62 Best Sights in Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, Virginia

An open green between Queen and Palace Streets along Duke of Gloucester, Market Square was the site where cattle, seafood, dairy products, fruit, and vegetables were all sold—as were slaves. Market auctions are sometimes reenacted. Recently reconstructed, it now serves for historical interpretation and retail sales. Shop like you stepped back to the 18th century, including fruits, hams, soaps, candles, ceramics, and clothing. Children and families are invited to join the games and role-play with the toys for sale.

The Federal redbrick Moses Myers House, built by its namesake between 1792 and 1796, is exceptional, and not just for its elegance. The furnishings, 70% of them original, include family portraits by Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Sully. A transplanted New Yorker as well as Norfolk's first Jewish resident, Myers made his fortune in Norfolk in shipping, then served as a diplomat and a customs officer. His grandson married James Madison’s grandniece; the home passed down through several generations of the family and eventually to Norfolk mayor Barton Myers, who carried out early architectural restoration in 1892. Exhibits throughout the house feature letters and other artifacts from several generations of the Myers family.

A popular attraction on Norfolk’s redeveloped downtown waterfront, Nauticus is a maritime discovery center featuring interactive exhibits that tell the story of Norfolk’s maritime environment, industry, and the military. Visitors can walk the historic decks of the Battleship Wisconsin, the largest and last battleship of the U.S. Navy, learn to sail through an award-winning sailing program, and charter a tall ship for an educational cruise along the Elizabeth River.

Nauticus is undergoing a major transformational redesign project, opening in stages. Phase I features a new children’s exhibit, Aquaticus, encouraging experiential play, as well as "Norfolk in Time," a look at the past, present, and future of Norfolk. Stage 2 opens in 2024 to include the addition of three state-of-the-art exhibit galleries.

On the northern edge of the city, this naval station is an impressive sight, home to more than 200 navy aircraft, including the F/A-18 Tomcat (the type of plane flown by the Blue Angels) and other planes assigned to the aircraft carriers of the Atlantic Fleet. From an observation park on Oceana Boulevard at the POW/MIA Flame of Hope Memorial Park, near the runways, you can watch aircraft take off and land. Non–Defense Department visitors can access the base only on the Hampton Roads Transit summer-only tours (photo ID required) or during the annual air show in September. Tours depart at 9:30 am and 11:30 am from the 24th Street transit kiosk on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach and stop at an aviation historical park with 13 aircraft.

The springtime Azalea Festival is one highlight of the lovely 155-acre Norfolk Botanical Garden on the eastern edge of the city. In addition to an abundance of azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias, there is a delicately landscaped Japanese garden with trees native to that country, including unusual strains of cherry and maple. From mid-March to October, trams carry you along routes to view seasonal plants and flowers, including 4,000 varieties of roses on 3½ acres. Year-round, you can stroll 12 miles of paths. Eleven marble statues of famous artists, carved in the late 19th century by Moses Ezekiel, enhance the natural beauty of the gardens. The lakeside is ideal for picnics. Fall brings a 3-acre children's garden.

At the northeastern tip of Virginia Beach, on the cape where the mouth of the bay meets the ocean, the historic Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is near the site where the English landed on their way to Jamestown in 1607. This lighthouse, however, didn't light anyone's way until 1792. Across the street to seaward is the replacement to the old lighthouse, but it isn't open to visitors. Be prepared to show a photo ID at the military checkpoint at the Fort Story base entrance.

Along the oceanfront, the Old Coast Guard Station, a 1903 Lifesaving Station, contains photographic exhibits, examples of lifesaving equipment, and a gallery that depicts German U-boat activity off the coast during World War II. On the website there's current weather, tide charts, and a webcam.

The handsome Palace Green runs north from Duke of Gloucester Street up the center of Palace Street, with the Governor's Palace at the far end and notable historic houses on either side.

This was the home of a prominent colonist and revolutionary who served as attorney general under the British, then as Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and later as president of the first and second Continental Congresses. The oak-paneled bedroom and Randolph family silver are remarkable.

A reconstruction of a 1773 insane asylum, the Public Hospital provides an informative, shocking look at the treatment of the mentally ill in the 18th and 19th centuries. It also serves as cover for a modern edifice that houses very different exhibitions; entrance to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum is through the hospital lobby.

This gathering place was the scene of prerevolutionary revels and rallies that were often joined by Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other major figures. The spare but elegant blue-and-white Apollo Room is said to have been the first meeting place of Phi Beta Kappa, the scholastic honorary society founded in 1776. The French general Marquis de Lafayette was feted here in 1824. In 1859 the original structure burned, and today's building is a reconstruction based on archaeological evidence and period descriptions and sketches of the building.

