My wife, Ellen , and I chose Williamsburg as the place to raise our family many years ago. After living in the Washington DC and Annapolis Md we felt the need to be closer to family and began looking for a smaller town environment. Williamsburg was our top choice and so we made the move to "Mayberry" , I meant Williamsburg.
In the course of my job in real estate, the most often asked question is "What is there to do there ? To that end I started a list with a sampling of places and events that we and our friends enjoy.
Note: we are not retired. Our kids are in middle school and we will be working for a while ! Our area is a haven for retirees but tons of families with kids are choosing Williamsburg as "The place to live and raise families"
If you are right out of college and looking for the "single life" our area will probably disappoint. Most of the single 20& 30 something’s prefer the livelier areas of Norfolk, VA Beach, Newport News and Richmond.
So here is my revised list in no particular order. I will add some expanded descriptions in posts in the future. Please share your favorites in the comment section below !
| 1 | A Chef’s Kitchen- Dinner is prepared in front of you by world-class chefs who teach as they cook |
| 2 | Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum |
| 3 | Amtrak Train Station in Williamsburg-take a train to Richmond, DC, NYC or beyond |
| 4 | An Occasion for the Arts |
| 5 | Antique Shopping at the Williamsburg Antique Mall & Charlie’s Antiques |
| 6 | Aroma’s Coffee House-Enjoy the patio or venture inside for specialty coffees to compliment your breakfast, lunch or dinner. |
| 7 | Art Cafe 26-Gallery cafe is a delightful culinary experience serving breakfast, lunch and afternoon desserts |
| 8 | Barbecue — Pierce’s ,Hog Wild Smokehouse, Red, Hot & Blue |
| 10 | Barnes & Noble in New Town and CW |
| 11 | Beachfront at Jamestown Beach Park! |
| 12 | Beautiful campus @ William and Mary |
| 13 | Brunch at the Williamsburg Inn & Lodge, Kingsmill, Opus 9 |
| 14 | Bruton Heights Research Center for the scholar in you |
| 15 | Bruton Parish Church – where Washington, Jefferson and Adams worshipped |
| 16 | Burgers and Fries at Five Guys in High Street |
| 17 | Busch Gardens season passes and Howl-O-Scream |
| 18 | Cheese Shoppe- sandwiches are out of this world! |
| 19 | Christopher Wren Society-Adult Learning Classes @ W&M |
| 20 | Colonial Williamsburg Good Neighbor Pass |
| 22 | Consignment shopping at the Velvet Shoestring, Classic Consignments and more. |
| 21 | Crab Races at Barrett’s |
| 23 | Cycling, running or walking on the Virginia Capital Bicycle Trail- soon to be 55 miles |
| 24 | Dessert at the Trellis – "Death by Chocolate" |
| 25 | Dewey Decibel Concert Series at the Williamsburg Library Theatre |
| 26 | DeWitt Wallace Museum @ CW |
| 27 | Driving or cycling the Colonial Parkway from Jamestown to Yorktown |
| 28 | Farmer’s Market- Merchant’s Square – great fresh produce, cheeses, baked goods, peanuts, , plants, meats, seafood, lively music, cooking demonstration and baked goods, (dog friendly) |
| 29 | First Night @ New Years- A great night of entertainment, concerts and more. |
| 30 | Forth of July Fireworks at Busch Gardens & CW |
| 31 | Freedom Park, New Quarter Park, York River State Park |
| 32 | Gambols at Shields Tavern- Imagine spending your evening at an 18th century tavern with a night of music, silly sing-a-longs, peach cider, peanuts, and entertainers making fun of your friends. |
| 33 | Ghost Tours by Lantern in Colonial Williamsburg |
| 34 | Golf at Golden Horseshoe , Williamsburg National, Kiskiak , Fords Colony, Kingsmill and the other Local Golf Courses |
| 35 | Grand Illumination at Christmas |
| 36 | Great happy hour at Bonefish |
| 37 | Great Italian Restaurants- Sal’s By Victor, Buon Amici,Giuseppe’s, |
| 38 | Great Private Schools-Walsingham Academy, Providence Classical, Williamsburg Christian, Williamsburg Montessori, |
| 39 | Great Wolf Lodge – great place for family’s to stay. The indoor water park is great for all ages and is open year round ,outdoor water park opens in Summer |
| 40 | Grocery shopping at The Fresh Market, Trader Joe’s, and Harris Teeter |
| 41 | Ham Biscuits & Blueberry pancakes at The Chickahominy House Restaurant |
| 42 | Historic plantations along Route 5 |
| 43 | Homemade guacamole at Plaza Azteca |
| 44 | Horse drawn wagon ride through Williamsburg -a great way to see the town |
| 45 | Hot dogs and fries at Retro’s |
| 46 | James City County Rec Center-Fitness, indoor track, indoor pool, racquetball, child care |
| 47 | James City County/Williamsburg (VA) Master Gardeners. |
| 48 | Kayaking at Chickahominy Riverfront Park, York River State Park, Powhatan Creek, New Quarter Pk |
