The largest living museum in the world is Colonial Williamsburg. Original 18th century homes and…read morebuildings (and many reconstructed) line blocks and blocks. There are taverns, a blacksmith, the governor's mansion, and more. With the tours and performances, you can spend the entire day here. You do need a ticket to go inside most of the buildings with the exception of the Bray School and a few others. However, it is free to wander through!

Walking around we came across this & figured why not check it out…read more U can grab tickets through their official site which is easier for the tours inside the building. This was nice, Informative it was a decent way to spend some time learning & checking out the history of this place.

Great tour guides friendly and personal great deals. They know what their talking about with the…read morehistory of Williamsburg enjoyed my self and the ghost tours and staff tremendously

I expect a little more spook than basic stories. It was a nice tour, but definitely not what I…read moreexpected. The stories told weren't even spooky just basic someone died here and now people hear or see things. I guess if your just wanting to find out basic who did where and who maybe haunting places this would be the perfect tour.

Colonial Williamsburg is the perfect place to relive history. Don't worry about what time of year…read moreyou go ... there will always be plenty of people there to share your stay with! The docents in their historic garb doing things we don't do anymore will absolutely blow you away! Don't wait ... go now!

Let's bring this one up to the current:…read more Since my last drivel about the CW Brickyard a lot has changed. First and foremost is their location. Until two years ago they were preverbally down in the hole off of Nicholson Street over by the Cabinetmaker. Now, they are off of Botetourt Street next to the Carpenter (who has only been there a few years from when they got moved due to the closing of Great Hopes Plantation). Why the visit and what's the big deal? It's all about the kiln baby. Why is it worth seeing? Because you simply cannot see bricks fired this way in this country anywhere else except here at this time. Normally once a year, in certain years they have done it twice and at different times but this is normally the pattern, in mid-November they fire up the kiln that they spent approximately five weeks building to solidify the bricks which were made from late-spring to early-autumn. This year, depending on which person you talk to, they're firing around 18-19K. A few thousand will be used at The Magazine for part of a new outer wall they'll do next year (The Magazine is currently closed until '25 for archeology/renovation work), most will be used for the rebuilding of the First Baptist Church - www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/research-and-education/archaeology/first-baptist-church/. Fwiw, if you got the dough, the bricks can flow. Part of the total are 800 for a private individual that is doing an outdoor hearth. Pricing is $5.25 per brick (faint). Also neat is that while all of the CW trades close for the day at 5pm, a random one or two at 4:30pm, during the kiln firing the brickyard stays open until 10pm. Yes, at 10 they very politely ask you to leave and yes, several staff members from different trades stay out all night long for the five days it takes the process to unfold. The staff that work here are arguably the best CW has to offer. Whether it's answering the same question for the millionth time or answering a very technical question from someone who knows something about bricks, they handle it professionally and some with a good sense of smart-ass humor. The rest of the year the brickyard open Wednesday-Sunday from 9am-5pm but if you can swing it, usually, the second week of November for a visit, it will be worth your time. (They also once every so often fire up the oyster shells they have on the property which are then used as mortar for in between the bricks once they're melted down. One of the guys said it was coming "soon" but I forgot to ask when "soon" is.)

take the tour and book with William ! He takes you through not only the folklore but more…read moreimportantly the history which makes it so much better to understand . Even better he personally is familiar and knows some of the family members of the haunted homes from growing up in the area . He's very interactive with his audience and makes the tour very enjoyable. A definite must do while in Williamsburg! Take the evening tour ... you won't regret it ...

I purchased two tickets. My child and I were going to do the WE SHALL OVERCOME TOUR today 12/30/25…read more My child was running a fever the night before so I took them to the nearest hospital. Of course we wouldn't be able to do the tour today as my child is ill. I reached out via email to the company. They informed me no refund would be given per their policy (even with sickness). I even inquired about a partial refund, being it was a last minute cancellation, although sickness is never planned. I let them know I can send them hospital records for proof and reference it was still a NO. They even had the nerve to inform me they can reschedule the tour to a later date for a $10 charge. Moving forward I will NEVER purchase anything from this company again. If you choose to please beware of their CANCELLATION POLICY, AND TRY NOT TO GET SICK .

Highly recommend BWT! Everything about our Yorktown Tour experience was exceptional. Booking was…read moresimple, logistical communications were prompt and clear. Bambi picked us up at Williamsburg Inn, asked about our preferences and then filled the day with interesting historical references and stories. She used a voice amplifier to ensure all passengers could hear clearly along the route and offered us snacks and drinks. Bambi was very knowledgeable about all topics and complimentary of the interpreters from the sites we visited. She provided detail accounts on all aspects of the time from land formation, battles, troop movements and daily life. Her passion, breadth and depth of knowledge made for a very educational and enjoyable day. We highly recommend BWT!

From the owner: Best Williamsburg Tours brings past and present Virginia history to life through walking, driving…read moreand kayaking tours. Travel back in time to walk in the footsteps of American Indians and Colonists at Jamestown, raise our voices for liberty in Colonial Williamsburg and march into Historic Yorktown during the Revolutionary War. We offer private and group tours as well as step on and step off services for large groups. Our local, certified guides are in the top 2% and have our CUA permit for tours of Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield.

