Very stately and southern architecture (Greek Revival, 1856) reminiscent of the homes that would have sat on an estate or orchard. I've only done the interior tour once and it took about 30 minutes. I live walking distance to the mansion (just a mile away) and it's often part of my walking routes. I have a few different walking routes about the city. If you want to do a tour reservations are required at least a week in advance. They can be made online at the State Preservation Board website. You can also call to make a reservation. Tours are free. read more

My brother and I stopped my the Governor's Mansion to tour. Unfortunately, you needed a scheduled appointment before touring inside. We only got to view the mansion and grounds, which was quite intriguing. The Texas Governor's Mansion is a impressive landmark where history and architecture converges. The mansion is located west of the Capitol with mid‑19th‑century design. The striking white façade and tall pillars immediately captures your attention. Look forward to returning... read more

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What an amazingly nice and beautiful place. Nicely decorated for Christmas! A must see if you are downtown Austin, a stones throw from the capitol. read more

The Governor's Mansion - Texas - Side view of Mansion - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Austin, Texas

Beautiful exterior. You can only really see the front through the rod-iron gates, even on a cloudy day it's lovely. The State Troopers assigned here are friendly, helpful & cute to boot. So, stop by & say howdy to the Governor. He's only a block from the Capital building. read more

The Governor's Mansion - Texas - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Austin, Texas

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You need to plan ahead, at least a week, take a tour here and they only have tour from 10 ~ 2, Tues/Weds/Thurs. Some month during renovation, there will not be any tours at all. You can email them, at Mansion.Tours@tspb.state.tx.us (for some reason, the phone number they provided didn't work for me), and provide you full name, DOB and Driver license. Once you passed the background check, they will email you the confirmation. If you are taking the Capital Building tour as well, you can park in the Visitor Parking Garage, the first two hours are free and it is just a block from the Capital building and two blocks from the mansion. The tour is only 20 mins and you can only see the bottom four rooms. Two interesting facts I found fascinating about Texas governor's mansion: - It is green certified building and handicap accessible - In the "Green" room, GW Bush watched the 2000 election Of course there are more, but I wouldn't spoil them for you. read more

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Gorgeous inside! Informative tours! Very nice security and docents. I recommend visiting. You do need to book well in advance and have your drivers license. When you get there, there are no bathrooms and you cannot carry a bag of any kind. Cameras, cell phones and IDs only. The mansion has been beautifully restored since the fire. Fortunately non of the furniture, drapery, collections were destroyed because when the fire happened it had been emptied for a planned restoration. read more

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Let me first state that if you want to take the tour you need to make sure you get your application for reservation in at least a week before you want to go. They'll need your firstborn child (JK!)-actually your drivers license, birthdate and full name to be cleared for the 30 minute tour. Once you're cleared, you'll get info on when and where to go. Don't be late!! And be sure to use the necessary room before you go (there are no facilities for public use at the mansion!). I was not totally impressed. We only got to see the 5 downstairs rooms, only saw pictures of the upstairs bedrooms even though not currently in use. The addition in the back is where the governor and family live, which we did not see (understandably). Our guide stumbled on her presentation several times but may have been new to it. If you have unlimited time and just really have a burning desire to visit, then do. Otherwise, may just want to spend your time at the capitol and grounds. read more

The Governor's Mansion - Texas - Small parlor - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Austin, Texas

Well, I'm surprised that I'm the first to review the Governor's Mansion - being that I'm a visitor from another state... We had to make reservations to enter the Governor's Mansion. You will be required to give your full name and driver's license number in order to secure your reservation. Tours are given only in the morning hours and last about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the group you are entering the mansion with. Our tour reservation was for 11:40am. We were advised to arrive by 11:30am so that our id's could be verified. Luckily, my b/f and I were the only ones in our group. We stood at the front gate and had a nice conversation with the state trooper that was guarding the gate prior to our entrance. Our tour guide's name was Mandy and she did an excellent job letting us know of the history of the Governor's Mansion. Governor Perry actually lives there with his family, but we understand that the mansion will be going through a major renovation starting at the end of September. He and his family will be living elsewhere while the renovations are being done. The only requirement for a person to be governor is that he/she resides within Austin's city limits - so there's no requirement that Gov. Perry must live in the mansion. The mansion is beautiful - and although the renovations have not yet started, I was impressed with the elegance of the rooms and the attention to detail in keeping with time period of the house. The tour only takes at the most 30 minutes - so if you have time, explore the adjacent state capitol grounds. read more

Though it was a small process to get approved to go on this tour, you must be vetted a week in advance, it was worth it. The security is high, as it should be, after all the Governor and his family live in the house! I wouldn't want random people walking through my house!! So it is very kind of the Governor to allow any tours. Our tour guide, Amy, was super nice and very informative. There are many nice paintings and historical pieces to be appreciated. Anything to do with Texas history is cool! Eric, a gentleman that does the scheduling for the tours, went out of his way to be helpful to my mother, above and beyond. Very kind. Then after the tour,Amy walked us over to the Visitors center and chatted it up with my five year old son. Very friendly lady. I recommend this tour if you love Texas History. Be aware you can not bring any bags inside, there are no restrooms and you must get scheduled a week in advance. read more

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Sadly, they are not offering tours now. Their email to me confirmed that. They also say they 'expect' to resume tours 'later'. That is the sole reason for the negative review. Their presence on the internet implies no such closure. read more