Jamestown Settlement or Colonial Willamsburg - which one?

Hi there, I%26#39;m a little confused as to the difference between Jamestown Settlement and Colonial Williamsburg - can anybody help?

We want to stay in the area for three nights, which will give us two full days. One will be taken up with Busch Gardens, so on the other I think one of these %26#39;living museums%26#39; will be great for myself, partner and parents to visit for the day.

But even though I%26#39;ve read about them both on this forum, I%26#39;m still a bit unsure as to which is best, or most interesting, or offers the most to a first-time (overseas, from the UK, but still interested in US history) visitor.

Many thanks for any help.

Jamestown Settlement or Colonial Willamsburg - which one?

One thing you may want to consider in your decision is that Colonial Williamsburg consists of the actual buildings (restored, of course) on the actual site of the colonial town of Williamsburg. Jamestown Settlement, however, is a re-creation of Jamestown near, but not on, the actual site of Jamestown. If you want to visit the actual site of Jamestown, you%26#39;d want to go to Historic Jamestowne which is run by the National Park Service.

Jamestown Settlement or Colonial Willamsburg - which one?

If you have only one day to devote to history, you may want to visit Jamestown. You can visit both sites there in one day whereas it takes 3 days for Colonial Williamsburg. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, celebrated it%26#39;s 400th anniversary in 2007. Your queen visited last May as part of the celebration. There are two parks: Historic Jamestowne which is a national park and is the site of the original settlement complete with archaeological digs and museum; and Jamestown Settlement which is a 20th century recreation of the fort, ships and Indian village. As a Brit, you may enjoy that aspect of your history as well as ours moreso than CW which portrays REVOLUTION (your history,too).

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