62 Best Sights in Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, Virginia

Voted the world's most beautiful theme park for 26 consecutive years and counting, Busch Gardens features more than 50 rides and attractions, including some of the world's best roller coasters. Six beautifully landscaped European "countries" re-create the look and feel of France, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy. Sesame Street Forest of Fun brings Elmo and his Sesame Street friends to life. Grover's Alpine Express is designed for children and parents to enjoy together, and is among Busch Gardens' most popular kids' attractions. Tempesto, the latest roller coaster, offers a thrill ride with a full inversion. Busch Gardens also hosts popular song-and-dance shows (country, Americana, Irish, German folk) in several theaters.

Adjacent to but distinct from Historic Jamestowne is a mainland living-history museum called Jamestown Settlement. The site marries 40,000 square feet of indoor facilities with outdoor replicas of the early James Fort, the three ships that brought the founding colonists from England, and a Powhatan Indian village. The introductory film 1607: A Nation Takes Root is shown in the theater. The handsome Tudor-style Great Hall is arranged by decades from 1607 to 1699, when the capital was moved to Williamsburg. Gallery exhibits examine the lives of the Powhatans and their English-born neighbors, their interaction, and world conditions that encouraged colonization. Outdoors within James Fort, interpreters in costume cook, forge metal, and describe what life was like living under thatch roofs and between walls of wattle and daub (stick framework covered with mud plaster). In the Powhatan Indian village you can enter a yehakin (house) and see buckskin-costumed interpreters cultivate crops and make tools. At the pier are full-scale reproductions of the ships in which the settlers arrived: Godspeed, Discovery, and Susan Constant. All the vessels are seaworthy; you may climb aboard the Susan Constant and find out more from the sailor-interpreters. A riverfront discovery area provides information about 17th-century water travel, commerce, and cultural exchange, reflecting Powhatan Indian, European, and African traditions. Dugout-canoe making takes place in this area. Spring and fall bring lots of school groups, so it's best to arrive after 2 pm.

A world history of seagoing vessels and the people who sailed them occupies the outstanding Mariners' Museum, inside a 550-acre park. An alliance between the museum and the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City allows the two institutions to share collections, exhibitions, and educational programs. Among the more than 50 full-size craft on display are a Native American bark canoe, a sailing yacht, a speedboat, a gondola, a Coast Guard cutter, and a Chinese sampan. In separate galleries you can often watch the progress of a boat under construction; view ornate and sometimes huge figureheads; examine the watermen's culture of the Chesapeake Bay; and learn about the history of the U.S. Navy. The museum also holds artifacts from the RMS Titanic and remains of the ironclad USS Monitor, which served in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign and was recovered from the coast of North Carolina. A 63,500-square-foot addition, the USS Monitor Center, houses the ironclad ship and Civil War exhibits. One of the highlights is the August Crabtree exhibit, authentic scale models hand carved by August Crabtree that portray historic shipbuilding accomplishments in miniature from ancient Egypt to 19th-century Britain. They are so tiny that you must view them through magnifying glasses (built into the display).

The Virginia Air and Space Center traces the history of flight and space exploration. The nine-story, futuristic, $30 million center is the visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. Its space artifacts include a 3-billion-year-old moon rock, the Apollo 12 command capsule, a lunar lander, and NASA's new Orion space craft. The center also holds a dozen full-size aircraft, a 3-D IMAX theater that is five stories high, a variety of flight simulators, and hands-on exhibits that let you see yourself as an astronaut or launch a rocket.

This collection, within the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, showcases American "decorative usefulware"—toys, furniture, weather vanes, coffeepots, and quilts—within typical 19th-century domestic interiors. There are also folk paintings, rustic sculptures, and needlepoint pictures. Since the 1920s, the 2,000-piece collection has grown from the original 400 pieces acquired by the wife of Colonial Williamsburg's first and principal benefactor. This is the oldest institution in the United States dedicated solely to the collection and preservation of American folk art.

Virginians say that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated at Berkeley in December 1619, not in Massachusetts in 1621. This plantation was the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and of William Henry Harrison, who became president in 1841. Throughout the Civil War, the Union general George McClellan used Berkeley as headquarters; during his tenure, his subordinate general Daniel Butterfield composed the melody for "Taps" while here in 1862 with 140,000 Union troops. An architectural gem, the original 1726 brick Georgian mansion has been carefully restored and furnished with 18th-century antiques. The gardens are in excellent condition, particularly the boxwood hedges.

