Tours at James Madison’s Montpelier

All Tours are included in Admission Price of $20.00 Purchase tickets from us for $18 and save $2 plus get a 10% discount in the gift shop.

Tips for Touring

  1. Avoid the lines, make an advance reservation for your tour time.
  2. Wear good walking shoes.  Visiting the plantation mean a lot of walking and standing.
  3. Enjoy a picnic on the grounds, but leave all food, drink and gum outside the mansion. You can pick up lunch at the BBQ exchange cafe in the visitors center.
  4. Remember to turn your cell phone on silent during the tour.
  5. Let the kids burn off some energy walking the old growth woods and playing with the toys in the basement kitchen.
  6. Nursing mothers will find a rocking chair in the baseman kitchen.
  7. Well behaved leashed dogs are welcome on the grounds.  The walking trails are amazing anytime of year.  Especially in the summer where you will find  lots of shade.

The Signature Tour

Duration of 1 hour and includes a tour of the mansion
March 29, 2016 – November 6, 2016: Monday-Sunday, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM, every half hour
The classic, keystone experience of Montpelier touches on a little bit of everything: Madison the man; The Constitution & Bill of Rights; Slavery, Madison’s worst regret; and Dolley Madison, our first First Lady.
Specialty Tours
Duration of 1 hour and includes a tour of the mansion

 

Madison and the Constitution

March 29, 2016 – November 6, 2016: daily at 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM.
Liberty, democracy, and the ideas that inspired a nation and changed the world come alive in this tour featuring the life and career of James Madison, Father of the Constitution, as well as the political philosophies and debates embodied in the U.S. Constitution. Gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the “spirit” not just the “letter” of America’s greatest document.

Dolley Madison and the Women of Montpelier

March 29, 2016 – November 6, 2016: daily at 1:30 PM.
Henry Clay once said, “Everyone loves Mrs. Madison.” Learn how a young Quaker widow deftly manipulated boundaries to fashion a persona that shaped Washington culture and forged a role for the First Lady that still influences American society today. Guests will also meet some of the other dynamic and strong women—enslaved and free—who founded, farmed, managed, and maintained Montpelier over the past 300 years.

Duration of 1 hour

Montpelier’s Enslaved Community

March 29, 2016 – November 6, 2016: daily at 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM.
Long considered a taboo subject, slavery is a paradox of America, a slave-holding nation that declared to the world that “all men are created equal.” On this outdoor walking tour, visit the sites where multiple generations of Montpelier’s enslaved community lived, loved, and labored, and learn about the varied experiences of those individuals who endured a lifetime of denied humanity.

In the Ground & in the Lab: Archaeology Tour (April-October only)

 

Saturdays, & Sundays, 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM. Begins at the Visitor Center.
Take a guided tour of an active dig site, and learn how archaeologists restore ceramics and process artifacts in the archaeology lab.