Accessibility

A Guide for Visitors with Disabilities

Colonial Williamsburg extends a special welcome to visitors with disabilities. We want every visitor to experience and enjoy Colonial Williamsburg, regardless of restricted mobility or disability. If you have special needs, please let us know.

Our 21st-century Visitor Center, hotels, restaurants, and shops are largely accessible, and we are prepared to make special accommodations when necessary. Special parking arrangements are available for easier access to the Historic Area.

A limited number of folding wheelchairs are available at the Visitor Center. These are rented on a first-come first-served basis. The rental fee is $7.00 per day and a credit card imprint is required as a deposit. No motorized chairs are available.

Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are located in the following buildings:

Visitor Center
Williamsburg Lodge
Merchants Square Information Station
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
Bassett Hall
Public Hospital and DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
Historic area locations:
- Adjacent to the Magazine on Francis Street
- Botetourt Street between Duke of Gloucester St. and Nicholson St.
- Palace grounds near the Wheelwright
- Between the Capitol and Waller Street

We recognize, as we hope you will, that the nature of the Historic Area may impose certain restrictions on some of our visitors. Within its 301 acres are eighty-eight surviving 18th- and early 19th-century buildings and other buildings that have been reconstructed as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, 18th-century architecture may present difficulties for some visitors with disabilities. On the other hand, the Historic Area offers the advantage of very few curbs, and automobiles are not permitted on the main street during the day. Costumed interpreters in the Historic Area will be glad to provide directions to accessible areas.

Visitors with Visual, Hearing or Mobility Limitations

Visitors with Visual Impairments

Licensed guide dogs are permitted in all of Colonial Williamsburg's buildings. Please be aware that many of the furnishings in the historic buildings, including some of the wall coverings, are rare and fragile and should not be touched. Visitors with visual impairments may make use of the headset sound track that describes the on-screen action in the historic film Williamsburg – The Story of a Patriot (shown daily at the Visitor Center). Ask the usher for assistance in setting up the headset. Also popular are the orientation walks in the Historic Area and participating in "hands-on" activities at certain exhibitions. Information on these seasonal activities is available from the Visitor Center staff. Visually impaired visitors may also make advance arrangements for an escort by writing the Visitor Services Coordinator.

Visitors with Hearing Impairments

"Colonial Williamsburg: A Guide for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Visitors" is designed to enhance the Williamsburg experience for visitors with hearing impairments. This publication is available free of charge at the Visitor Center or by writing the Visitor Services Coordinator. In addition, the "Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg," available at all Colonial Williamsburg retail outlets, gives a detailed description of each building in the Historic Area, as well as information about the 18th-century residents of Williamsburg.

A printed synopsis of the orientation film "Williamsburg: the Story of a Patriot" is available at the Visitor Center, as are headsets with adjustable volume control. The east theater, has a rear screen projection system that allows guests seated in any one of thirty seats to see a captioned version of the film by way of a mirror. Ask the usher for assistance in selecting a seat and adjusting the mirror.

Headsets with adjustable volume control are also available for lecture programs in the Hennage Auditorium at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, the Kimball Theater, and the Virginia Room of the Williamsburg Lodge.

Colonial Williamsburg will contract with one of several signing interpreters available to accompany hearing-impaired visitors through the Historic Area. Arrangements for this service must be made two weeks in advance through the Visitor Center. Hearing dogs are permitted in all buildings.

Visitors with Limited Mobility

Most of the restored and reconstructed buildings in the Historic Area have entrance steps, but most interior doorways are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Many of the exhibition buildings have second floors that are interpreted, and stairs are often steep and narrow. Photographic interpretations of many exhibition buildings are available upon request.

Consult the list of exhibition sites when planning your tour. Please be aware that not every building is open every day. Upon your arrival at Colonial Williamsburg, consult the This Week at Colonial Williamsburg (published weekly) for days and hours of operation.

Visitor Services

We want you to enjoy your visit to Colonial Williamsburg. Please make us aware of your special needs!

Visitor Services Coordinator
Visitor Center Administrative Office
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P. O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-1776

Call (757) 220-7645 or (800) 246-2099

TTY (757) 565-8620 or TTY (800) 637-4677

Visitors with wheelchairs will find the streets, most gardens, and outdoor activities in the historic area easily accessible. While portable ramps and wheelchair lifts are available at selected exhibitions, many of the buildings require at least a few steps."