The lovely brick Episcopal Bruton Parish Church has served continuously as a house of worship since it was built in 1715. One of its 20th-century pastors, W.A.R. Goodwin, provided the impetus for Williamsburg's restoration. The church tower, topped by a beige wooden steeple, was added in 1769; during the Revolution its bell served as the local "liberty bell," rung to summon people for announcements. The white pews, tall and boxed in, are characteristic of the starkly graceful Colonial ecclesiastical architecture of the region. When sitting in a pew, listening to the history of the church, keep in mind that you could be sitting where Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, or George Washington once listened to sermons. The stone baptismal font is believed to have come from an older Jamestown church. Many local eminences, including one royal governor, are interred in the graveyard. The fully operational church is open to the public; contributions are accepted. Check the website for free candlelight recitals in the evening.

Williamsburg was important because it was the location of the Capitol. It was here that the prerevolutionary House of Burgesses (dominated by the ascendant gentry) challenged the royally appointed council (an almost medieval body made up of the bigger landowners). In 1765 the House eventually arrived at the resolutions, known as Henry's Resolves (after Patrick Henry), that amounted to rebellion. An informative tour explains the development, stage by stage, of American democracy from its English parliamentary roots. In the courtroom a guide recites the harsh Georgian sentences that were meted out: for instance, theft of more than 12 shillings was a capital crime. Occasional reenactments, including witch trials, dramatize the evolution of American jurisprudence.

What stands on the site today is a reproduction of the 1705 structure that burned down in 1747. Dark-wood wainscoting, pewter chandeliers, and towering ceilings contribute to a handsome impression. That an official building would have so ornate an interior was characteristic of aristocratic 18th-century Virginia. This was in telling contrast to the plain town meeting halls of Puritan New England, where other citizens were governing themselves at the same time. The stirring Fifes and Drums March leaves from the Capitol to the Palace Green. Don't miss the spectacle of dozens of young men dressed in period costume marching through Williamsburg's streets. Check the program guide for dates and times.

The largest children's museum in the state, the Children's Museum of Virginia has so many hands-on exhibits that teach through activities that kids learn while they "play" with all aspects of life; they can take classes and workshops, participate in interactive story times, race on an obstacle course, do giant floor bowling, rediscover old carnival games, and so much more. You can also book a party, which includes a private room and all-day admission to the museum.

By any standard, the Chrysler Museum of Art downtown qualifies as one of America's major art museums. The permanent collection includes works by Rubens, Gainsborough, Renoir, Picasso, Cézanne, Matisse, Warhol, and Pollock—a list that suggests the breadth available here. Classical and pre-Columbian civilizations are also represented. The decorative-arts collection includes exquisite English porcelain and art nouveau furnishings. The Chrysler is home to one of the most important glass collections in America, with objects from the 6th century BC to the present and particularly strong holdings in Tiffany, French art glass, and English cameo, as well as artifacts from ancient Rome and the Near and Far East.

The history of City Point includes a Revolutionary War skirmish and 10 months as General Ulysses S. Grant's Union headquarters during the Civil War, from which he directed the Siege of Petersburg. It's free to take the open-air, self-guided museum walking tour of 25 wayside exhibits and Grant's Headquarters. The City Point Early History Museum is in a former U.S. Navy church, St. Dennis Chapel, and can be visited by appointment.

This is the logical first stop at Colonial Williamsburg. Here you can park free; buy tickets; see a 35-minute introductory movie, Williamsburg—the Story of a Patriot; and pick up This Week, which has a list of regular events and special programs and a map of the historic area. Tickets are also sold at the Lumber House in the historic area, though you'll get a better price if you buy in advance from the Historic Williamsburg website.

The original Courthouse of 1770 was used by municipal and county courts until 1932. Civil and minor criminal matters and cases involving slaves were adjudicated here; other trials were conducted at the Capitol. The stocks once used to punish misdemeanors are outside the building: they can make for a humorous photo opportunity. The courthouse's exterior has been restored to its original appearance. Visitors often participate in scheduled reenactments of court sessions.

This museum adds another cultural dimension that goes well beyond Colonial history. Grouped by medium are English and American furniture, textiles, prints, metals, and ceramics that date from 1600 through 1830. If you're yawning at the thought of fancy tableware, stop: presentations here tend to be creative and surprising. Prizes among the pieces in the collection are a full-length portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale and a royally commissioned case clock surmounted by the detailed figure of a Native American. You enter the museum through the Public Hospital.

