Getting there: Colonial Williamsburg is 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., near Interstate 64 (exit 238).
Visitors can also fly into Norfolk, Newport News/Williamsburg International and Richmond International airports.
The 301-acre Historic Area, with 88 original buildings and hundreds of homes, shops, public buildings and other structures, has free shuttles around the perimeter and to and from the Visitor's Center. Parking is limited, but walking is easy.
Hours, admission: Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area is open 365 days a year. Operating hours vary by season but are generally 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. One-day admission costs $34.95/adults, $31.45/seniors and $17.45/children ages 6 to 17 without a Governor's Palace Tour, or $44.95, $40.45 and $22.45, respectively, for two days including the palace tour. Children ages 5 and younger are free. A Liberty Pass, which gives visitors a full year's access to the site and includes shopping and dining discounts, costs $54.95, $49.45 and $27.45, respectively. Separate tickets are needed for evening and other special programs.
Where to stay: The five official Colonial Williamsburg lodging options range from the value-oriented Governor's Inn (as low as $69/night) to the ultra-luxurious five-star Williamsburg Inn (starting at $459/night); Williamsburg also has hotels and motels in all price ranges within a short driving distance of the historic site. Eager to drink in as much history as possible during our two-night stay, we opted for something a bit more unusual: Colonial Houses-Historic Lodging, a collection of 26 original, re-created and restored 18th-century houses furnished with period reproductions and antiques inside the Historic District. We weren't disappointed: Our guest room in the Nicholas-Tyler Office and Laundry (circa 1770) was just across the street from the Magazine and Guardhouse (average rate $179/night) and featured a pair of canopied beds and a large sitting room with a fireplace. And talk about provenance -- 10th President John Tyler lived here during the presidential campaign of 1840.
Info: history.org or 1-800-HISTORY.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)