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Your Ticket to Colonial Williamsburg
When you stay at King’s Creek in Williamsburg, Virginia, you have access to a spectrum of unique experiences—from thrilling rides at an award-winning theme park to the chance to step back in time at the country’s largest living history museum. In Colonial Williamsburg, a 300-acre American history museum, there is so much to see, do, and discover. Here is what’s included with your ticket to Colonial Williamsburg to this living-history experience.
This is truly one of the most incredible offerings at Colonial Williamsburg (especially if you’re DIY-obsessed). Visitors can experience craftsmanship in more than 20 historic American trades, where actual modern-day practitioners use and master 18th-century tools and techniques in blacksmithing, woodworking or gunsmithing, just to name a few. It’s truly incredible to witness firsthand the skills needed to survive and thrive in early America.
Meet world-renowned experts who not only make goods and provide services to the Historic Area, but also consult and produce for other cultural institutions around the world. Your admission ticket grants you access to the shops and yards, where you can visit, ask questions and observe truly mesmerizing work. You won’t find a trades community with so many experts in one place anywhere else in the world!
The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg are open daily, and guests can now enjoy the newly expanded and updated exhibits and amenities including the Museum Store and Café. Visitors can browse colorful and whimsical folk art made by amateur artisans in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum or the useful, beautiful objects in the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. Check out the July program schedule here!
The Nation Builders of Colonial Williamsburg portray actual historic figures associated with 18th-century Williamsburg. These citizens made significant contributions to the American story. Some are names you’ve heard many times, like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but others who deserve a spotlight are also among the Nation Builders—for example, Edith Cumbo, a free Black woman living in Williamsburg in the late 1770s who represents the challenges free Black people faced at the dawn of the American Revolution. Meet a Nation Builder during your visit who helped shape their time, and whose legacy continues to influence and inspire American ideals.
In addition to programs on the events calendar, various Nation Builders can be found throughout the Historic Area, so you never know who you’re going to meet as you stroll the streets of Colonial Williamsburg! Make use of the Colonial Williamsburg Explorer App to find Nation Builders during your trip!
Coming this fall, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is making history by adding the first American Indian historical figure to its iconic Nation Builder program. Learn more here.
If you love horticulture, Colonial Williamsburg’s Arboretum and 18th-century gardens can’t be missed. This Level 2 Certified Arboretum is an inspiration to amateur gardeners and horticulturists alike, featuring 25 period species of oak trees and more than 30 historic gardens. The Arboretum is home to 20 Virginia state champion trees and two national champion trees—the jujube and the Paper Mulberry.
From flowering backyard pleasure gardens to the grand Governor’s Palace Gardens and Grounds, these incredible gardens aren’t just pleasing to the eye—they can offer insight into the ways colonists lived and worked as a community. Ongoing research and new archaeological techniques continue to improve understanding of 18th-century Williamsburg gardens, which is reflected in the design and interpretation guests can enjoy and learn from throughout the year.
Tour Seats of Government
Tours of historic buildings are always going on in Colonial Williamsburg. Walk the halls at the Capitol, where the colony’s representatives struggled with the British governor over the meaning of American liberty. Excellent tour guides bring history to life and let you rediscover the founding principles of our government and your rights and responsibilities as citizens of a new republic.
Come experience the grandeur of royal authority in Virginia just before its collapse in the Revolution. The Governor’s Palace, home to seven royal governors and the first two elected governors in Virginia, was built to impress visitors with a display of authority and wealth. The grounds are just as impressive as the building itself, with outdoor period concerts going on throughout the year.
From outdoor theater experiences that tell the stories of complex social, political and economic realities of the 18th-century to live chamber music performances and seasonal events, guests get the unique pleasure of seeing history acted out right before their eyes in Colonial Williamsburg.
What Else?
If you’re looking for a hands-on historic experience, get into the spirit of 1776 at the Colonial Williamsburg musket range. Fire a Flintlock Musket allows participants to fire live rounds at a target from two different reproduction 18th-century flintlock firearms commonly used during the Revolutionary War, and learn about the history of the weapons. Learn more here!
Foodies will love the learning and dining opportunities offered as well. Visit colonial kitchens, taverns, and coffee houses on your trip. We promise you’ll leave with a happy brain and stomach!
Carriage and wagon rides were the transit of the day, and you can enjoy a leisurely ride through the Historic Area by horse-drawn carriage. Step back in time and surround yourself with the sights and sounds of our unique city, far removed from the bustle of modern-day streets.
The fun doesn’t end when the sun goes down! Take a spooky ghost tour or enjoy all of the fun without the fright on Haunted Williamsburg or Ghost Walk Junior, the official ghost tours of Colonial Williamsburg. Plus, enjoy other seasonal storytelling and staged experiences!
We hope you have the chance to try many of these awesome experiences included in your ticket to Colonial Williamsburg. Let us know your favorite in the comments below!