Colonial Williamsburg
Walk the streets of Virginia’s 18th-century capital, where the American Revolution was argued in taverns.
Photo: Humberto Moreno · CC BY 2.0
Colonial Williamsburg guide: the Historic Area, the Governor’s Palace and the Capitol, trade shops and interpreters, the Historic Triangle with Jamestown and Yorktown, tickets and tips.
What to expect
From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the capital of the Virginia colony, and Patrick Henry, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson debated here on the road to independence. In 1926, local minister W. A. R. Goodwin persuaded John D. Rockefeller Jr. to fund the restoration of the old town, which grew into the largest living-history museum in the United States.
The Historic Area covers 301 acres around Duke of Gloucester Street, with 88 original 18th-century buildings and hundreds more rebuilt on their old foundations. Costumed interpreters play townspeople, enslaved workers and revolutionaries, and craftspeople work as blacksmiths, coopers and wigmakers using the tools of the time.
The highlights are the Governor’s Palace, the reconstructed Capitol, the Raleigh Tavern and Bruton Parish Church, in use since 1715. At one end of the street, the Wren Building of the College of William & Mary is one of the oldest academic buildings in the country.
The Colonial Parkway links the town with Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, and Yorktown, where the Revolutionary War ended, forming the Historic Triangle.
Colonial Williamsburg: top things to do
- 1The Governor’s Palace
- 2Craftspeople in the trade shops
- 3An evening program at the Capitol
- 4A drive along the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown and Yorktown
Colonial Williamsburg: best time to visit
April–June and September–December; the town is decorated for the holidays in December.
Colonial Williamsburg: insider tips
- Buy a ticket if you want to enter the buildings; strolling the streets is free.
- Check the daily program for talks, music and military drills.
- Allow two or three days to see Jamestown and Yorktown too.
Fees, passes and parking
- Federal park passes such as America the Beautiful are not valid here.
- Walking the streets of the Historic Area is free; a ticket is needed to enter the historic buildings, trade shops and guided programs.
Checked Oct 28, 2026. Official prices
Gas and fast charging nearby
63 gas stations within 20 km
- 1.5 km 7-Eleven
- 1.7 km BP diesel
- 1.7 km Mobil diesel
- 2.3 km Amoco diesel
- 2.3 km Valero
- 2.7 km Exxon
- 2.8 km Tesla Supercharger Fast chargers (Supercharger)
- 3.0 km Greenlots Fast chargers (Shell Recharge Solutions)
OpenStreetMap data, Oct 28, 2026.
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