The “world’s largest living history museum,” Colonial Williamsburg (CW) features historic sites, art museums, tradespeople, gardens, taverns, historic interpretation and more. You can certainly walk around CW (the heart of which is Duke of Gloucester, or “DOG” Street as the locals say) and take in sites for free, but entrance to many attractions and programs is by admission ticket only. If you want a different kind of CW experience, you may want to Google the many ghost tour options too. And, of course, you can always take a ride in a horse drawn carriage or check out other special ticketed experiences, like Clay’s favorite - shooting a flintlock musket.
We love Busch Gardens! Named the “world’s most beautiful theme park” for literally decades, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has some amazing coasters (the Griffon and Verbolten are some of our favorites), as well as other rides, shows, some live animals and surprisingly good food - including beer and wine throughout the park. It's just a 15 minute drive from Colonial Williamsburg, and many Busch Gardens partner hotels in Williamsburg offer free shuttles.
More history beyond Williamsburg - Yorktown is the site of American victory over the British in the Revolutionary War. It’s a 20 minute drive from Williamsburg to Yorktown - we recommend you take the Colonial Parkway for the (very) scenic route, which could include a stop at one of the few small beaches on the York River. In Yorktown, you can visit the battlefield, the Museum of the Revolution or Susan’s personal favorite spot the Yorktown Pub - which has served good food and cold beer in mason jars for more than 35 years.
Susan’s alma mater (established in 1693), just across the street from DOG Street and Colonial Williamsburg, is a pretty spot for a walk. Sites to see on “old campus” include the historic Wren Building, a sculpture of Thomas Jefferson (who graduated from W&M several years before Susan!), the Sunken Gardens and the beautiful Crim Dell bridge (which has a romantic tradition, and where we will definitely get a wedding pic.)
Waller Mill is a nice spot for a pretty day outside, and is great for kids. Just 10 minutes from the wedding venue and convenient to most hotels, Waller Mill has a 360-acre lake and you can rent (very affordable) kayaks, canoes, pedal boats or jon boats and fishing equipment. There is also playground equipment, picnic shelters, disc golf and playing fields.
Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, is also a living history museum featuring outdoor recreations of the 17th century fort and the ships that carried settlers to the “new world.”
If you intend to fly in or out of Norfolk airport (or want to make the 45 minute drive from Williamsburg) Norfolk has some attractions, including tours (by bus or boat) of Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world, where you can see aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships and more. All of that is very cool, but for Clayton’s sake, don’t forget to mention GO ARMY! BEAT NAVY!
There are lots of restaurants in and around Williamsburg so explore what sounds best to you! But here are a few of our casual favorites for your consideration, starting with The Cheese Shop. Susan has loved The Cheese Shop (in Merchants Square, Colonial Williamsburg) since since her college days. Order a sandwich at the counter and make sure to get it with the house dressing! College students know to buy bags of “bread ends” (leftover from sandwich making) to dip in a tub of that house (which they now sell by the jar too.) Grab some wine and other snacks in the shop and eat on site at outdoor tables or take on a picnic anywhere pretty.
Another favorite college haunt, the three delis (Paul's Deli, College Delly and the Green Leaf Cafe) are all clustered at the corner of Richmond Road and Scotland Street and are great spots for a cold pitcher of beer, subs, fries and other tasty affordable eats. Susan's favorite is Paul's - order a Hot Uncle Paul sandwich or the famous Hot Holly, some cheese fries or a huge Greek salad and peruse the W&M nostalgia - look for memorabilia from two current NFL head coaches who played for the Tribe while Susan was a student.
Clayton is a huge coffee lover and this spot is our go-to in the 'burg. (It's right across the street from Susan's sophomore year dorm - back then, the coffee place went by a different name.) They've got all manner of tasty coffee drinks, breakfast and desserts - but the big winner is the DOG Street Chill - an amazing milkshake made from espresso, vanilla ice cream and flavored syrup of your choice (Susan digs the hazelnut.)
This is, not surprisingly, Holden's favorite shop in Williamsburg. Right next door to the Cheese Shop, it truly is a Wonka-esque candy extravaganza. From fresh fudge and caramel apples (YUM) to nostalgic I-didn't-know-they-still-made-that throwback brands and ALL the chocolates, it's totally worth a visit.
Another fun snack stop - across the street from Aromas - the Peanut Shop usually has free samples (COVID situation permitting) of its variety of flavors of delicious local peanuts. Good for stocking up on hotel room snacks!