150 miles S of Washington, D.C.; 50 miles E of Richmond

"I know of no way of judging the future," said Patrick Henry, "but by the past." That particular quotation couldn't be more fitting as an introduction to Williamsburg, since Henry played a very important role here when, as a 29-year-old backcountry lawyer, he spoke out against the Stamp Act in the House of Burgesses in 1765. Many considered him an upstart and called the speech traitorous; others were inspired to revolution.

If he was right, you'll never have a better opportunity to examine the past than in Colonial Williamsburg, as the town's restored Historic Area is known. Unlike most other historic attractions in Virginia, Williamsburg has not just been meticulously re-created to look exactly as it did in the 1770s, while the town served as Virginia's capital. Today, Williamsburg's central Historic Area is, for all practical purposes, one of the world's largest and best living-history museums.

Here the British flag flies most of the year over the Capitol building. Women wear long dresses and ruffled caps, and men don powdered wigs. Taverns serve colonial fare, blacksmiths and harness-makers use 18th-century methods, and the local militia drills on Market Square. Clip-clopping horses draw carriages just as their ancestors did when George Washington rode these cobblestone streets. Your impromptu banter with "Thomas Jefferson" in the Kings Arms Tavern will seem so authentic you won't even notice it's really Bill Barter, an exceptional actor who has been bringing Jefferson to life since 1976.

Regardless of age, anyone who visits Williamsburg will come away with an understanding and appreciation of how life was lived in 18th-century Virginia.

21st-Century Changes in an 18th-Century Town -- Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg have dropped to about 850,000 a year from more than one million since before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While some attractions have been closed, including the nearby Carter's Grove plantation, fewer visitors mean shorter lines to get into the main buildings.

To help counter the drop, Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Yorktown Victory Center have come up with money-saving "Flex" vacation packages including accommodations and discounted admission to all four attractions. See the individual listings for each destination for more information.