Plenty of cities let you drive past their Gilded Age mansions. Minneapolis lets you walk in. On the Gilded Age Mansion Tour, you don’t just cruise the old lumber-and-flour money neighborhoods by vintage trolley — you step inside two of the city’s grandest historic houses: the Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion at 300 Clifton and the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion. It’s the rare historic house tour in Minneapolis where the front doors actually open for you.
The Carpenter Mansion: tour it, then sleep in it
Eugene J. Carpenter made his fortune in lumber and spent it on art — his 300 Clifton Avenue home is remembered as the birthplace of the arts in Minneapolis, where the campaign for what became the Minneapolis Institute of Art took shape. Architect Edwin Hewitt gave the 1906 remodel what’s considered the finest Georgian architecture in Minnesota. And here’s the kicker: it’s the only mansion in Minneapolis you can tour and spend the night in, because it now lives a second life as the 300 Clifton bed & breakfast in Loring Park — hot tub garden, speakeasy lounge and all.
The Pillsbury Mansion: the house flour built
A few blocks away stands the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion, built 1912–14 by architects Hewitt & Brown in English Gothic Revival style — the mansion flour built. Today it’s home to the Pillsbury Club, with a speakeasy-style bar, a private theater, and year-round tours that get you into rooms most Minneapolitans have only wondered about from the sidewalk. It’s also where the trolley boards, so your mansion tour starts inside a mansion.
Christmas at the mansion: the only public mansion tours in town during the holidays
Here’s a local secret for December planners: the American Swedish Institute pauses its regular Turnblad Mansion tours during its annual holiday exhibition. That means when the city is at its most magical, our Carpenter and Pillsbury mansion tours are the only public mansion tours running in Minneapolis — decked halls, roaring fireplaces, and far fewer crowds. Pair one with the Naughty or Nice holiday light rides and you’ve got a full Christmas-at-the-mansion evening.
Why a Gilded Age mansion tour beats a museum afternoon
These houses are the story of Minneapolis — lumber barons, flour kings, and the families whose names still hang on our institutions. The Minnesota Historical Society is a great rabbit hole for the history, and Meet Minneapolis can round out the rest of your visit. On the trolley, though, the history comes narrated, heated, and with a look behind doors that are usually locked. It regularly tops our own list of the best Minneapolis tours, sits comfortably among the best Minneapolis landmarks, and makes a sneaky-great pick from our best Minneapolis date ideas. If you’re planning a bigger trip, see what to do in Minneapolis in August 2026. Staying longer? Oakland’s on 9th has furnished extended-stay studios downtown.
Old house tours sell out fast in every season — grab your seats on the Gilded Age Mansion Tour and come see how Minneapolis lived when it ran the world’s flour and lumber. Questions? Call (612) 900-3220.
Keep reading: planning a late-summer trip? Here’s our full guide to the 2026 Minnesota State Fair — dates, tickets, Grandstand shows, and how to do it all from Minneapolis.