The spine of Colonial Williamsburg's restored area is the broad 1-mile-long Duke of Gloucester Street. Some Saturdays at noon–2:30 pm, the Fifes and Drums Corps marches the length of the street and performs a stirring drill (check the website for dates). Along this artery, or just off it, are two dozen attractions. Walking west on Duke of Gloucester Street from the Capitol, during the tours, you can actually buy from a dozen 18th-century shops—including those of the apothecary, the wig maker, the silversmith, and the milliner.

Built in 1769 by William Harwood, the Georgian-style house known as Endview Plantation has witnessed momentous events in American history. Situated atop a knoll near a spring, Endview's land was traversed by Native Americans of the Powhatan Chiefdom a thousand years before the coming of the English. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Endview's owner, Dr. Humphrey Harwood Curtis, formed the Warwick Beauregards, which became Company H, 32nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry. During the subsequent Peninsula Campaign of 1862, Endview served as headquarters for Confederate generals Lafayette McLaws and Robert Toombs. Maintained today as a living-history museum, Endview offers a wide variety of programs; guided tours begin every 30 minutes.

Built in 1717 by John Brush, a gunsmith, and later owned by Thomas Everard, who was twice mayor of Williamsburg, this wood-frame house contains remarkable, ornate carving work. It is open only for special-focus tours and temporary exhibits, and vignettes on slaves' lives are held here in summer.

Botanists will have a field day at First Landing State Park, which is inland from the Cape Henry lighthouses and near the army installation at Fort Story. Spanish moss grows no farther north than here, and blue spruce appears no farther south (and does not grow at First Landing). The park is a haven for red and gray foxes, raccoons, opossums, water snakes, and other denizens of swamp and dune. Boardwalks built just above the water level on the Bald Cypress Trail let you get close to flora and fauna while keeping your feet dry. There are cabins, campgrounds, picnic areas, and guided tours, plus supporting concessions and facilities.

This home was the residence of Thomas Jefferson's law professor; Wythe was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. General Washington used the house as a headquarters just before his victory at Yorktown. The large brick structure, built in the mid-18th century, is conspicuously symmetrical: each side has a chimney, and each floor has two rooms on either side of a center hallway. The garden in back is similarly divided. The outbuildings, including a smokehouse, kitchen, laundry, outhouses, and a chicken coop, are reconstructions.

His Majesty's Governor Alexander Spotswood built the original Governor's Palace in 1720, and seven British viceroys, the last of them Lord Dunmore in 1775, lived in this appropriately showy mansion. The 540 weapons, including 230 muskets and pistols, arrayed on the walls of several rooms herald the power of the Crown. Some of the furnishings are original, and the rest are matched to an extraordinary inventory of 16,000 items. Lavishly appointed as it is, the palace is furnished to the time just before the Revolution. During the Revolution, it housed the commonwealth's first two governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. The original residence burned down in 1781, and today's reconstruction stands on the original foundation.

A costumed guide greets you at the door for a tour through the building, offering commentary and answering questions. Notable among the furnishings are several pieces made in Williamsburg and owned by Lord Dunmore. Social events are described on the walk through the great formal ballroom, where you might even hear the sounds of an 18th-century harp, clavichord, or piano. The supper room leads to the formal garden and the planted terraces beyond.

If you're not a nature lover, hiker, or biker, don't take the time to visit the Great Dismal Swamp. If you are, do take mosquito repellant. The forbidding name was possibly assigned to the area by William Byrd on one of his early-18th-century surveying expeditions. George Washington once hoped to drain it. Today the swamp is a 106,000-acre refuge that harbors bobcats, black bears, and more than 220 varieties of birds. A remarkably shallow lake—3,000 acres, 6 feet deep—is surrounded by skinny cypress trees that lend the scene a primeval quality. One hundred miles of hiking and biking trails, including a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk, stand in stark contrast to nearby downtown Portsmouth and Norfolk.

In a waterfront park near the Virginia Air and Space Center is the Hampton Carousel. Its prancing steeds and bright-color chariots carry riders round and round to the tunes of carnival music. Expert artisans have meticulously restored the 1920 carousel, which was a fixture at the city's former Beach Amusement Park for 60 years, and the carousel and building are now climate-controlled and air-conditioned.

