Christmas in Cape May

CHRISTMAS TREE-LIGHTING CEREMONY

CHRISTMAS CANDLELIGHT HOUSE TOURS

Cape May MAC launched its first Christmas tour in 1974 and ever since this tour has been a beloved annual tradition and a highlight of the holiday season in America’s only National Historic Landmark City. This self-guided walking tour celebrates the best of Cape May at Christmas, as you travel Cape May’s gaslit streets, hear musicians and carolers, and visit homes, inns, B&Bs, churches and hotels where you’ll step inside to see both Victorian and more modern interiors beautifully decorated for the holidays. Don’t miss Cape May’s longest running and most popular Christmas tour.

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 in the Carroll Gallery at the Physick Estate Carriage House. 

NEW!  Now offering a dinner package with The Washington Inn. 

HOLIDAY INNS TOUR

Get into the Christmas spirit as you tour three or more of Cape May’s festively decorated Bed & Breakfast Inns and private homes. Tour handout and map is available at the Washington St. Mall Information Booth or the Physick Estate.

NEW!  Now offering a dinner package with The Washington Inn. 

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 during the holidays, ghostly shadow spirits out strolling on cold December nights, the weird and risky games Victorians played at Christmas, and more.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA
AT THE INN OF CAPE MAY

Share a delicious breakfast with family and friends and welcome special guest Santa Claus, himself, as he visits The Inn of Cape May at 7 Ocean Street. He will meet and greet his fans with time for photos and sharing wish lists. Event is limited. Advance purchase required.

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.

‘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?

ALL THAT GLITTERS
TROLLEY TOUR

Victorians ring in a new century!

It’s the winter holiday season in the late Victorian age. Join us on a ride around town as we regale with then and now stories of the lively Cape Island holiday social landscape of the time. Learn about charming rituals and superstitions that promise good fortune in the new year. Hear how the New Year’s ball drop tradition got started and continues today, right here on Cape Island. Learn where Cape May Victorians shopped and entertained during the winter holidays with numerous stories about the food and drink traditions that make New Year’s celebrations festive and bright.

CAROLING IN VICTORIAN CAPE MAY WALKING TOUR

Step into the heart of the holiday season with a festive caroling tour through the charming streets of Cape May. This magical experience combines the town’s Victorian elegance with the warmth and joy of classic Christmas carols. As you stroll through Cape May’s beautifully decorated streets, your guides will lead the group in singing traditional carols, from “Jingle Bells” to “Silent Night.” Along the way, you’ll hear interesting stories about the carols, themselves. Whether you’re a local or visiting for the season, this tour immerses you in Cape May’s holiday spirit, sharing the joy of song and community in one of the country’s most picturesque winter destinations. Tour begins and ends at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth, Ocean Street, Cape May.

“AN OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS” EXHIBIT

Enter a holiday wonderland and feel like a child again as you see our extensive Department 56 Dickens Village collection beneath the boughs of our giant Christmas tree. All this plus old family photos, trains and more. There’s even a place to drop off your letters to Santa!

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. (with free parking available) (except on Saturday of Holiday Preview Weekend when it leaves from the Washington Street Mall Information Booth)

HOLIDAY LIGHTS TROLLEY RIDES

Who can resist the twinkle of Cape May’s beautiful Victorian homes decorated for Christmas? This trolley ride through the historic streets of Cape May is a delight. Listen to Christmas music and enjoy hearing about the history of many of the Christmas traditions of today. Victorian Cape May is outstanding at Christmas and this is a ride to share with friends and family to revel in Cape May’s Christmas spirit. Trolleys are open-air. Blankets are recommended. Cape May MAC blankets are available for purchase at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth and the Physick Estate. Tour begins and ends at the trolley stop on Ocean Street.

Accessible with advance notice.

CLASSICAL CAPE MAY

December 26 at 4pm
Christmas Hymm Sing-Along

All Classical Cape May programs are free and take place at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, Franklin and Washington Street in Cape May. Concerts are one hour long with a reception afterwards for the audience to meet the artists.

EMLEN PHYSICK ESTATE
HOUSE TOUR

See Cape May’s Victorian House Museum, the 1879 Emlen Physick House, decorated in true Victorian style for Christmas on this holiday tour. Your guide will take you through the first and second floors of the 18-room mansion, voted “the most beautiful building in New Jersey,” and explain its importance and the history of the family and staff who lived and worked here. Learn about Victorian Christmas traditions along the way. Afterwards, visit the Carroll Gallery in the estate’s Carriage House to see “An Old-Fashioned Christmas” exhibit, with a marvelous Dept. 56 Dickens Village display.

HISTORIC DISTRICT TROLLEY TOUR

Known as the “Queen of the Seaside Resorts” for its quaint Victorian cottages and pristine beaches, Cape May is the oldest seaside resort in the country, and in 1976, the entire city was declared a National Historic Landmark. Possessing one of the country’s largest collections of 19th century seaside wood framed buildings, the historic district features a variety of styles of Victorian architecture. Tour guides will explain Cape May’s history and architecture and how and why it has survived and thrives to this day. The tour is newly updated with contributions of Cape May’s Black community recently documented and entered into the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and into the National Register of Historic Places. Offered year-round either separately or as combo tours. Begins and ends at the Ocean Street Trolley Stop.

CAPE MAY LIGHTHOUSE

Climb the 199 steps up the original, cast iron spiral stairway to the top of the 1859 Cape May Lighthouse and see a staggering view of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, the surrounding nature trails of Cape May Point State Park, and Cape May Point Borough.