Weekend Thematic Tours

There is no additional fee for the tours listed below, and reservations are not necessary. Interested visitors meet their guides at the Visitor Center. Appropriate footwear is recommended for these walking tours.

The Montpelier Enslaved Community Tour

• Saturdays, 1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. | April through October

In addition to three generations of Madisons, Montpelier was also home to a community of enslaved families. Like his father before him, James Madison owned about 100 slaves. The Montpelier Enslaved Community Tour explores plantation life at Montpelier, including the lives of several known enslaved individuals. It also examines Madison's attitudes toward the institution of slavery.

Stops on the walking tour include the mansion basement; sites of slave dwellings, the detached kitchen, and the blacksmith shop; Mount Pleasant, the original Madison family settlement at Montpelier; and the Slave Cemetery. This hour-long guided tour is offered every Saturday at 1:00 p.m. from April through October.

Grounds and Garden Tour

• Sundays, 1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. | April through October

This hour-long walking tour explores the ways in which the Montpelier landscape has evolved from Madison's day to the present. In the 20th century, the duPonts retained and enhanced basic elements of the Madison landscape while introducing new features. The tour covers the formal garden and the mansion grounds, including a remarkable collection of mature specimen trees, and the historic social uses of the landscape.