Personal in-car or bus step-on service from the area's Premier Tour Guide service is available for in-depth tours highlighting local history, from the area's Colonial past through the Civil War era, and beyond. Visitors can walk among the sites, not just ride by. Some tours can be adapted to a school group's specific grade level Virginia SOL testing needs. Hallowed Ground Tours also provides personal, individualized in-their-car or walking tours for visitors staying in local inns and hotels. Group rates: $35 per hour with a two hour minimum. Individual/Family tour rates available and depend on the length of the tour.

This 18th-century building restored as the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop presents a vivid living history interpretation of Colonial medical practices. Visitors can hear about the popular treatment of the day for a lady's hysteria or a medicine so potent that it would, according to one wealthy plantation owner, "cheer a man with a bad wife." Adult admission, $5; age 6-18, $2. Group rates available. March 1-Oct. 31: Monday-Saturday, 9am-4pm; Sunday, 12am-45pm. November 1-February 28: Monday-Saturday, 10am-3pm; Sunday, noon-4pm. Closed January 1, Thanksgiving, December 24, 25, and 31. Please allow 45 minutes for your visit.

Step-on guide service using first person dialogue from Fredericksburg's Colonial or Civil War eras. "Feel the Fury," a walking/driving living history tour, allows the visitor or group to experience the battle through the eyes of a soldier who took part in the fighting. Special historical programs available including period music and food. Rates: $40 per hour, minimum of two hours. Walking tours: $15 per adult, $12 seniors, $6 for youth age 6-12.

Kenmore, famous for its ornate plasterwork ceilings, is one of the most elegant colonial mansions in America, and lies in the heart of historic Fredericksburg. Built by Fielding Lewis for his wife Betty, the sister of George Washington, the house has recently undergone a major restoration. The gardens at Kenmore were the first restoration project of the Garden Club of Virginia in 1924, beginning Historic Garden Week in Virginia. Landscape architects Charles Gillette and James Greenleaf designed the colonial revival plan. Today, visitors stroll the Wildernesss Walk, designed in 18th-century style with native plants, or rest on the open lawn imaging a bustling 1700's plantation yard. The boxwood-lined terrace, Virginia's largest yellowwood tree (dripping with white rain-like blooms in the Spring ), and perennnial flowerbeds offer an atmosphere to relax and escape into American history. There is no charge to enjoy the gardens. House Tours: Adults $8, students (6 to 17) $4, under six free. Group visits available by appointment, (540) 370-0732, Ext. 24 . Group rates available. (540) 373-3381 1201 Washington Ave Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Specializing in Horse-Drawn Carriage Tours of Historic Downtown Fredericksburg Virginia. Daily Tour Times are 10:30, 11:45, 1:00, 2:15, 3:30 (weather permitting). Historic tour tickets available at the Visitor's Center: $17/adults, $6/students. Private Evening Rides in Downtown Fredericksburg begin at 5:00 pm - Reservations are required by calling (540) 371-0094 http://www.oldetownecarriages.com/