We went for a birthday celebration and I am so happy for this experience. Great bed and breakfast,…read moreunlike any other bed and breakfast. If you enjoy historical places, this is one to visit. This gives you an opportunity to see what life was like back in the day, from the plumbing in the bathrooms to the old light fixtures and so much more. Juan and Warren are great hosts. Upon checking in at four, you receive a tour of the home. Afterwards the hosts share a Wine and Cheese reception with their guests and afterwards you are able to explore the home on your own. In the morning coffee and tea is provided prior to breakfast. Breakfast was delicious and served in the dining room on china. Please knWe truly enjoyed this bed and breakfast and look forward to visiting again!

The mansion is breathtaking it is unbelievable with the 100 year old details and exquisite details…read morein every room. When you go for this tour Juan loves to share the knowledge and information about the family and the details. I don't want to give too much away because you really need to visit! But Tiffany stained glass throughout the house, leather wallpaper, and so much more. This mansion was made before its time and is a masterpiece! The only issues we stumbled on were locating the parking and then finding a place to park.

Great stop even though we didn't go inside. We climbed up the stairs about 30 minutes before it…read moreclosed. We lucked out and saw the beautiful light show.

When are you going to see a lighthouse in the middle of the country? This little lighthouse was…read morebuilt in 1934 to honor Mark Twain on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The picturesque lighthouse is non-functional and overlooks the Mississippi River. There is a plaque that describes the history of the lighthouse, which was dedicated in 1935 by Franklin Roosevelt. In 1960, the lighthouse was destroyed in a windstorm and rebuilt in 1963. The current building was dedicated by John Kennedy in 1963 and later renovated in 1994. You can see the lighthouse house from downtown Hannibal and climb the steep stairs to view up close. We drove up the windy road to the base where there is free parking for about a dozen cars. After ascending a short flight of steps, we were rewarded with views of the Mississippi River, downtown Hannibal and peeks of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge. The lighthouse is not open for tours, it's just an outside visit. There is no charge to see the building. There are no amenities at the site except for a bench. The lighthouse is worth a short visit.

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) grew up here in Hannibal and there's no missing his influence on the…read moretown and the town's interest in him. They are absolutely capitalizing on his upbringing here with a museum, statues, and all sorts of structures named after the man who some would call the greatest American writer. Tucked at the bottom of Cardiff Hill at the intersection of North and Main Street, this statue of two of Twain's most famous characters. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn's adventures took place in the fictional town of Saint Petersburg but it was very definitely Hannibal. The statues are by artist Frederick C. Hibbard and worth a stop as you're visiting the city. [Review 19717 overall - 195 in Missouri - 689 of 2023.]

This was a great experience for me, and my family! We stopped here on our way out of town and…read moreabsolutely loved our 60 minute walk-through the cave. Our tour guide was Avery and he was fantastic! From the middle that we stepped out to take a picture in front of the cave until we exited through the gift shop. It was a great experience. We walked through places in the cave that were noted in the adventures of Tom Sawyer, and through the cave history, including the thousands of signatures in the cave. We also participated in 15 through a pay dirt bag. This space is grade for all ages, and they have ample souvenirs. In the gift shop. We even visited the winery across the street. We look forward to potentially camping there in the future.

Very much a definition of a tourist attraction, the Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, MO ended up being…read morea worthwhile stop for my wife and me during Day 4 of our Mississippi River/Upper Midwest road trip. The stop was one of those places where I planned as a possibility if we had time and made sense, so didn't buy tickets upfront and thus paid the full adult price ($29.99 pp) when we got there. Other tours at the attraction included a guided tour of the Cameron Cave, a trolley tour, and Mark Twain Live Show. The Cameron Cave is the sister cave of this one, kept much more in a natural state (so more appropriate for visitors who come to visit a cave vs a museum for Samuel Clemens) , only open during the summer, and has almost twice the number of passages. We bought our tickets just as the 60 minute tour was starting, so we were hurriedly ushered into the starting theater where the short movie was ending. There was one other couple in our tour, and it was nice that our group was so small. Our guide was a young man who made up for his lack of knowledge in some areas with a lot of enthusiasm. The history of the discovery of the cave was given. He guided us around various areas (some a bit tight) and showed how dark the cave was without artificial light (would not want to be down here without a flashlight)...definitely brought to life some of the scenes I read in 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'. It also showed how children during that time would play in the cave without adult supervision... made me think of how my lack of sense of direction would have been a big problem. The cave is privately owned, and was declared a National Landmark in 1972. Part of the tour included seeing the famous people who had visited the cave as part of previous tours, leaving signatures. Our guide mentioned that 'Darth Vader' had left his mark there, but couldn't tell us who the actor was. Later I learned that it was Spencer Wilding, who portrayed the Sith Lord in 'Rogue One'...for my generation, Darth Vader is David Prowse (physical) and the iconic James Earl Jones (voice). It was a consistent 55 degrees in the cave which was a nice relief from the outside heat. We also learned how the cave was used for town meetings when it got really hot, and the places where children would doodle and pass time as their parents would deal with the town problems of the day. As we left, we entered a modern room with more information about the history of the cave as well as some small mockups of the passages. The exit led to the same gift shop where we bought our tickets. As we exited, we noticed a set-up for the Mark Twain Mining company, where kids of all ages could prospect for valuable minerals in the 'river'. We came during the low season so it wasn't running. We went to Mark Twain's home as an adult and father in Connecticut last year around this time, so was nice to come to Hannibal to see his childhood home, and experience a little bit of his childhood by coming to this cave and the tourism that surrounds it.