The museum features permanent and changing exhibits on Native Americans and the early colonists, the city's port, the infamous Blackbeard, contraband and the Civil War, and the development of NASA Langley Research Center.

Hampton University was founded in 1868 as a freedmen's school, and ever since has had a distinguished history as an institution of higher education for African Americans. Booker T. Washington was an early graduate. The Hampton University Museum, on the riverfront campus, is notable for its extensive and diverse collection, which includes more than 9,000 African, Native American, Pacific Island, and Asian art objects. Four permanent galleries are now located in the new Huntington Building. It is the oldest African American museum in the country.

An early-20th-century estate of the Sloane family, the Hermitage Museum offers an outstanding presentation of architecture, art, and nature. The Sloanes, educated collectors with broad artistic interests, were among the founders of what is now the Chrysler Museum. Mr. Sloane was a wealthy New York businessman who moved to Virginia to operate textile mills. Docent-led tours are available on the hour. Visitors may also stroll the waterfront and 12-acre gardens and view contemporary art exhibitions.

An island originally connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, Historic Jamestowne was the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America (1607) and the capital of Virginia until 1699. The first settlers' bitter struggle for survival here, on the now uninhabited land, makes for a visit that stirs the imagination. Redbrick foundation walls roughly outline the settlement, and artists' conceptions of the original buildings can be seen at several locations. The only standing structure is the ruin of a church tower from the 1690s, now part of the Memorial Church built in 1907; the markers within indicate the original church's foundations. Other monuments around the site also date from the tercentenary celebration in 1907. Statues portray the founder of Jamestown, Captain John Smith, and his advocate, the Native American princess Pocahontas, whom Smith credited with saving him from being beheaded.

Near the entrance to the park, you can stop at the reconstructed Glasshouse to observe a demonstration of glassblowing, an unsuccessful business venture of the early colonists. The products of today are for sale in a gift shop. Archaeological discoveries from the site are showcased at the Archaearium. You can also observe digs on-site where archaeologists from Preservation Virginia continue to dig up evidence of colonists' and Native Americans' ways of life, including the remains of the original 1607 fort.

A visitor center near the main parking lot tells the history of Jamestown and the Virginia Indians, Europeans, and African peoples who lived here. Ranger-guided tours, held daily, explore many different events in Jamestown's history. Living-history programs are presented daily in summer and on weekends in spring and autumn.

A 5- to 8-mile nature drive (some cut out a loop within the loop and skip certain sections) that rings the island is posted with informative signs and paintings.

At James Anderson's Blacksmith Shop, smiths forge the nails, tools, and other iron hardware used in construction throughout the town. The shop itself was reconstructed by carpenters using 18th-century tools and techniques.

Lee Hall, an Italianate mansion constructed around 1859, was once home to one of Warwick County's leading landowners, Richard Decauter Lee, who achieved prominence using the method of scientific farming. It is the only large mid-19th-century plantation house remaining on Virginia's lower peninsula, and it served as the headquarters for Confederate generals John Bankhead Magruder and Joseph E. Johnston during the spring of 1862. Lee Hall now provides an in-depth review of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign.

The MacArthur Memorial is the burial place of one of America’s most distinguished military officers. General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) agreed to this navy town as the site for his memorial, museum, and research center because it was his mother’s birthplace. In the rotunda of the old City Hall, converted according to MacArthur’s design, is the mausoleum; 9 adjoining galleries house artifacts of MacArthur’s career, including his signature corncob pipe and a few of the pens used to sign the Japanese Instrument of Surrender that concluded World War II. However, this is a monument not only to General MacArthur but to all those who served in wars from the Civil to the Korean War. Its archives and library hold some 2 million documents and more than 100,000 photographs and assist scholars, students, and researchers from around the world. The visitor center contains a rotating special exhibit gallery, a theater, and a gift shop. MacArthur’s last staff car is on display in this building.

The original Magazine (1715), an octagonal brick warehouse, was used for storing arms and ammunition—at one time 60,000 pounds of gunpowder and 3,000 muskets. It was used for this purpose by the British and then by the Continental army. Today 18th-century firearms are on display within the arsenal. This is the largest collection of Colonial muskets in the country. Every able-bodied man in Colonial times was expected to have and maintain a musket in his home. Between the ages of 16 and 55 men were expected to be a part of the militia, the civilian army that could be called to arms in defense of hearth and home.