Featured Tours
EMLEN PHYSICK ESTATE TOUR
Take a guided tour of the first and second floors of the 1879 Physick House Museum, for an in-depth look at Victorian architecture and the period, reflecting one Victorian family’s lifestyle, and detailing the way the Physick family and their household lived, worked and spent their leisure time. Built in 1879, the 18-room mansion is an architectural wonder built by famed American architect Frank Furness and is one of the best examples of Victorian Stick Style architecture in the country. In 2022-23 the tour them “Meet the Staff” focuses on the Physick House staff. Like many upper-class families of the era, Dr. Physick hired numerous local people to work at his estate. Learn about the staff, their duties, and their importance to the Physick family and the community.
COMBINATION TROLLEY/PHYSICK
ESTATE TOUR
This immersive, 2-hour tour experience combines a guided tour by trolley of Cape May’s Historic District with a guided tour of the Physick House Museum, providing an in-depth look into Cape May history and architecture. Learn why Cape May is the only National Historic Landmark City in the nation as you appreciate the details of Cape May’s unique Victorian streetscapes via trolley. Take a guided tour of the first and second floors of the 1879 Physick House Museum, for a detailed look at Victorian architecture and the period. Built in 1879, the 18-room mansion is an architectural masterpiece built by famed American architect Frank Furness and one of the best examples of Victorian Stick Style architecture in the country. The tour includes a visit to the Carriage House Carroll Gallery Exhibit and begins and ends at the Ocean Street Trolley stop.
Tour tickets for this tour are not available for online purchase. Click the link below to find out where to purchase tickets.
VOICES FROM BEYOND HOUSE TOUR
Experience an unusual tour in Cape May MAC’s 1879 Emlen Physick House. In the Voices from Beyond Tour, you will hear actual spirit voices captured by Cape May MAC staff over the past 10 years. View historical photos of the Physick family and their staff alongside photos of apparitions seen inside the house. Learn about the equipment and tools used throughout history in paranormal research. Who could these voices belong to and what is keeping them connected to the Physick House Museum? Draw your own conclusions on this new and exciting paranormal tour.
HISTORIC HAUNTS COMBO TOUR
Take an evening trolley ride through the Historic District and hear stories of haunted Cape May. Step off the trolley at the Physick House Museum with your guide and see Cape May’s only Victorian house museum, reputed to be haunted, as you learn about Victorian Spiritualism. This tour combines a Ghosts of Cape May trolley tour with a visit to the Physick House. In the museum, guides will compare the methods of spirit contact used by the Victorians with those of today’s paranormal investigators. Selected rooms on both floors are included in the tour. Begins and ends at the Ocean Street trolley stop.
STRANGE VICTORIAN OBSESSIONS
Victorians were fascinated with mystery and illusion and this tour through first floor rooms in the 1879 Physick House Museum shares that fascination. Learn about the famous Harry Houdini who captivated Victorian audiences with his intricate escapes, the Goddess of Mystery, Ionia, a Belgian beauty who Victorians worshipped for her spectacles of magic, The Great Lafayette, who became known as the world’s greatest magician, and Pepper’s Ghost, an illusion still used today, with Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and more.
SPIRITS, ODDITIES & OBSESSIONS COMBO TOUR
Victorians of the late 19th century had wild notions about the passage from life to death, and were fascinated by mystery and illusion. Hear Cape May ghost stories as you travel Cape May by trolley, along with strange stories from Victorian Cape May that are just plain weird. Then visit select rooms in the 1879 Physick House Museum and learn about famous Victorian illusionists and magicians. Begins & ends at the Washington Street Mall Trolley Stop. Must be purchased together.
SPRING INTO THE CHERRY HOUSE TOUR
Step inside and explore at your own pace more than a dozen rooms decorated for Easter during the Spring Into the Cherry House Tour. See stuffed rabbits large and small and recall Easter mornings of yesteryear, with baskets, eggs and spring flowers decorating the private historic 1849 home of hosts Beth and Frank Acker. The Cherry House is located on one of Cape May’s loveliest historic streets. Marvel at a miniature Easter town lit for the holiday displayed on the mantel and a dining table set with special dinnerware for an Easter feast. The Cherry House is located at 637 Hughes St.
CLUELESS AT THE PHYSICK ESTATE
Racing the Clock
Clueless at the Physick Estate is an immersive experience where tour goers travel through the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate as an original mystery dramatically unfolds around them. In 2023, time is the enemy in “Racing the Clock,” written by Jacklyn Fazio. Barrington family dinners are notorious for bad news, but no one expected this one to take such a sinister turn, when the family matriarch drops dead before dessert is served. With every guest potentially poisoned, and not enough antidote to go around, you must identify the killer before it’s too late.
HISTORIC HAUNTS HOUSE TOUR
Tour select rooms with your guide and learn about Victorian Spiritualism in Cape May’s only Victorian house museum, the Physick House Museum, widely reputed to be haunted. In the museum, guides will compare the methods of spirit contact used by the Victorians with those of today’s paranormal investigators. Select rooms on both floors are included in the tour.