Colonial williamsburg is a living, breathing lesson in history, an adventure into the 18th century with sights, sounds and tastes the whole family will have fun experiencing. (www.colonialwilliamsburg.com)

Jamestown and Yorktown Victory Center bring to life in vivid detail the beginning and end of colonial America with engaging exhibits and dramatic living history. (www.historyisfun.org)
Yorktown is a popular site with Revolution battlefields, two major museums, historic homes, unique stores, antique shops, art galleries, a riverwalk, beach area, river cruises and concerts. (www.nps.gov/colo)

The College of William and Mary boasts a first-class museum that is gaining world recognition as it brings new collections to the area. The Muscarelle Museum (www.wm.edu/muscarelle) is housed on the college campus and was the first university/college museum of art in Virginia to be accredited by the AAM. The Muscarelle Museum has grown to almost 4,000 works of art from many cultures and historical eras.

The Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts is a world-class center for the arts with season subscription and single show purchase. An I. M. Pei-designed, acoustically engineered performance hall, it is a venue for world-class talent such as Tony Bennett, Capitol Steps, the BBC National Orchestra and the Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Music Festival. Visit www.fergusoncenter.org for more information on events and ticket availability.

The Virginia Opera, under the leadership of Maestro Peter Mark is known and respected nationwide, with 36 main stage performances scheduled during the regular performing arts season (www.vaopera.org).

The Virginia Symphony (www.virginiasymphony.org) is now celebrating its 15th season, thrilling young and old audiences alike with its mastery of complicated works, as well as the very popular, Peanut Butter and Jam concerts, for children. The VA Symphony is routinely recognized as one of the most accomplished regional orchestras, under the leadership of Maestro Falletta, who has distinguished herself by being the recipient of numerous awards, include the Stokowski, Toscanini and Bruno Walter awards, among others.

At the Virginia Air and Space Center (www.vasc.org), you’ll find dozens of hands-on air and space exhibits, an interactive aviation gallery, 30 historical aircraft, and much more. Come face-to-face with the Apollo 12 Command Module that went to the moon! The Virginia Air and Space Center is the visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base.

The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News houses an expansive maritime collection of over 60,000 square feet of gallery space with rare figureheads, Civil War Ironclads, hardwood vessels, small craft from around the world and much more. For information about admissions and the gift shop, visit www.mariner.org.

Lots of living creatures make the Virginia Living Museum (VLM) their home. In fact, the VLM is the first living museum east of the Mississippi and is home to native wildlife park, science museum, planetarium, botanical preserve and aquarium. Visit www.thevlm.org for information about this regional and national treasure.

The williamsburg Winery offers daily tours of age-old winemaking concepts enhanced with modern technology, samplings of distinctive Virginia wines and light luncheon cuisine in colonial surroundings. (www.nps.gov/colo)