There’s No Place Like Historic Homes for the Holidays
When the weather outside is frightful, you can make your holidays delightful by visiting a seasonal event at a historic home. The ambience and warmth of carefully curated rooms in such places fill the air with happiness and good cheer.
What also makes the experience exciting is the wealth of options—whether you fancy a visit to an elegant mansion or prefer a walking tour of homes in a historic district, you’ll be sure to find something just right for you, no matter where you live in the country.
Here are just a few places that are scheduled to open their doors to holiday revelers.
Holidays at the Newport Mansions
Newport, Rhode Island
Scheduled dates: 11/20 – 1/9
The grounds of The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms are on dazzling display for the holidays. Among the outdoor cheer, twenty-eight spruce trees are adorned in lights—but that’s a mere preview for what awaits inside. Both houses feature thousands of ornate plants and decorations throughout, as well as the event’s standout attraction: a fifteen-foot-high tree made of poinsettias that’s the centerpiece of The Breakers’s Great Hall.
Click here for ticket info and the latest updates.
Christmas at Biltmore
Asheville, North Carolina
Scheduled dates: 11/5 – 1/9
Owned by the Vanderbilts and considered to be America’s largest home, Biltmore welcomes holiday guests with two breathtaking tours: Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration (through 1/9) and Candlelight Christmas Evenings (through 1/8). In addition to being wowed by the decor inside, you’ll enjoy yourself at the equally impressive 8,000 acres of lit-up grounds and Antler Hill Village & Winery, which are both included with admission.
Click here for ticket info and the latest updates.
Stetson Mansion “Christmas Spectacular!”
DeLand, Florida
Scheduled dates: 11/1 – 1/22
This holiday season, self-guided tours are available at the Sunshine State’s first luxury home, which is also a private residence. You can enjoy the holiday cheer by visiting ten rooms split between the ground floor and second floor, along with the separate schoolhouse-turned guest cottage, at this decade-old event.
Reservations are required, so click here for ticket info and the latest updates.
Meadow Brook Hall Holiday Walk
Rochester, Michigan
Scheduled dates: 11/26 – 12/23
Holiday Walk, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2021, is expanding across Meadow Brook’s Oakland University grounds with Winter Wonder Lights, a spectacular new light show. By day, Holiday Walk welcomes people to take a self-guided three-floor tour with over fifty trees on display. At night, the estate is filled with lights, music, and concessions as visitors explore the immersive Winter Wonder Lights experience.
Click here for ticket info and the latest updates.
L’Esprit de Noël Virtual Holiday Home Tour
Denver, Colorado
Scheduled dates: 11/19 – 12/31
Each year, a different neighborhood in the greater Denver area is featured on this tour to benefit the Central City Opera through L’Esprit de Noël. A single magnificent house was featured virtually in 2020, and the same holds true in 2021. Historic McCourt Mansion, built in 1888, is on display at this year’s event, which has been a central Colorado tradition for forty-five years.
Click here for ticket info and the latest updates.
The holiday season is one to treasure, now more than ever, and nothing quite beats being invited into fully decorated homes to experience them in all their festive grandeur. Be sure to check ticket availability for such events in your area—tickets sell out fast, and smaller-scale community events may only take place for a day or a weekend (and some may be virtual because of COVID-19 restrictions). No matter where you go, however, experiencing a holiday home is a surefire way to immerse yourself in the wonder the season has to offer.