Colonial Williamsburg, Open-air museum in Williamsburg, United States
Colonial Williamsburg is an open-air museum in Williamsburg, Virginia, recreating colonial life across 301 acres (121 hectares) with reconstructed and restored buildings, workshops, and gardens. The main thoroughfare, Duke of Gloucester Street, runs roughly one mile (1.6 kilometers) through the center, connecting the Capitol at the eastern end with the College of William & Mary to the west.
The settlement became the capital of the Virginia Colony in 1699 and remained the political center until 1780, when the government relocated to Richmond. Restoration work began in the 1920s under the patronage of John D. Rockefeller Jr., who funded the project until his death in 1960.
Costumed interpreters speak in the first person as if still living in the 1770s, discussing politics, work, and daily routines with visitors walking the streets. This approach brings to life the perspectives of different social groups, from landowners to enslaved workers, through direct conversation.
Duke of Gloucester Street and the other historic-area thoroughfares are closed to motorized vehicles during the day, leaving them to pedestrians, cyclists and horse-drawn carriages. The terrain is largely flat, though ravines and streams branch off at the edges. Some buildings and most gardens are open, but residences for employees, donors and city officials are not.
The taverns serve dishes based on 18th-century recipes reconstructed from period cookbooks and household inventories. Guests can dine in the public rooms, which are furnished according to documented examples.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,317 contributors worldwide.
