I absolutely lose my mind over historical gems such as the Physick Estate that have the entire…read morehouse to peruse! The tour guide was fantastic & really went through every possible detail on the family & the history. Came with my friends on the first day of our CM vacation on a weekend. Pretty easy enough to purchase tickets ahead of time at the gift store. All in all a perfect way to spend a few hours learning about the local history! Highly recommend!!!!

Whenever I'm traveling I do my best to look up if there are any museums or historical points of…read moreinterest I can check out. Even though Cape May is known mostly as a Jersey Shore resort community, there's a lot of eye candy in the form of Victorian architecture - including some historic estates. One of these is the Emlen Physick Estate, and since they offer tours of the house I thought it would be a great way to spend part of my afternoon. Located on Washington St slightly away from the main hustle and bustle of CM, the Emlen Physick Estate sits on a sizeable piece of land somewhat inward from the street. The property contains the main house, a carriage house which now holds the gift shop and a restaurant, and another building used for administration. The estate is run by Cape May MAC, who worked to restore the house back in the 70s. In addition to the standard estate tour, they also offer trolley tours and evening "haunted" tours on the property. The Estate was built for Dr. Emlen Physick, who came from a prominent family. I won't give away the details of the tour, but they did a really good job discussing the history of the property, Physick and his family, as well as all of the architecture and decor of the estate. Our tour guide did a great job with every aspect of the tour, including answering our questions. One thing I noticed was that the promo pictures here on Yelp show historical interpreters guiding the tour, but we didn't have that. Our guide was great, but a historical interpreter would have been a funner touch. The tour took about 45 minutes to an hour, and afterwards we were given free-reigns to explore the carriage house which had merch and a small self-guided tour area. Overall, I enjoyed my time at the Emlen Physick Estate; it's definitely worth taking the time to explore and a welcome contrast to the typical beach things to do in the area.

Have visited twice - nice collection of aircraft all under one roof & not overwhelming. Staff…read moreon-site were very friendly and helpful. Also nice is the fact that you can get close (sometimes even inside) to the displays, as compared to some of the larger museums. A lot of local history and the NAS's contribution during WWII. There is also a cool little gift shop at the end (isn't there always) where you can pick up memorabilia. I would plan on spending an hour or so minimum - more if your really want to dig in to the displays & videos available. Great for the family & history/aviation buffs. PS - if you're there earlier in the day - check out the Flight Deck Diner for some good comfort food and displays of patches/aircraft models..

Such a great place to visit! I came with 4 kids under the age of 10, and they all really enjoyed…read moreit. There are airplanes to climb into, boats to explore, and cockpits to take great photos in. There is a lot to read and learn about for adults too. Admission is reasonable, and so where the airplanes that my sons HAD to have before we left the gift shop :) Great rainy day activity, or, when you just need a break from the heat of the day.

It's hard to not love a lighthouse! I have enjoyed visiting this lighthouse and climbing the steps…read moresince Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts took over stewardship in 1988. During my first climb there was easily readable 19th Century graffiti in pencil - now mostly worn off from many hands steadying themselves on the walls and over written by 'new' graffiti. The view from the top is breathtaking from all 360° The grounds are nice, with a mini-museum featuring historical & nature displays, the birdwatch areas & the bunker over the dunes on the beach. This is a great place to bring the family as there's quite a bit to see in this relatively small area... Don't forget your camera!

We came today to visit the Lighthouse for the very first time and we were met with a very rude and…read more condescending male attendant inside the Lighthouse taking the admittance fee to go upstairs. We asked a few questions about how Lighthouse works and the man was completely rude. We have found all other people in this area to be very nice, but this particular man was rude and not a good representative for the State of NJ or the Lighthouse

We decided to devote one day to being 'touristy' in CM & spent a Sunday in July checking out all…read morethe local places. This trolley tour did not disappoint at all! The guide was extremely knowledgeable & kudos to the driver, CM is rich in history & there were plenty of great stories told. We took the basic show us all around CM tour & tell us about the homes & characters that lived here many moons ago. The homes are really gorgeous to look at & since this was only day 2 of our vaca we could appreciate it all the more later on during the week while walking. A thoroughly enjoyable way to learn the history of CM, highly recommend & reasonable price per ticket.

Cape May Trolley tours are great. I've done the day and night tours on all subjects offered and I…read moretruly enjoyed the tours. The only tour I suggest at night is the haunted trolley tour as it gets you more in the mood to hear about the cape May ghosts. Today we did the historic tour and there were so many things I didn't know. Our tour guide was fabulous. We did the combo tour and had a look inside the emblem house. So interesting

Considering they've only bern open for one month at the time of this review (July 2023), they've…read moredone a nice job creating this public tour. The Cape May Point Science Center is located in the former St. Mary's Retreat, run for a century by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The Sisters are a quiet Roman Catholic group, and they reject any display of material wealth. As a result, the 38,000 square foot building is largely as it was at the turn of the 20th century, with modest improvements and careful maintenance. I admit half the reason I signed up for a tour was to get a look inside. The Sisters did not give tours, run layperson retreats or welcome outside visitors. The Science Center is now working to use the space for environmental study and education. Cape May is a key area for migratory bird traffic as well as being in a location that has both bay and ocean marine environments. During the tour they talked about how these are connected- for example, each spring, horseshoe crabs come ashore to lay eggs, which migrating birds stop and eat. The tour consists first of the history of the building, (before it was a retreat it was a home for aged and I'll former slaves, and, before that a hotel) then to the ecological and scientific studies ongoing. They host different community events from yoga and nature journaling to night sky viewing. I'm looking forward to their adding curation as they grow. It was an interesting tour where I learned a good bit, seeing part of the interior and the tranquil courtyard was also quite cool.

From the owner: The Cape May Point Science Center is dedicated to providing unique opportunities and funding for…read moreenvironmental advocacy, education, and research.

What a delightful oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the Cape May Washington mall. The…read moreshop proprietor was so informative and such a delight to talk to. He shared with us the story of the monkey and how he would repeatedly draw fan paintings. It was a fascinating tale. We loved looking at all the artwork and had a laugh at several of them. They stay in business through the help of donations so we made sure to leave some money behind so that the next person can be delighted as well. This place is a real class act! Bravo. I would add some pictures but we were not allowed to take photography.

Thank you mark for sharing some art history, we had a great time! Would highly recommend during a…read morevisit to cape may.

Neat little spot on Ocean Avenue in Wildwood that will tickle your fancy if you like doo-wop,…read morevintage furniture, or things off the beaten path. It is somewhat of a hidden gem, and you may need to drive or walk around a bit to find it. It consists of one building filled with memorabilia and signs from the doo-wop era of the city. It was free when we visited (June 2025) and is more of a quick pitstop than an event or experience that will take hours. We must have spent maximum 30 minutes there. Great way to see something different than typical beach town activities, like mini-golf and beach bumming. Perfect way to pass some time on a rainy day, like it was during our trip.

It was ok ! Had some cool stuff to look at nothing mind blowing . Definitely great memories of…read moreyears gone by . It's a nice little pit stop when your walking around Wild Wood.