Dating from 1720, at 300 feet, this plantation is said to be the longest wood-frame house in the United States. It was the retirement home of John Tyler (1790–1862), 10th president of the United States. Tyler, who came into office in 1842 when William Henry Harrison died a month after inauguration, was a Whig who dissented from his party's abolitionist line in favor of the pro-slavery position of the Democrats. He died in 1862, having served briefly in the congress of the Confederate States of America. His house remains in the Tyler family and is furnished with heirloom antiques; it's surrounded by a dozen acres of grounds and the five outbuildings, including a tobacco barn. The house is only open to individuals who have made a reservation at least a week in advance, but the grounds are open to the public. It's also open to the public during the annual Garden Week.

Chartered in 1613 and the oldest plantation in Virginia, Shirley has been occupied by a single family, the Carters, for 11 generations. Their claim to the land goes back to 1638, when it was settled by a relative, Edward Hill. Robert E. Lee's mother was born here, and the Carters seem to be related to every notable Virginia family from the Colonial and antebellum periods. The approach to the elegant 1723 Georgian manor is dramatic: the house stands at the end of a drive lined by towering Lombardy poplars. Inside, the "Flying Staircase" rises for three stories with no visible support. Family silver is on display, ancestral portraits are hung throughout, and rare books line the shelves. The family lives on the upper floors, but the main floor, eight original Colonial outbuildings, and gardens of the working farm can be toured. A tour of the Shirley Plantation details stories from the 11 generations of the same family who to this day continue to own and operate it. The guided tour of the first floor of the Great House highlights family stories as well as original furnishings, portraits, silver, and woodwork. Today Shirley continues to be a working plantation, a private family home, and a National Historic Landmark, which includes an on-site gift shop, Lady Cessalye's.

Little of early Hampton survived the shellings and conflicts of the past, but the brick walls of St. John's Church (1728) have. Today a stained-glass window honors Pocahontas, the Native American princess who is said to have saved the life of Captain John Smith in 1608. The communion silver on display, made in London in 1618, is the oldest such service still used in this country. The parish, founded in the same year as the city (1610), also claims to be the oldest Protestant church in continuous service in America. You may listen to a taped interpretation or take a guided tour (by arrangement) and visit a small museum in the parish house.

Constructed in 1739, St. Paul's Church was the only building in town to survive the bombardment and conflagration of New Year's Day 1776; a cannonball fired by the British fleet remains embedded in a wall. An earlier church had been built on this site in 1641, and the churchyard contains graves dating from the 17th century. Get a free visitor parking pass in the church office.

Between Nauticus and Waterside Festival Marketplace, this park is the site of many free outdoor festivals and concerts, the annual Fleet Week and Harborfest, and a wine festival. Fun, food, and music are here most Fridays from May through October. Check the website and local newspapers for events.

This museum, at Fort Eustis, traces the history of army transportation by land, sea, and air, beginning with the Revolutionary War era. More than 90 vehicles, including experimental craft and numerous locomotives and trains dating to the 1800s, are on display. The museum's Korean War and World War II–era trucks can be toured inside and out. Be prepared to show a driver's license or other identification at the military checkpoint at the base entrance.

The sea is the subject at the popular Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, a massive facility with more than 200 exhibits. This is no place for passive museumgoers; many exhibits require participation. You can use computers to predict the weather and solve the pollution crisis, watch the birds in the salt marsh through telescopes on a deck, handle horseshoe crabs, take a simulated journey to the bottom of the sea in a submarine, and study fish up close in tanks that re-create underwater environments. The museum is almost 2 miles inland from Rudee Inlet at the southern end of Virginia Beach. The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center has a nature trail—well worth it, but be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

The long boardwalk from 2nd to 33rd Street is considered one of the top beach destinations in the country, and past the boardwalk the sand goes on for miles more on both sides. The boardwalk is active with people-watching, food trailers, bicycles, and rollerblading (bikes have their own path). The beach can get crowded and the sand can get hot! Wear your flip-flops, sand is brown. Chair and umbrella rentals are everywhere, as are bikes and family-style bikes that seat four with canopies. The water is wavy, so bring boogie boards! Colorful statues on each block make for fun photography. Summer nights include fireworks and live concerts. A block back, the street is lined with bright shops and entertainment at night on many blocks, from mimes to music to acrobats. The nicest place to hang out, Hilton Resort has rocking chairs, fire pits, live music throughout the day, palm trees, and a view of the famous Neptune Statue. There are numerous public parking lots a block or two back from the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

At the Virginia Living Museum, visitors are transported to a steamy cypress swamp and cool mountain cove, the underwater world of the Chesapeake Bay and the underground realm of a limestone cave, all with living exhibits and hands-on activities. Outdoors, a ¾-mile boardwalk features animals native to Virginia in naturalized habitats and wildflower gardens. Check out the evening laser shows the second Saturday of the month at the planetarium.

