The Merchant House Museum has an excellent tour during the Halloween season taking a Candlelight tour of the house. You join a group of people walking around the house in the dark hearing stories of the family and the strange occurrences of the house. The 50 minute tour of the house takes you to levels and the tour guides gives you a nice depiction of the family life at the house. During the day, the tour is much more informative and lets you see the whole house. At night though, it really does spook you. Don't miss the Halloween tour.

This small museum was very well rated here, but I was disappointed. Although the small garden was delightful, there was nothing really to see on the top two floors. Most disturbing, they are fighting (rightfully) to stop construction of a huge new hotel on the adjacent property. All their income is going towards legal fees instead of to well-needed repairs to the property. But worth a look if you are in the neighborhood.

The tour was great and very informative. Also, the guide was very professional, friendly, and was willing to answer questions along the way. I was impressed with the way the house has been kept up for so long and all the care that’s been put in to it. I hope the city of New York stops the development near this fragile house in order to preserve this home. I highly recommend taking a tour of this. Thank you!

I popped into the Merchant's House Museum for a good hour or so exploration in mid-January 2024. It's a lovingly cared for glimpse into the life of a bygone age. Unfortunately I missed the guided tour but the notes provided were very helpful and added a nice flavour to the experience. I appreciated seeing not just the beautiful main level parlor but also the quarters of the live-in "Irish girls." I have previously visited the Tenement Museum and the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Museum so this house added another window into C19 and early C20 NYC life. Definitely worth an hour of your time.

The guided tour is very good, although you can easily tour on your own with all the information placards in each room. The decor is lovely and it's fun and interesting to hear about the family who lived here. A very well-preserved property and lots of fun facts about "old" NYC.

A wonderful and important museum. A 19th century house which was lived in by a merchant and his family, and occupied by his daughter until her death in the 1930s, when it became a museum. The decor and furniture is therefore completely authentic and not recreated later on. They have extensive collections of artefacts and clothing from the period (not all on display but an important historical resource). The atmosphere is wonderful. I paid $15 and was there around an hour and a half. I prefer a self-guided visit, and the museum provides a comprehensive folder of information about each room so that worked well. I was one of only a few visitors so it was great to be on my own in those rooms and imagine one of the family about to walk in! The building is an official landmark but is there are plans to build a 7 storey building next door which would damage the historic foundations, plasterwork etc. Shocking that such a development is permitted right next to a rare surviving historic house. They are campaigning and fundraising at the moment to fight against the development - please support the campaign!

The Merchant House Museum has an excellent evening outside in the summer when they have music in the back garden. What a wonderful evening it was that night. Flutist Cheryl Pyle played an hour concert of classic songs and explained a bit about her career. It was such a relaxing concert with a small crowd set in the Merchant House Museum gardens when in full bloom. For a small donation, there was wine and small snacks to enjoy. In between we had time to admire this wonderful setting. The flowers and plants were so colorful.

This is such an interesting museum! We had heard about it as the building is under duress with the building of a high rise next door and we wanted to make sure we saw it now in case some of the plaster inside is damaged due to the construction. The house is one of the only preserved homes from the 19th century and it's fascinating to see how people lived at that time. You're given a binder of information at the beginning of the tour and we enjoyed that there was a self-guided options (docents are available for questions and they were very helpful). The home is beautiful and they've done a great job in preserving it. It was a lovely museum to tour and we hope that the building can be preserved and not damaged due to nearby construction!

I heard about this place on a podcast I listen to (And That's Why We Drink) and that really piqued my interest. When I traveled to Manhattan for a long weekend, I knew I had to make this part of my trip. I tried to buy a ticket online, but it appeared the tour was sold out... however when I showed up, I found out the website is still at to COVID protocol for group numbers, but they allow more than 8 on a tour, so I paid in the little shop and joined the tour. A truly fascinating house-- most of it is still decorated in the original family's pieces. There are also many informational plaques and displays throughout the 3 stories. Once the tour is over, guests can spend as much time as they want exploring on their own. You can also visit and not pay for the tour.