Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, United States

4rrlbag 5:00 PM Jun 29, 2022

Informative Tour
With one exception, guides and docents were very well-spoken at both Colonial Williamsburg and the art museums. However, at one stop, the tour guide lectured the visitors rather than informed them. The visitors' center ticket agent was helpful, but the volunteer at the information desk seemed uninformed, ironically. Parking was $10/day ($2/hour after the free first 2 hours) if you opt not to ride the shuttle bus or hike from the visitors' center to the historic sites. The walk through the historic sites and shops can be exhausting on a hot day so we recommend parking near the boundary of the colonial district or riding the shuttle. Some of the historic sites were not open, as there is a rotating schedule. Also, it should be noted that many of the buildings are reproductions added to give a better depiction of area in the 18th century. Some of these buildings are not seen in the art museum film which illustrates with actual footage of the contrast between the Duke of Gloucester Street in 1930, before the restoration of the area, and present-day. The buildings and reproductions are in good order; particularly impressive were the Royal Governor's Palace and the Capitol. There were not enough signs marking where cold drinks could be purchased on a hot day, and at one marked site, the machines were out of order.

4MJKing1982 5:00 PM May 12, 2022

Great day for the entire family
We visited Colonial Williamsburg May 6, 2022. Everyone in the family enjoyed themselves thoroughly (ages 8 – 40). All of the facilities are in good repair and all of the staff / craftsmen were friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging. If you haven’t been, it is essentially an open air museum, with each (most) buildings acting as exhibits and a number of historians, volunteers, and craftsmen prepositioned in period dress to answer questions and demonstrate the use of 18th century tools. There are also historical engagements sprinkled throughout the day where famous people (e.g. George Washington) will make speeches or otherwise engage with the ‘towns folk.’ There is an art museum on the grounds, and also several specialty events you can purchase tickets for – but these are not cheap. If weather is poor, or you have mobility issues, your ticket includes access to the shuttle service which essentially makes a loop around the grounds stopping fairly frequently. Tickets are not inexpensive, so I recommend you plan to spend at least half a day. Bring weather appropriate clothing as you are outdoors quite a bit. If you plan to make a whole day of it (which you could easily do) then plan to spend A LOT of money on any food you purchase – or have a plan to go offsite and come back (easily done). And I mean way offsite. The restaurants within walking distance are all very pricey.