Great guided tour with a lot of history provided. The property and castle is under restoration. I…read morelove American history.

Wow, wow, WOW! What a fascinating place! So much history!…read more My friend and I went for a ghost tour on a Saturday night. The woman who ran our tour is named Sarah and she is a direct descendant of one of the original families that lived there. Also assisting with the tour was a man named Kenny from a paranormal research group in Richmond. Kenny considers himself a sceptic. His organization (I can't remember the name), works to document data, analyze the data, and try to come up with a scientific reason for the "paranormal" incidents. Both Sarah and Kenny have LOADS of knowledge! They shared a lot of history and stories with our small group. They also provided K2 meters that detect energy fluctuations. The stories were absolutely fascinating, first-hand, and some very recent (including with Kenny the sceptic). While we were finishing our tour, we heard a loud thunk on the wooden floor of the landing where we were, as if it had been struck with a boot or solid-heeled shoe. Then the floor was vibrating in a progressing manner as if someone was walking across the floor. One of the light-up cat toy balls on the floor was lighting up like crazy and several of the K2 meters were lighting up. So how about that?! A tour WITH paranormal activity! What a fun experience! I cannot wait to go back!

The Outlander Exhibit was an experience that we will remember forever. What an amazing production…read morethat they have set up. Absolutely a must see for any fan! The museum is very beautiful, and we look forward to returning to see the rest of it!

What a real treat for the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown to host an exhibit on Outlander…read morecostumes. The exhibit mostly included costumes from Seasons 1-4, with a piece to from 5 and 6. Wow! The museum did a wonderful job presenting the exhibit--costumes, video clips from the showing the costumes being worn -- and lots of background information about how the designed planned and prepared them. This is a must-see exhibit for both Outlander fans and those who appreciate period clothing. The exhibit also includes a few pieces of clothing that are crested on sight for use by the living history interpreters at Yorktown.

Awesome for the kids and adults. Totally recommend . We had an amazing time. The owl is my…read morefavorite

This is a fantastic place for children to explore! I came here with my 4m daughter at the time…read morealong with friends and their children. They were mesmerized by every exhibit! Unfortunately at the time we went, a lot of exhibits were being switched out indoors and it was very cold so a lot of animals were not out. The otter is extremely friendly and my daughter loves going to see Nora! Well worth the membership if you and your family consider going more than once. We did eat at the cafe, and the food was not that good. It gave me a terrible stomachache.

This confusing setup has a bunch of national park land adjoined to a privately owned historical…read moresite. Focusing only on the national park site, I found a visitor center with an introductory movie. While I was perusing the exhibitions right outside the theater, they managed to close it and lock it without letting me know the movie was starting. Which is a little irksome, but may have worked out for the best as I got to the outdoor site and managed to get a run of it and take some pictures just as a weather front was heading in. Some people had traveled from Michigan to tour the area, which I think was a good decision for them as you don't get this kind of history up there. The national park site has some ruins and signage after crossing a boardwalk over the swamp. While not huge in scope; I spent maybe an hour on the site in total, it gives you a feel for the challenges that settlers would have faced. The signage provides compelling information for visitors of all ages, and the views of the waterfront and nearby ferry are majestic as well. You'll get a sense of historical nuance with a lot of players in the area, and an aesthetic experience as well. There is a wildlife drive and this place does have a parkway running to Yorktown, albeit currently not fully open due to major construction. I did not have time for everything the area has to offer on this passing visit, but there is a lot regardless of how much time you have.

