WILLIAMSBURG, USA

William & Mary Self-Guided Walking Tour

If you or a traveling companion have some free time, why not take in the historic campus of William & Mary!

William & Mary, founded in 1693, is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Over the past three centuries, the university has distinguished itself as the Alma Mater of the Nation, producing four Presidents, sixteen members of the Continental Congress, four signers of the Declaration of Independence, and four justices of the Supreme Court.

Originally William & Mary consisted of three buildings: the Main, or Sir Christopher Wren, Building (shown in an aerial view); the Brafferton; and the President's House. These structures, which form a triangle in the Wren Yard, have been restored to their original 18th-century appearance through the combined efforts of the university, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Today the university is a moderately-sized, residential, state university. Considered a "Public Ivy," it is among the most selective public universities in the United States. William & Mary draws two-thirds of its 5,700 undergraduates from Virginia, although all 50 states, Puerto Rico and more than 60 foreign countries are also represented in the student body. The highly regarded Schools of Law, Business, Education, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science augment the university's offerings and enroll an additional 2,000 graduate students.