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All United States Virginia Williamsburg

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Williamsburg

8 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Williamsburg, Virginia

Updated August 10, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia

President Heads

Giant busts of 42 U.S. presidents are sitting in a field in Virginia.

Williamsburg, Virginia

Eastern State Hospital

America's first public mental health facility.
Dig site at Jamestown.

Williamsburg, Virginia

The Archaearium

This museum explores the grim reality of life in the earliest British colonies in America.

Williamsburg, Virginia

The King’s Arms Tavern

Dine like an American revolutionary at Colonial Williamsburg.
Wren Hall and Lord Botetourt.

Williamsburg, Virginia

Lord Botetourt

Affectionately known as "Lord Bot," this historic statue has a cult social media following and rightly claims to be “the most metal inhabitant of the Wren Yard.”
Hoppin John Risotto

Williamsburg, Virginia

Chowning’s Tavern

Enjoy dishes that founding fathers once ate at this Colonial Williamsburg pub.
Virginia Musical Museum

Williamsburg, Virginia

Virginia Musical Museum

Home to the organ played at General MacArthur's funeral.
Permanently Closed

Williamsburg, Virginia

Presidential Pets Museum

The "first cat," "first dog," and even a presidential pygmy hippo all get their due in this museum.

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia

The King’s Arms Tavern

Dine like an American revolutionary at Colonial Williamsburg.
Hoppin John Risotto

Williamsburg, Virginia

Chowning’s Tavern

Enjoy dishes that founding fathers once ate at this Colonial Williamsburg pub.
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Explore Williamsburg, Virginia

Colonial America 3
Restaurants 2
Food 2
Statues 2
Unique Restaurants & Bars 2
History 2
Museums And Collections 2

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Stories About Williamsburg

A tiny, whiskered archaeologist (aka a common black rat) emerges from its nest.

In Colonial Williamsburg, Thieving Rats Save History

Historians owe a debt of gratitude to these furry pilferers.
by Amy Crawford
August 10, 2023
Culinary historian Michael Twitty (left) and interpreter Robert Watson pick case-knife beans by torch light at the Sankofa Heritage Garden.

At Colonial Williamsburg, a 'Landscape of Resistance' Is Thriving Once Again

The gardens of enslaved people left a lasting legacy across the American South.
by Omnia Saed
November 9, 2021

Podcast: President Heads

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
April 15, 2021
New menu items made for a tasting—held at a different venue due to renovations—before the reopening.

The Colonial Tavern Dishing Up 18th-Century Vittles

A new menu at Williamsburg's living-history museum offers carrot puffs and hunters game pye.
by Kayla Stewart
April 1, 2021
“Desire is nothing new,” says Michael Bronski, a historian at Harvard University.

Excavating a Queer History of Colonial Williamsburg

Historians are digging into the lives of 18th-century colonists who may have lived outside the norm.
by Sabrina Imbler
December 18, 2019
The Governor’s Palace dining room in Colonial Williamsburg filled with fake jellies, candied ginger, chocolate almonds, pies, and marzipan fruits and animals.

How Museums Make Their Fake Foods Using Real Recipes

At Colonial Williamsburg, creating historic food scenes is a team sport.
by Stephanie Burt
August 12, 2019

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