September 2024- I visited the historic & original Jamestown , the colony was established there in…read more1607. Jamestown is remembered for its iconic historical figures like Pocohontas and Captain John Smith. In the Visitor Center, there is a small museum exhibit of Jamestown. The admission to explore all of Jamestown requires the purchase of two tickets since Jamestowne managed by two separate organizations, Preservation Virginia (Jamestown Rediscovery) and the National Park Service (Colonial National Historical Park). This can be very confusing when entering and getting admission inside Jamestowne. Entrance inside the visitor center & museum as well as the grounds are free for active military and their families, who get free passes to all the national parks. Standard fee is $15. An additional ticket of $15 is required to purchase by ALL (even with a free military entrance pass to all National Parks). It was worth it to me and a fair price to pay. Jamestowne was a fascinating visit to walk through the well maintained and reconstructed historical buildings & ancient ground of Jamestown. I like how they reconstructed Jamestown to show how it appeared during colonial times and showcased the ruins of the old church within its duplicated replica. I spent most of my time in the church, drinking in the views by the River, and walking through the grounds of Jamestowne. We ended our visit at Jamestown by going to the Archaearium, the archaeology museum, last. It covers the history of Jamestown 1607-1624. There was so much unknown information uncovered there about Pocahontas and the dark history of the colonists during times of famine. 1609 - 1610 was a dark and horrific time period of cold winter weather & starvation for the colonial settlers of Jamestowne. Many starved to death, some resorted to cannibalism of dead corpses or killing the living for food to survive. They reserved a room about this dark period and restrict the use of cameras & taking photography/ videos of that area in the museum out of respect for the remains of the dead in the room. Very macabre yet still fascinating. There were many areas we did not have time to explore due to time constraints and our travel agenda, yet we made the best of what little time we had there.

We had an incredible time exploring the battlefield and driving from location to location. My…read morehusband is a veteran so we got free admission which pleasantly surprised us that I also qualified as his wife. The staff was so nice and explained everything. We took the map and went to each site, read the plaques and paid our respect to those lost. The weather was perfect and everything was clearly labeled and well taken care of. We had a great time learning all about the battle and touring the grounds.

We stopped at this attraction as part of the free trolley tour that circles Yorktown. My husband…read moreloves military historic and we were both bummed that the museum on site was closed for the government shutdown. We did however make the best of walking around the site and taking in all of the history we could on the grounds. We also observed a ceremony that was going on when we arrived at the Victory Monument and viewed various artillery pieces on the grounds. The town of Yorktown has lots of historic buildings and things to see and do. We enjoyed walking around and taking the trolley around this beautiful village.

Great staff and friendly cats! This place has more to see than I originally thought! Great place to…read moreget photos which I'll include a few. They had a fun and interesting selection of souvenirs too. I feel like history nuts would like this place on top of those Poe fans. There's some rich history here with old timey furniture and other unique items. Deff worth a visit.

A friend and I visited last week. This is a small museum that tells the story of Poe's life and has…read moremany artifacts from his life. I really enjoyed learning about his life and especially seeing his monogrammed pocketwatch that was the inspiration of "The Tell-Tale Heart". It doesn't take too long to walk through the three buildings and garden, and is a great place to visit in Shockoe Bottom. The gift shop also has some cool items for sale.

We had a BLAST!! My family visited hoping to have a little fun and kill some time and this place…read morewas SOOOOO MUCH FUN!! We paid for the 3 activity combo deal and it was definitely worth it. This allowed us to walk through the museum, go through the mirror maze and play miniature golf. We spent about 2 hours here overall and the staff member we interacted with was really nice and helpful. We took lots of pics and laughed so much. There were really interesting exhibits in the museum and some cool interactive stuff too. We loved the Face Swap. Well worth the money.

This is the coolest most underrated unique place to stop in and spend a few hours whether local or…read moreon vacation you will have a blast!!!

Agecroft Hall is a beautiful historical property that is like visiting old England without leaving…read moreRichmond. It's wonderfully preserved and allows you to step into another age and time. The gardens are lovely and similar to the ones I've seen in England of the same time period. My favorite thing was the replica of Queen Elizabeth's dress in one of the bedrooms. The visit sparked conversations about life at that time and was a nice way to spend some time. All that is missing is a tea room.

I visited Agecroft Hall when I was in Richmond a week or two ago, and I had a wonderful experience…read more So what is Agecroft Hall? It's a Tudor manor house in Richmond. Why? The manor house was built in the late 15th and early 16th centuries in Lancashire, England. By the 20th century, it was in a state of disrepair, and a wealthy entrepreneur in Richmond bought the property and had it dismantled, crated, and shipped to Richmond. Then, the building materials in good condition were used to build a new home still in the Tudor style. Hence, their tagline: "Made in England. Remade in America." The house is absolutely stunning. It's just a wild thing to see - an authentic Tudor home in Virginia! The exterior and the grounds and gardens are beautiful, but it was the tour inside that really blew me away. They describe the tour as self-guided, but it's sort of a hybrid of a guided tour and a free wander. On each floor of the house, a member of the staff wait to tell you about that floor. After an explanation, they walk around with you, answering any additional questions you have, and peppering in interesting facts about each new room. It was informative, but it also felt personal. I learned a lot, and my jaw dropped a lot. The details in this home are really incredible. Richmond has a lot of attractions, but I highly recommend checking out Agecroft Hall. It's a stunner.