| 49 | Kidsburg-playground at Mid County Park |
| 50 | Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre @ W&M |
| 51 | Location- close to everything. Beaches are an hour away,OBX, 2 hours. 2.5 hours to DC or the Blue Ridge mountains,. 3 airports are within an hour and a half’s drive if you’re a jet setter, or if your family wants to come visit. And, there is certainly plenty to do while they’re here |
| 52 | Low cost of living |
| 53 | Low real estate taxes |
| 54 | Make your own history at historic Yorktown and Jamestown Settlement |
| 55 | Mountain Biking at Freedom Park, New Quarter Park, York River State Park |
| 56 | Muscarelle Museum of Art |
| 57 | New town Cinema 12 and the Movie Tavern |
| 58 | One of the Top Five places to retire in America |
| 64 | Our Great Restaurants-Fat Canary, Blue Talon, The Trellis, Le Yaca, Guiseppis, Buon Amici |
| 59 | Outdoor dining at many restaurants around town |
| 60 | Panera’s in New Town |
| 61 | Paul’s Deli or the Green Leafe after any Tribe sporting event |
| 63 | Pedal boating at Waller Mill Park |
| 62 | Perfect Climate-hardly ever snows |
| 65 | Performing Arts series at Phi Beta Kappa Hall |
| 66 | Pick your own strawberries, pumpkins, blueberries at Bush Neck Farm |
| 67 | Power boating or Jet skiing on the Chickahominy |
| 68 | Pumpkinville at Halloween |
| 69 | Reasonably priced homes |
| 70 | Refillable mugs @ CW-$10 gets you unlimited coffee, tea, cider (hot or cold), soda – any non-alcoholic beverage , for a year. |
| 71 | Revolutionary City outdoor programs @ CW |
| 73 | Runners can choose from many 5K, 10K, half and full marathon races and a very active running community (Colonial Road Runners) |
| 72 | Sailing on the nearby Chesapeake Bay- less than 25 minutes from Williamsburg |
| 75 | Sal’s Italian Restaurant |
| 74 | Sampling the peanuts at The Peanut Shoppe |
| 76 | Season’s Holiday Open House |
| 77 | Shopping and dining at New Town |
| 78 | Shopping and dining on Merchant’s Square |
| 79 | Shopping at Premium Outlets (not during holidays) |
| 80 | Skate/BMX Park @ JCC Community Center |
| 81 | So many places to go for ice cream, milk shakes, frozen yogurt , Italian ice-Sno-to-Go, Retro’s Brewster’s, Cold Stone Ice Cream,Ben & Jerry’s, Sweet Frog, Handel’s, Rita’s and Queen Anne Dari-Snak (old school) |
| 82 | Soon to open "Go Ape Ropes/ Zipline course at Freedom Park |
| 83 | Soon to open "Mad about Chocolate" |
| 84 | Spanish food, wine, fresh tapas, … food classes @ LaTienda |
| 85 | Spend the night in a colonial home in CW |
| 86 | Spending a night at the sumptuous Williamsburg Inn, Lodge, Wedmore Place Inn @ the Williamsburg Winery, our countless B&B’s |
| 87 | Spoon bread , seafood and Colonial entertainment @ Christiana Campbell’s Tavern |
| 88 | Summer Breeze Concert Series on Duke of Gloucester Street |
| 89 | Summer Movie Nights on Merchant’s Square |
| 90 | Swem Library @ W&M -more than 2 million books, journals, manuscripts, government documents, and films |
| 91 | Tennis @ McCormick-Nagelsen Tennis Center & Kingsmill Resort & various outdoor courts around town |
| 92 | The Fife & Drum Corps |
| 93 | The Grand Illumination |
| 94 | The great schools in Williamsburg/ James City County |
| 95 | The old fashioned Christmas Parade |
| 96 | The soon to re-open Williamsburg Pottery |
| 97 | The spas at Colonial Williamsburg and Kingsmill |
| 98 | The Virginia Gazette and the Last Word |
| 99 | Three airports within a half to one hour away-PHF, RIC, ORF |
| 100 | Very active cycling community in the area (WAB) many routes to ride both on roads & bike paths |
| 101 | Virginia Shakespeare Festival @ W&M |
| 102 | Virginia Symphony Orchestra concerts under the stars at Matoaka Amphitheater |
| 103 | Water Country |
| 104 | Water, Water, Water-Bounded by 3 rivers (the James, the York, and the Chickahominy), and just minutes to the Chesapeake Bay, where you can boat, ski, fish, kayak and crab. |
| 105 | William & Mary Tribe Football (and tailgate parties!) |
| 106 | Williamsburg Ale Werks – micro brewery |
| 107 | Williamsburg Community Chapel |
| 108 | Williamsburg Players-community theatre |
| 109 | Williamsburg Symphonia-Concerts |
| 110 | Wine sampling or a meal at the Williamsburg Winery |
| 111 | WISC (Williamsburg Indoor Sports Center) |
| 112 | Wonderful programs at the Kimball Theater |
| 113 | Yankee Candle Factory |
|
114 |
Youth Sports teams-Football, Baseball, Lacrosse, Soccer,Volleyball, Gymnastics,Swimming and more |
Filed under: 365 Things to do in Williamsburg, Virginia, williamsburg va |
Mr Williamsburg, Revolutionary ideas on real estate!Hampton Roads Virginia 
Opus 9 in New Town…great food!
Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, every year, last week of April.