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Hours & Admission
The museum is currently open 7 days a week from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Final tours begin at 4:15 PM ET.
The historic home is shown by guided tour only. We offer two kinds of tours each day: general house tours and living history tours. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets. Do you want to use your museum membership or other discount to visit the house? Click here to find out how.
PLAN AHEAD! Due to the limited capacity on tours, we recommend that you purchase tickets in advance, as tours sell out days ahead of time. If you choose to show up without purchasing tickets in advance, we may not be able to accommodate you and your group. *Note: all prices listed on this page include the $2.00/ticket processing fee
Please note the museum is closed on Easter Sunday, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, December 24, December 25, and January 1.
General House Tour
Sam & Olivia Clemens built this unique 3-story mansion in 1874. For the next 17 years, they raised their 3 daughters here with the able assistance of their butler, coachman, maid, cook, gardener—and a lot of pets! Join one of our historic interpreters on a 55 minute guided tour of the home where Sam—better known as Mark Twain—wrote his most enduring works!
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Senior Citizens (ages 65+) $26
Adults (ages 17-64) $28
Children (ages 6-16) $15
Children Under 6 FREE!
Buy Tickets Here! Living History Tour
Offered daily, our living history tours are an immersive experience that allow you to explore a slice of life in the Clemens household. Meet the family and friends who shaped Twain’s life and celebrate the hardworking servants who kept the household running. Led by an actor portraying a member of the household, each tour is about 70 minutes and includes opportunities not available on a general house tour.
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Senior Citizens (ages 65+) $29
Adults (ages 17-64) $31
Children (ages 1-16) – Not recommended for children under 8 $23
Growing Up in the Gilded Age
What was it like to learn, play, and grow up in the The Gilded Age?
In this special hour-long interactive tour, young visitors explore the everyday lives of the Clemens daughters—the books, games, and songs they loved, the subjects they studied, and the people they interacted with. Led by an experienced guide, this inquiry-based tour invites children to think about the ways that childhood and family life in the Gilded Age were similar and different to their own. Offered daily at 10:45 AM, this tour is best suited to children ages 4-10; to best serve our youngest visitors and fully explore the experience of childhood in this home, the tour does not include the house’s third floor.
Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours
Ghostly tales and stories of spirits surround the Mark Twain House. Learn about the Victorians’ fascination with spiritualism – and find out why SyFy Channel’s popular paranormal series Ghost Hunters brought its investigative team to the house – three times!
Ghost tours are offered seasonally and are available by reservation only.
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Get a CLUE Tours
Who killed that varmint Pap Finn? Play our live-action version of the classic game CLUE in the Mark Twain House. Was it Becky Thatcher with the revolver in the Conservatory? The Prince (or was it the Pauper?) with the knife in the Library? This hour-long tour features actors from SEA TEA IMPROV playing Twain’s beloved characters/suspects and all the murder, mayhem, and merriment one would expect from Sam Clemens! These tours were featured on the Travel Channel show Wackiest Tours!
Get a CLUE tours are offered seasonally.
Buy TicketsMuseum Galleries
Our Museum Center houses two galleries filled with artifacts and stories from Mark Twain’s life and time. Exhibitions currently on display include For Business or Pleasure? Twain’s Summer Sojourns and Mark Twain: I have Sampled this life. We also offer a 22-minute film about Mark Twain’s life by Ken Burns that we repeat on the half hour throughout the day. Any house tour ticket includes admission to these galleries and film, but some guests don’t have time to see the historic house (which takes an hour and sometimes has a long wait), or have seen the house many times and just want to see what is new. The galleries also give guests a chance to dive deeper into Mark Twain than we can possibly cover on a tour of the house. Items on display change from year-to-year and highlight different aspects of Mark Twain’s life or local artists inspired by Mark Twain. Galleries are self guided and no reservation is necessary. Gallery tickets can be purchased at the door and they never sell out. Please keep in mind that if your ticket is for galleries only you will not be admitted to the historic house. Entry to the house requires timed house tour tickets. If you get the Galleries Ticket and decide your really do want t see the house we can apply what you already paid to the cost of the house tour ticket based on the availability of tours.
Museum Center Tickets:
- Adult /Senior $8.00
- Child (age 6-16) $6.00
- Under six free
Discounts & Coupons
Museum Members
Members of The Mark Twain House & Museum receive free admission. Log in to your member account to redeem your benefits online.
Library Member Pass
The Mark Twain House & Museum is pleased to welcome visitors through our Library Membership Program. A library membership pass is available, in partnership with local libraries, to offer patrons discounted admission to the museum. Purchasing a library membership provides your patrons with access to Mark Twain’s historic home, as well as our Webster Bank Museum Center, featuring two exhibitions and a short film about Twain’s life by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns.For more information, or to join or renew as a library member, please email membership@marktwainhouse.org. The Library Membership application may be found here.
Individuals should contact their local library to ask if they participate in our Library Membership Program.
North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM)
If you have a membership with another museum that participates in the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM), you are eligible for complimentary admission to a standard house tour for a member couple. This discount does not apply to specialty tours such as Graveyard Shift, Get a CLUE, or Living History tours. Present your membership card with a current NARM sticker at the ticket desk or snap a picture of your NARM membership card and email it to reservations@marktwainhouse.org. We will respond with a promo code you can use to get your discount online.
Blue Star Museum Program
The Mark Twain House is proud to participate in the Blue Star Museum Program for military families. From May 25-September 2 the program allows for the military ID holder and up to five family members. The military ID holder can be either active duty service member or other dependent family member with the appropriate ID card. The active duty member does not have to be present for family members to use the program. Just bring your DD Form 1173 ID Card, or DD Form 1173-1 ID Card, for active duty military family members. The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military–Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard–including Reservists, National Guardsman (regardless of status), U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card. This program is not intended for military veterans or retirees. Blue Star Families to book online: Email to reservations@Marktwainhouse.org. Use the words “Blue Star Family” in your email and wait for the reply. You will receive a link and instructions by email. You will need to show the proper ID upon checking in order to redeem your tickets.
Museums For All
We now participate in the Museums For All program for low-income families. Museums for All is a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums. The program allows any person with a SNAP or EBT card to get tickets for the house tour at a significantly reduced rate. With your EBT card you can get tickets for the General Mark Twain House Tour or the Growing Up in the Gilded Age Tour for $3.00 each for up to four people.
You can walk-up in person and get these tickets at the door or book them online. To book your discounted tickets online please send a photo of your EBT card to reservations@marktwainhouse.org and wait for our reply. We will send instructions and a promo code to book ahead of time. You can also give us a call at 860-247-0998 (option 2, 3, or 4). You will need to present your card and ID upon arrival. Children under six years of age are always free.
Visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center!
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is next door! As you plan your trip to the Mark Twain House & Museum, we encourage you to visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center the same day. Although the Mark Twain House & Museum partner on a number of projects, we are separate institutions. Fore more information and tickets for the Stowe tour, visit https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/. There is currently no discount in place for visiting both sites.
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