We visited Jamestown Settlement on Aug 14, 2025. It had free parking, which was a plus. From where…read morewe parked, we crossed the zebra crossing and walked through Quadricentennial Plaza to get to the museum. Erected in 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the Quadricentennial Plaza's dual files of state flags was remarkable. When looking from the north side - facing the trio masts with the United States flag in the middle - the state flags were arranged in order of ratification starting from the right file with the flag of Delaware, moving state by state to the south side, then making a U-turn and continue on in the other file (with the flag of Michigan), and arriving back to the north side with the final state flag (Hawaii). A plague at the base of each mast briefly described the state's founding. A photo is included showing that of the Tar Heel state. Jamestown Settlement should not be confused with Historic Jamestowne (spelled with an extra "e"). The former is a museum located in Williamsburg while the latter is an archeological site located in Jamestown. When we arrived at Jamestown Settlement at 11:20am, the sky was cloudy; by 2:25pm, it was sunny and clear. The museum had a wide facade. When seen from an aerial view, it is shaped like an obtuse angle. Even through we went during the summer vacation, it wasn't crowded that day. If you're not interested in attending the museum, there plenty of benches to hang out by the lawn area. The first thing we did after purchasing the tickets was to watch a movie. We went to the rotunda (amazing ceiling view), and followed the directions to Gallery Theater where we saw "1607: A Nation Takes Root". This docudrama traces the founding of Jamestown from the point of view of the colonists, the Powhatans and the Africans, with the colonists being the main protagonists (no-brainer). If I had known that the film was already available on YouTube, I'd have skipped it altogether. After the film was over, we proceeded down Great Hall to the Galleries. There were three entrances to the Galleries. We took the first one cloest to the rotunda, called the "Before Jamestown" section. Before Jamestown, life was peaceful for the Africans and the Powhatans as shown by their life-sized dioramas. Then came the stars of the Galleries: British colonists. The layout and decor for their exhibits evoked a colonial marketplace. It included a partial model of a ship. The "1607" doorway to the right of "The Virginia Company of London" exhibit led to more exhibits. More Powhatans, including one devoted to Pocahontas. In addition, there were exhibits about women's contributions during the early years of Jamestown. "From Africa to Virginia" was a particularly interesting treat. In front of visitors were artifacts and written displays, behind them was a long, large screen showing clips of Africans' encounter with the colonists and the subsequent development of the slave trade. Next were additional colonist exhibits. They weren't as impressive as what came next: recreated homes from that time period (early to mid 1600s). Some of them were colonist dwellings and some slave dwellings. Hard to tell which was which as they all looked similar. At one of the homes, a video clip - played periodically on an exterior wall - showed a slave describing what life was like back then. He seemed happy, like Song of the South's Uncle Remus happy. Across from that home was a doorway leading to Great Hall. By the doorway were written displays encouraging visitors to "Turn Legacy Into Action". To the left of the doorway was an exit that led outside to the gazebo and an area called the Mall. The Mall had a walkway surrounding a larger lawn. At the end of the lawn towards the gazebo was the Commemoration Tower. Review continues in the attached image. More photos and videos can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@1Somber. Look for the playlist "2025-3: Jamestown Settlement Museum".

We visited during their Winter Lantern Festival and thought it was absolutely amazing…read more It took the wifey and I about 1 1/2 to see all the displays. They were so colorful and detailed. The only thing was I was surprised at was there weren't many signs that explained the displays. Now I could be wrong and maybe they were just displays but it seemed many had a specific meaning. Not sure. We also got to watch an acrobatic performance which was really cool. I understand there is a different show every hour or so. There was a large tent with items to purchase as well. So if you get the chance to see one of these displays either at Jamestown or as I understand at other locations around the nation - do it. Great family evening.