals, celebrations and activities. Fall is a special time in the Williamsburg area, as the anniversary of the Siege on Yorktown occurs in October. The 1726 Berkeley Plantation, in nearby Charles City (just outside Williamsburg), offers a Thanksgiving celebration, celebrating its claim as the site of the first American Thanksgiving dinner. During December, Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg each offer a glimpse into the preparation for, and celebration of, the holiday season with candles, fireworks and music. Williamsburg hosts a special New Year's Eve celebration.

The Williamsburg area hosts a variety of lodging choices for your stay. The Ramada Inn 1776, designed like a colonial mansion, is an attraction of its own, with 42 acres of ponds and gaming facilities, including volleyball, horseshoes, tennis and swimming pools. For a site near shopping and restaurants, the Comfort Inn Outlet Center, Comfort Inn Central and the Ramada Limited Historic Hotel are optimal choices, while the Quality Suites and Best Western Williamsburg Westpark offer a myriad of modern amenities and award-winning service.

If history has always appeared to you as something only from a textbook or television documentary, come to the Williamsburg historic triangle to experience it firsthand. See what it was like to be one of the first English people to step off a boat in 1607, attend the Battle of Yorktown and feel the thunder of Revolutionary War victory and stroll through the colonial village of Williamsburg. The Williamsburg area is the next best thing to a trip in a time machine!