Williamsburg, Virginia – The Attractions & Activities
Williamsburg offers much more than history. The community and region is a buzz with sights, sounds and smells of the 21st century. The list below gives you a hint of the activities Ironman participants, volunteers and spectators can enjoy during their stay during the week of the race. Other popular activities include shopping, spa visits and scenic tours throughout the region…running, biking or riding!
Berkeley Plantation
Berkeley
is Virginia’s most historic plantation. On December 4, 1619, early settlers from
England came ashore at Berkeley Plantation and observed the first official
Thanksgiving in America. See the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and President William Henry Harrison, “Old
Tippecanoe.” “Taps” was composed at Berkeley when General McClellan
headquartered 140,000 Union troops in 1862.
Busch Gardens
With dozens of thrilling rides and attractions, eight main stage shows, a wide variety of authentic foods and shops, and a magical children's area, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the ticket to a world-class adventure.
Voted
the world's "Most
Beautiful Theme Park" for ten consecutive years by the National Amusement Park
Historical Association (NAPHA). NAPHA also has named Busch Gardens Williamsburg
the world's “Favorite Theme Park." Busch Gardens has also received Amusement
Today's "Golden Ticket Awards" for "Best Landscape", "Best Food", and
"Cleanest."
Recently Busch Gardens received the prestigious Applause Award from the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) and Amusement Business Magazine. The Applause Award is given in honor of a park's "management, operations and creative accomplishments that have inspired the industry with foresight, originality and sound business development.”
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
is the world’s largest living history museum—the restored 18th-century capital
city of Britain’s
largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost of empire in the
New World. Here we interpret
the origins of the idea of America, conceived decades before the American
Revolution. The Colonial Williamsburg story, “Becoming Americans,” tells how
diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved
into a society that valued liberty and equality. Americans cherish these values
as a birthright, even when their promise remains unfulfilled.
In Colonial Williamsburg’s 301-acre Historic Area stand hundreds of restored,
reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Costumed interpreters tell
the stories of the men and women of the 18th-century city—black, white, and
Native American, slave, indentured, and free—and the challenges they faced. In
this historic place, we help the future learn from the past.
Historic Jamestowne Settlement
Jamestowne
Settlement re-creates
America’s
first permanent English colony through an outdoor living history program and
indoor exhibits. With historical interpreters as your guides to the past,
explore life at the dawn of the 17th century inside the wall of a
re-created palisade fort, discover the world of Pocahontas in the re-created
Powhatan Indian village, and learn about the colonists’ four-month voyage on
board a replica of one of their three ships. Try you hand at a variety of
activities, such as hauling ships cargo, wearing armor, playing 17th-century
games and grinding corn. Extensive indoor galleries with unique artifacts and
dramatic film, Jamestown: The Beginning, tell the story of
Jamestown
and of Virginia’s
indigenous inhabitants.
Yorktown Victory Center & Yorktown Battlefield
Yorktown
Victory Center chronicles the American Revolution form the beginnings of
colonial unrest in the mid-18th century to the formation of a new
nation through timeline, indoor exhibits, an engaging film and outdoor living
history areas. Costumed historical interpreters participate in drills and
chores in the re-created Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm.
Water Country USA
The middle-Atlantic’s largest family water park feature the world’s latest, greatest, and state-of-the-art water rides and attractions.
The College of William & Mary
The
College of William & Mary, one of the nation's premier state-assisted liberal
arts universities, believes that excellence in teaching is the key to unlocking
intellectual and personal possibilities for students. Dedicated to this
philosophy and committed to limited enrollment, the College provides
high-quality 
undergraduate,
graduate and professional education that prepares students to make significant
contributions to the Common-wealth of
Virginia
and the nation. In recognition, the media have included William & Mary among the
nation's prestigious "Public Ivy’s," and ranked it first among state
institutions in terms of commitment to teaching.