Minneapolis has no shortage of Christmas events, but a true Christmas at the mansion is harder to find. Gilded Age houses were built for entertaining, and December is when they feel most themselves. If historic house tours in Minneapolis are your idea of a holiday, here is how to do it: two mansions, one trolley, and a room for the night.
What is a Gilded Age mansion tour in Minneapolis?
The Gilded Age Mansion Tour from Minneapolis Trolley Tours is a guided ride through the city’s old-money neighborhoods that steps inside 300 Clifton and the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion. The route passes roughly seventeen historic properties, from the Georgian Eugene and Merrette Carpenter Mansion to the Richardsonian Romanesque Alden Smith Mansion, the French Renaissance Revival Turnblad Mansion and the Prairie Style Winton house. Call the box office at (612) 900-3220 for current times and availability.
Why do these two houses feel like Christmas?
300 Clifton, the Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion, was remodeled in 1906 in Georgian style and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Carpenter chaired the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts from 1911 to 1922, the organization that became the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which is why we call the house the birthplace of the arts in Minneapolis. Read more on our history page and on Wikipedia. Under the wreaths and lights, it has the finest Georgian architecture we know of in Minnesota.
The Pillsbury Club is the mansion flour built: the Charles S. Pillsbury House, designed by Hewitt and Brown and built 1912-14 in English Gothic Revival style in gray limestone. It is also where the trolleys depart. Its experiences and tours page lists what is on offer now.
Can you do a holiday mansion tour at night?
Yes, in two ways. The Naughty or Nice holiday light rides board at the Pillsbury Club: Nice is the all-ages ride (about an hour, from $30, with a holiday market stop), and Naughty is 21+ and BYOB (about two hours, from $75). Guests bring drinks right onto the heated trolley, and there is no bar or parking-lot check-in first.
For something spookier, our Candlelight Tour explores the servants’ quarters and basement and the ghost stories of the house, with dates and prices listed on the ticket page. It is not Christmas-themed, but it is a great after-dark tradition.
What else is decorated for the holidays nearby?
Around town, the American Swedish Institute turns its Turnblad Mansion into a winter exhibition each holiday season; see its site for current details. The Meet Minneapolis guide to historic attractions is a helpful companion, and our Minneapolis mansion tours guide goes deeper.
Stay the night at the only mansion you can tour and sleep in
When the tour ends, you can go upstairs. 300 Clifton is the only mansion in Minneapolis where you can tour and sleep, with a hot tub and a movie room for cold nights. Book your room, then reserve the Gilded Age Mansion Tour and the holiday light ride through Minneapolis Trolley Tours. Holiday dates fill early.
Keep reading: Is There a Hotel With a Private Hot Tub in Minneapolis? A Four-Season Garden Soak at 300 Clifton