James Madison's Montpelier

It was a wonderful and interesting tour. I
They have done a fantastic job restoring the house and adding context to the story. I definitely recommend one of their guided tours.

Our tour guide was well versed on James Madison, and his legislative history. Very informative tour including discussion on the restoration of the mansion. The visitor center had a nice shop. The DuPont family was a former owner of Montpelier. There was a small museum adjacent to the visitor center on the DuPont family's equestrian pursuits including a racetrack.

I had the pleasure of doing a President's Day tour with Helen - she made the tour beyond informative and fascinating!! 100% recommend spending at least 2 hours for the grounds and guided tour.

I really enjoyed visiting Montpelier as I learned a lot while taking the tour as it’s definitely worth it! The tour guide is very knowledgeable and helpful with any questions! The property is absolutely beautiful! I will definitely come back to visit again in the future! I highly recommend it!

We went to Montpelier and Monticello on the same day. I slightly preferred Montpelier and it is 100% because of our amazing tour guide, Ms. Kemp. She was outstanding. Her knowledge of Madison was deep. Her appreciation for the complexity of sharing his life in a time when slavery was so prevalent was admirable. She didn’t sugar coat things and this made the whole experience richer for me.

What a beautiful place to visit! Bring your hiking shoes as there are gorgeous hiking trails all along the property. You can purchase the mansion tour only or both the grounds and mansion tour. Both are self guided which makes it even better! I will be going back! I only got some outside photos this time, but will be getting more of inside the mansion next time!

I’ve visited Montpelier multiple times with friends and family. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Virginia, American history, and the writing of our constitution. The museum is great for a short visit - tours of the house take around an hour. Or you could spend all day here, visiting the cemeteries, the dependencies, the exhibits outside of the main house tour, and even walking miles of hiking trails! The work that has been done to the property is extensive and everything is beautifully maintained. The guides and staff are all very friendly and knowledgeable.

Very well maintained.

Nice gift shop and a small cafeteria.
The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable.

Watched a short video in the gift shop, then
toured the grounds and house.
The tour does cost money, but was well worth the price.
The tour guide was wonderful.

Walked through the small “museum,” and to the cemeteries separately.

It was well worth the trip.
Definitely learned a lot about Madison and his family.

We only visited the grounds (which are huge) and the slavery exhibition. Fairly priced at $13pp. We didn’t see a soul in the woodlands. During a hot summer’s day, a stroll in Montpelier would be fantastic. Such a pleasure to see a walled garden as well. The flowers were beautiful and the gardener clearly loves his work. For a visit of the house itself, advanced booking is very recommended. I would suggest a 2-3 hour minimum to get the most out of the site.

Great piece of American history. Our tour was very informative and took us throughout the house. My only complaint is that their is no museum that talks about Madison's life.

A nice place to walk outside of Charlottesville with pastoral views and boreal woods with anxiety trees. I did not take the historic house tour this time but did walk miles of trails cut through the estate. Quiet and lovely.

Montpelier has been on my list and I had a really enjoyable time visiting. I went on a Sunday afternoon in early March. I did the house tour which included the property pass. We really didn’t get into too many rooms in the house but it was a great experience. I’m not 100% convinced that James Madison wasn’t a Freemason but that’s just my feeling. The tour guides were excellent storytellers and the people at the ticket area were very helpful! I would have liked to have more time to tour the outdoors areas but that’s my own fault for not getting there earlier. Lots to see and learn, definitely worth the trip.

Excellent tour with Kathleen, our tour guide. We all agreed it was better than Monticello. She did an amazing job of giving a history lesson while putting things in context of the times and Madison's life. We've been to Mount Vernon, Williamsburg, and Monticello, and this tour was our favorite. It lasted about an hour and she also did a great job of talking about the impact of the enslaved people on Madison's life and ability to focus on politics, the Constitution, and higher thinking.

Highly recommend for families and a great history lesson.

A fantastic tour from Haley made this an experience not to be missed. A piece of history worth learning and the drive there was breathtaking. Would go again and take family!

Great history and beautiful outdoor setting in the Piedmont plateau nudging up against the Shenandoah mountains.

Beautifully restored estate with expansive grounds and views of the mountains. The house tour we went on put Madison's life into perspective and explained his accomplishments and which experiences had shaped him. I really appreciated that the most controversial subject, slavery, was not glossed over but explained in the social and economic context of the period. If you love learning about US history you should take time for the house tour plus an in depth topic tour.

One of the highlights of our visit to Virginia! We saw 6 presidential houses on this trip and this was one of our favorites. My kids and I were in awe to be in the same room where the Constitution was written and where the foundations of our country were born. Simply amazing!

The tour guide was excellent and shared many interesting stories and details. The house is well preserved and the property is beautiful. We arrived at 1:25pm hoping to get on the 1:30 tour and they were able to accommodate. The tour itself took a little over an hour. There are also several other buildings on the property, including quarters for the enslaved people that were interesting to visit. He is buried there as well so don't miss taking a short walk down the hill to his grave.

The tour was wonderful and informative. Highly recommend that if you’re in the area, you should stop in and dive into our early American history. Monroe was an imperfect trail blazer that helped create the most dynamic and long lasting constitution. He also was key to writing the bill of rights. The place walks through the good and bad and is worth a visit to better understand our history. Loved this place.

I decided to take a solo trip to visit Montpelier because I wanted to have as much time as I wanted to explore. I could not have asked for a better tour or day to enjoy learning and exploring. My tour guide was so knowledgeable and I took a lot of good notes to share with my students.
I loved walking the gardens and grounds as well.
Their new exhibits “mere distinction of color” are also wonderful. I love their emphasis on valuing all people that lived here, not just James Madison.

Went for a Bill of Rights Institute and was able to stay on the property in the Constitutional Village .. this was a fantastic experience and the tour of the house and grounds was fantastic