The Virginia War Museum houses more than 60,000 artifacts from all over the world. The collection includes a graffiti-covered section of the Berlin Wall, a Civil War blockade runner's uniform, weapons, uniforms, wartime posters, photographs, and other memorabilia. It traces military history from 1775 to the Gulf War and includes an outdoor exhibition of seven tanks and cannons, and the history of African Americans and women in the military. Several war memorials are on the grounds of Huntington Park.

The largest in the state, Virginia Zoological Park has more than 400 animals in 100 species living on 55 acres—including rhinos, ostriches, African elephants, and Siberian tigers as well as such domesticated animals as sheep. In the Africa exhibit, elephant demonstrations are scheduled regularly in summer, and nine new species have been added in an expansion, including zebra, lion, giraffe, red river hog, and meerkat. With the assistance of docents, children can handle some of the animals.

The nearly 45 acres of pools, children's play areas, lazy rivers, and water rides have a colorful 1950s and surf theme. Blast down Rock 'n' Roll Island's nearly 600 feet of body slides, ride the 700-foot lazy river, or soak in the 9,000-square-foot pool. Or you can enjoy relaxing by Virginia's largest wave pool in a lounge chair or a private cabana. There is also live entertainment, shopping, and restaurants.

Sited in a Colonial Revival manor house on Yorktown's waterfront, the Watermen's Museum was floated across the York River on a barge in 1987. In it you can learn more about the generations of men who have wrested a living from the Chesapeake Bay and nearby waters. The five galleries house ship models, dioramas, and artifacts themed on Chesapeake watermen, bay boats, harvesting fish, aquaculture, tools, and treasures. Outdoor exhibits include an original three-log canoe, dredges, engines, and other equipment used by working watermen past and present.

Weston Manor, built in 1789 by the Gilliam family, is a classic example of Virginia Georgian architecture, a formal five-bay manor with hipped roof. The family immigrated to Virginia in the 1600s as indentured servants, eventually acquiring several area plantations. Family members were descendants of Pocahontas, and a cousin married Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Maria. The distinctive interior moldings, wainscoting, and chair rails are 85% original.

This home was built circa 1720 by Colonel William Byrd II (1674–1744), an American aristocrat and founder of the city of Richmond who spent much of his time and money in London. He was in Virginia frequently enough to serve in both the upper and lower houses of the Colonial legislature at Williamsburg and to write one of the first travel books about the region (as well as a notorious secret diary, a frank account of plantation life and Colonial politics). Byrd lived here with his beloved library of 4,000 volumes. The house, celebrated for its moldings, carvings, and classic proportions, is open only during Garden Week in late April and to group tours of at least 10 people. However, it is worth the short drive off Route 5 to walk on the grounds beside the peaceful James River and smell the boxwoods. The grounds are arrayed with tulip poplars at least 100 years old, and other flowers are well tended. Three wrought-iron gates, imported from England by the colonel, are mounted on posts topped by figures of eagles with spread wings. Byrd's grave is here, inscribed with the eloquent, immodest, lengthy, and apt epitaph he composed for himself.

Beginning in 1743 Wetherburn's Tavern offered refreshment, entertainment, and lodging and may be the most accurately furnished building in Colonial Williamsburg, with contents that conform to a room-by-room inventory taken in 1760. Excavations at this site have yielded more than 200,000 artifacts. The outbuildings include the original dairy and a reconstructed kitchen. Vegetables are grown in the small garden.

Carrying on a Virginia tradition of wine making that began with early settlers, Virginia's largest winery produces 60,000 cases yearly. The winery offers guided tours, a well-stocked wineshop, a 17th-century tasting room, and a museum of wine-making artifacts. Be sure to give the cabernets and merlots a try. The Gabriel Archer Tavern serves a casual lunch daily. At the tavern try a wine flight of four wines. Cafe Provencial serves an elegant dinner paired with wine. There is also a country inn, Wedmore Place, on the premises.

On the outskirts of the historic area is Windmill of Colonial Williamsburg, formally known as Robertson's Windmill, a Colonial mill for grinding grains. Program plans are unknown at this time.

The College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, is the second-oldest college in the United States after Harvard University. The campus extends to the west; the Wren Building (1695) was based on the work of the celebrated London architect Sir Christopher Wren. Its redbrick outer walls are original, but fire gutted the interiors several times, and the current quarters are largely reconstructions of the 20th century. The faculty common room, with a table covered with green felt and an antique globe, suggests Oxford and Cambridge universities, the models for this New World institution. George Wythe became America's first law professor at the college and taught law to Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, James Monroe, and John Marshall. Tours, led by undergraduates, include the chapel where Colonial leader Peyton Randolph is buried. Among the portraits of college presidents on the second floor of the Wren Building is an arresting painting of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who visited William and Mary during her tenure.