Oh, my goodness, what a very special tour this was. Trish is full of knowledge about the buildings,…read moreplants, and people of Williamsburg. It was one of the most enjoyable walking tours I've ever taken. Don't miss the opportunity to have Trish teach you about Williamsburg.

We booked a custom private tour with Trish and had a great time. She has a ton of historical…read moreknowledge on everything from Thomas Jefferson's experience at William & Mary to how different bricks were made in the Colonial era. If you want something more in depth than the standard Colonial Williamsburg script, this is it!

Even though Peyton Randolph is a historical unknown to the average person, it doesn't mean that he…read morewas a lightweight by any means. Speaker of the House of Burgesses, Attorney General of Virginia and 1st President of the Continental Congress. That last one to me is the biggie. Would things have turned out differently for the colonies if Peyton doesn't die in Philadelphia while having dinner with Jefferson in 1775 versus John Hancock taking over after his death? By that's for another time. If you visit CW one of the must see stops is his house which is located at the corner of East Nicholson and North England Street (the Yelp map marker is wrong - the house is on the other side of East Nicholson). While the main house is one of the original 88, the breezeway-kitchen-assorted outbuildings are all reproductions. One of the larger historically inaccurate things that CW sort of fixed was when they moved the windmill that spent 50-ish years on the property over to Great Hopes Plantation. No evidence has ever been found that a windmill was on the property and the thing had been inoperable well over a decade by the time it got moved. Of course CW bungled that one as well by also closing Great Hopes to any kind of active interpretation not long after the move. So while the windmill in essence got a nice paint job, it still doesn't work and is marooned in CW Siberia with potential plans to convert that area to parking or some kind of future entertainment space. But that's also for another time. Over the years CW has changed how touring is done at the house. In the past, a few years ago, the house was only open on certain days or only for a 1/2 day with the staff then moving over to the Wythe House for the other 1/2. Thankfully that changed and of late the Randolph House has been open more or less daily. With that said, they still do timed tours which start (??) twice an hour. Sometimes you begin at the side entrance on the street corner but when the crowd is larger you are sometimes herded into the breezeway that separates the house from the kitchen until it's go time. Aside from the house tour that you would expect at CW, recently they have further emphasized the slavery angle at the house. Randolph was a very wealthy individual and he and his wife owned in excess of 100 slaves during his lifetime. That story gets told more as you get to the outbuildings at the end of the tour. The other thing that the house is known anecdotally is that supposedly it's very haunted. That's not covered on the official house tour unless someone asks but every ghost tour company in Williamsburg, including when CW offers them, makes a stop here. I think that has something to do with people dying here during the Civil War when the house gets used as a hospital for a brief time. Like the Everard House or the Wythe House, any time you can tour one of the 300+ year old CW originals it's a must do.

The Peyton Randolph Home is one of the 88 original structures on CW property and was home to the…read moreprominent Williamsburg resident Peyton Randolph. He served as president of the first Continental Congress. He resided in the home 1721-1775. The large two story house is unique for its seven paneled rooms which was a sign of wealth. It's size is deceiving from the front. Each room has been decorated in period time, however there are few items that are authentic to the Randolph's. The rear of the property has outbuildings. The home is open for guided tours on selected days. This is my favorite guided tour in Colonial Williamsburg.

Such a cool place. I mean, who's ever heard of a Sunken Garden before!? Great place to meet…read morefriends for a game of soccer or frisbee. My kids LOVED coming here on a visit so they could work their way into a game with students. It's also just beautiful, surrounded by boxwood and stately brick buildings.

At the heart of the College of William and Mary's old campus lies this gorgeous lawn. A remaining…read moreproject from the work relief programs from the Great Depression it lies several feet lower than the campus around it. Free for anyone to visit it is intended for students and community members to come and relax. It exists to beautify the campus and remind those who visit of the strength our country had coming out of the Great Depression, it serves both of these purposes well. Having visited earlier this week I could not imagine giving the Gardens any lower of a rating. It ties the campus together and is an integral part of the William and Mary that exists today.

The hosts are terrible story tellers. There are no stories about old residents or much in the way…read moreof history. The stories are all about the staff that work there now and how they're sure spooky things have happened to them. We left after 2 stops because it didn't satisfy the desire for a good story or a good scare. Don't waste your money.

Just came back from a tour with the BEST guide. She was simply adorable…read more Her name is Liv and she is a student at William and Mary college. Therewas a pub walk where we saw the Wren building, a pub called Precarious that had a glorious fire pit outside. It was so cold and windy but Liv kept us warm with her stories. Then we went to Burton Parrish and in between she regaled us with stories about the area adding her own personal touches. This was such a fun event to do in a super awesome location. The only downside was the rest of our tour who were super cheap in tipping our guide. She was very pleasant with everyone and worked very hard in the cold to make sure we had a great time. I wish people understood how hard these kids work. We gave a generous tip and thanked her profuseyfor such a wonderful evening. I highly recommend!!!