Christmas Candlelight House Tours

Offered on three Saturday nights in December, Cape May MAC launched this evening walking tour in 1974 and ever since it has been a highlight of the Christmas season in Victorian Cape May, America's only National Historic Landmark City. Stroll along gaslit streets and visit homes, inns, B&Bs, churches and hotels, most within walking distance of each other, to see lovely interiors decorated for the holidays. This self-guided walking tour, centered in a 3/4-square-mile area of the Historic District, is Cape May's longest running Christmas tour and Cape May MAC's largest annual fundraiser. Ticket purchasers obtain a map and wristband the day before or day of the tour at the Physick Estate. Advance purchase is highly recommended. Trolley shuttles will not be offered as in years past. As in 2024, an express shuttle will operate between the Physick Estate and the one or two farthest points. Most properties are clustered within a 20-minute walk in the Historic District with some just a few minutes from each other, and that makes walking the most efficient way to see the most properties with the least time spent waiting. Wear your most comfortable walking shoes, dress in layers, and feel the holiday merriment as you explore participating properties on foot in Cape May's Historic District.

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Tis The Season: The Trials of Tradition

Exhausted from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and overwhelmed with a house full of guests, Carol Evans can't remember why she even bothers at all. Her evening is interrupted when mysterious visitors arrive with their own stories to share. Can these mysterious visitors from Christmases past help restore tradition before it's too late? Visitors will step inside Cape May's Victorian House Museum, the 1879 Physick House Museum, and encounter the characters as this original story unfolds. Don't miss this uplifting original holiday story in this very special Cape May setting. Accessible with advance notice.

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Evening Yuletide House Tour

Take this guided, first-person living history holiday tour of first-floor rooms of the magnificent 1879 Physick Estate, Cape May's only Victorian house museum, decorated in authentic Victorian style for Christmas. Your guide portrays a member of the Physick family in the early 1900s and shares stories and traditions. The tour also includes a visit to the Carroll Gallery to see “An Old-fashioned Christmas” exhibit, featuring a huge Christmas tree, model trains, and an elaborate Dept. 56 Dickens village collection.

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Lamplighter Christmas Walking Tour

See inside a selection of Cape May bed & breakfast inns and private homes, specially decorated for the holidays on this self-guided evening walking tour that includes a visit to An Old-fashioned Christmas Exhibit at the Physick Estate Carriage House.  

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Holiday Inns Tour

For those looking for a festive daytime tour, the Holiday Inns Tour is your ticket to step inside several Cape May properties decorated for the holidays with garland, bows, trees and more. Capture the Christmas spirit as you see inside these Cape May landmark properties during the holiday season. This is a self-guided tour, so please bring your ticket to the Washington Street Mall Information Booth located at the junction of Washington and Ocean Streets and get a copy of the map. A trolley shuttle makes a continuous loop during this self-guided afternoon tour.

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Holiday Lights Trolley Rides

Who can resist the sparkle of Cape May's beautiful streetscapes and Victorian homes decorated for Christmas? You'll enjoy Christmas music and hear the history of Victorian Christmas traditions on this evening trolley ride to see the holiday lights. Bring a lap blanket to keep warm or snuggle with a loved one and get into the spirit of Christmas with friends and family on one of Cape May's most popular holiday trolley tours. Tour begins and ends at the trolley stop on Ocean Street.

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Santa's Trolley Rides

Mrs. Claus comes direct from the North Pole to lead this tour! She tells stories and leads holiday songs on this jolly holiday trolley ride through town. Santa joins the fun at the Gazebo on the grounds of the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate. Begins and ends at the Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., except for the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the night of Christmas Tree Lighting at the estate, when all trolley tours begin and end at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth. 

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Spirited Cape May Christmas Trolley Ride

Step on board for this evening trolley ride during the Christmas season in historic Cape May! Hear tales of Christmases long, long ago and not so long ago, as you travel along lovely streets in the historic district. Hear about Santa arriving at this seaside town in odd and surprising ways, ghostly appearances in the 1879 Physick House museum experienced and recorded by staff there during the holidays, ghostly shadow spirits out strolling on cold December nights, the weird and risky games Victorians played at Christmas, and more.

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"An Old-Fashioned Christmas" Exhibit

Since 2011, the yuletide display “An Old-Fashioned Christmas Exhibit: Holiday Traditions through the Years,” has been a beloved tradition of Cape May MAC's festive holiday season. Hosted at the Carroll Gallery on the grounds of the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, this charming exhibit has welcomed thousands of holiday visitors, both young and old, over the years. Experience holiday traditions complete with a stately Christmas tree, a Dept. 56 Dickens Village, model trains, nostalgic photos from Christmas past, toys and much more. Cape May MAC received a donation in 2009 of an extensive Dept. 56 Dickens Village Collection from Ernie & Betsy Heegard. The collection has become the integral piece in this exhibit, which is open daily during the Christmas season (except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day). Admission is free.

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