Samuel Clemens grew up in Hannibal Missouri, though he wasn't using his pen name of Mark Twain at…read morethe time. He learned the trade of riverboat pilot, earning his pilot's license in 1859 at the age of 23. Clemens had signed on as a pilot's apprentice in 1857 while on his way to Mississippi. He had been commissioned to write a series of comic travel letters for the Keokuk Daily Post, but after writing five, decided he'd rather be a pilot than a writer. He piloted his own boats for two years, until the Civil War halted steamboat traffic. Have a read at one autobiographical chapter: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1875/03/old-times-on-the-mississippi-part-iii/537831/ The caption with this statue of Train reads, "In 1857 young Samuel Clemens began to learn the trade of a steamboat pilot on the Lower Mississippi River. When his piloting career ended with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Clemens went to Nevada Territory where he first used pen name Mark Twin in 1863 while writing for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City. Clemens took the name 'Mark Twain' from the River sounding that indicated 12 feet of water which was safe for navigation. This statue was given to the City of Hannibal by the Schwartz Family of East Hannibal, Illinois, July 4, 2003." The statue is located in Riverfront Park where there is plenty of free parking. [Review 19723 overall - round number 200 in Missouri - 695 of 2023.]

Museum is cute and I got a good deal on Groupon for my whole family. We happen to visit during the…read moreTom Sawyer festival which may the experience more fun. It's not accessible for wheels due to all the stairs, and some of the spaces are small, where you get to walk into the rooms; but it was a good place to cool down in the heat and learn about history and Tom Sawyer. I toddler did walk into the windows, a couple times that separate the historic items from the walk spaces, but he is fine. I definitely recommend a stop for anyone in the area to learned about Mark Twain in that time.

A different and very interesting look at the life of Mark Twain…read moreWhile visiting Hannibal, we decided to visit the Mark Twain Museum located just down the street and south of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home. I would definitely recommend seeing both because, even though they cover much of the same history, they present the life of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, in very different ways. The Boyhood Home lets you actually walk through the places connected to his childhood while this museum, instead, uses a large number of well-done displays and interesting artifacts to tell the story of the different parts of his life. The exhibits take you from his early years and stories through his time working on Mississippi River steamboats and his travels overseas. They show many of these experiences eventually became part of his writing. There are some interesting and unique items on display that were important in his life, which helps make him seem like a real person rather than simply the famous author we know from his books. Be sure to go upstairs while you are there. There is some very nice artwork on the upper floor along with additional exhibits that would be easy to miss if you only looked around downstairs. We spent quite a bit of time going through the displays and found it to be an excellent companion to the Boyhood Home. Overall, it was well worth the visit and added considerably to our understanding of both Mark Twain and Hannibal. If you are interested in the author, his books, or American history, I would definitely recommend visiting both museums. After you're finished, I also highly recommend walking across the street to the chocolate shop for a treat. Enjoy!

The Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was opened to traffic in 2000, and connects Illinois and Missouri…read moreover the mighty Mississippi. It is the gateway to get to Hannibal, the boyhood home of Mark Twain.

This truss bridge crosses the Mississippi River connecting Illinois with Missouri on US 72. The…read morebridge is the second bridge to honor author, Mark Twain. The first bridge fell into disrepair and was replaced by this newer structure in 2000. Supposedly, there is a memorial stone near the entrance to the bridge, but I did not see it. I did see great views of the bridge from downtown Hannibal, Twain's hometown. There is no charge to cross the bridge.

Did the touristy thing tonight and took the dinner cruise. It was a great experience. The entire…read morecrew were extremely friendly, helpful and professional. The bar prices were very fair and the bartender did a fine job. Dinner was a buffet and was very tasty with several choices. The server team also did a great job. The cruise was scenic and enjoyable. Finally the entertainment was enjoyable. Overall ... if you're in Hannibal give them a try.

To start off this review I want to say that I would absolutely recommend doing this riverboat…read morecruise at least once. The crew was friendly. We had a souvenir photo taken before the ride that can be purchased for $10. They have drinks and snacks for purchase during the ride and an overall great tour with plenty of dad jokes and storytelling. It's easy to book a reservation on their website and the place is easy to find with ample free public parking nearby. The things I would like to see improved: The boat is very old and could use a deep cleaning as evidenced by the dead bugs lining the windows obscuring the view. The tabletops were sticky. There was a large wad of gum under one of the tables that I accidently touched. Unfortunately there was a fish kill occurring during the time we went on our ride and there were floating dead fish everywhere. My kid daughter asked the crew about it, but no one addressed it and it left her sad.

Molly Brown's Birthplace and Museum was WAY MORE THAN WE EXPECTED! When we arrived on Sunday…read moreMorning, August 7th, we were greeted by Kiersten. We paid our $4 entry fee and expected to just walk through the house. Nope...Kiersten, proceeded to walk us through every room and explain the life and times of Margaret (Molly) Tobin Brown. We learned A TON that we wouldn't have had Kiersten not been there. Stopping at this attraction is definitely worth your time.