A wonderful historic site right in downtown Annapolis. The building is beautifully restored after a pretty dramatic history as a hotel. The formal gardens should not be missed, complete with an apothecary garden that was very educational. Our docent was superb. read more

William Paca House and Garden - Museums Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

We enjoyed the house and pretour reading the wall signage in the main building. They provided water. Only 10 dollars w discount. Nice gardens but we didnt walk into them. Could see them from the house. Lots of cool US and Mayland history for this declaration of independence signer. read more

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I didn't tour the house, but I did visit the garden behind the house. It was well worth the $5 admission charge. It's a lovely spot, at least in August. read more

Beautiful home and garden. Been here a handful of times and everytime it's more beautiful than the last! Always enjoy walking through the gardens and whatever event is going on at the time. Been here twice for the Paca girlfriends event as well as the Naptown stroll event. read more

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10/10 experience! I went on the interior house tour with bill and a crew of people. Bill was super knowledgeable about the history and answered all the group questions. It's only $5 to walk around the gardens but the tour of the house is $12 with free access to the gardens. The tour is about an hour long. I'm not history buff but I learned a lot and more about Maryland colonial history. read more

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I wasn't planning on coming to this house as I had not heard of it, but when I was at the state capitol, I heard one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had a house nearby, I wanted to check it out. It's right on a residential street with a big mulberry tree. I believe tours were on the hour and we arrived more than half an hour early, but they have a nice exhibit on Paca and the other signers, and he had an expansive garden to walk through. There was also a TV outside with a video which I thought was part of the tour so didn't watch but it was additional information. The garden had a bridge over a small creek, it is actually pretty picturesque. Our tour guide took us through a lot of the house and was very knowledgeable. We saw a variety of rooms from the kitchen to the more public socializing spaces to the bedrooms. I didn't know a lot about William Paca but the guide was thorough with the tour which was about an hour. It was an enjoyable visit. Too bad no gift shop for souvenirs. read more

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We got there 30 minutes before the tour started and that was perfect. We explored the back gardens first, and cooled off inside looking at the free exhibit rooms. The tour went throughout the main house (you cannot see it unless you pay for a tour). Our tour guide Raphael was extremely knowledgeable and very proud to work for Historic Annapolis. Thank you! Make sure you pay for parking if you are on the street!! We didn't see the signs and got a ticket! read more

Upon researching Annapolis and things to do the Paca House shows up quite a bit I guess because it is not only a house but gardens and there is only one other house available for touring and this one is more commonly visited. There were two ladies in the office, one of which was so sweet and kind, the older woman. The younger woman was not as nice and was very short with everyone. She also didn't help us with pricing where as the other woman had gone over senior and adult pricing with us. Our tour guide was so sweet! She had a lot of information to give and was very knowledgeable! My mom has a cane and when we got to our tour the tour guide asked if the person at the desk told us it'd be a lot of walking, and surprise the younger attendant did not say anything to us. Regardless the tour guide was so sweet and made sure to point out spots my mom could sit at in each room. There were a few times I felt we unnecessarily went up and down the steps but I guess it had to do with the flow of the tour. The structure is pretty original and they tried to restore things as accurately to the original house as possible but it's filled with a lot of items not belonging to the Paca family. At the end of the tour you have access to the gardens as well as the bathroom is outside which is nice and accessible. When we came in the nice attendant also offered us water since we went on an extremely hot day. The house does have ac but it was still hot inside. All in all I enjoyed my time and I recommend a visit if you are a fan of old homes. read more

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I visited the William Paca House and Garden with my mom this past weekend when we were exploring Annapolis for a bit, and we enjoyed our visit! They offer a guided house and garden tour or a self-guided garden tour (which still allows you access to two rooms of the house with some information about William Paca and the house). We decided to do the self-guided garden tour, and it was perfect for a quick visit. We learned about several owners of the house, including William Paca, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and Maryland's third Governor. The gardens were nice even though mid-October isn't the best time to tour a garden! Still, we enjoyed wandering around the gardens on a beautiful crisp fall day. The customer service here was amazing. One of the women at the desk spent several minutes telling us about things to do nearby, including visiting the Capitol building just a few minutes' walk away! It was a nice little stop on our first visits to Annapolis! read more

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Run, don't walk to take this tour. The estate is breathtaking, the tour guides are enigmatic ,and you will get such a rare piece of historical knowledge you didn't know you needed. The tour is intimate as they only take maximum of 10 people per group. The guides are knowledgeable and quite funny. Truly made me fall in love with this place and can't wait to bring my friends. Thank you to the two amazing staff( I wish I could remember their names) but if you get a guide that looks like young Sherlock Holmes or a guide that has an air of a young Maggie smith you are in for a treat! read more

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Garden is not maintained. Walking around downtown Annapolis is prettier and free. The plants are not of the correct time period.

Very well preserved and amazing tour. The guide could do less talking and more exploring. Wish could see more of the house. Gardens need to be manicured and preserved better read more

This review is prefaced with the fact that I only toured the gardens and did not tour the home. So, I can't speak to what other reviewers mentioned. That being said, FOR SURE start your time on the property with the 5 minute video. Not only did this video give some interesting details on the home, it gave background on the history of Annapolis. Which I found really helpful and made me appreciate the rest of our day in the city. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and give you a lot of backyard #goals. It felt so nice to sit on the benches in the shade and just take in the beauty of the property. $5 for a beautiful view was absolutely worth it to me. read more

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Sorry but we didn't get it Where do you Gardens?! After Hillwood Estate or Longwood Gardens this place looked like my neighbor back yard Such a shame! Luckily, we were issued refund without problem read more

Husband and I toured the William Paca (logically pronounced "pay-ka") Garden on a beautiful weekend afternoon in Annapolis. Paca was one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence and served as Maryland's Governor from 1782 - 1785. The house and gardens were built between 1763 and 1765. Having spent four years in Williamsburg in college, however, I've toured my fair share of 18th century structures so I figured we could forgo the $10 house tour and just pay $7 to see the gardens. The garden stretches out behind the Paca House, terraced and parterred. Unfortunately, on our visit the rose parterre was still dormant, but the boxwood topiary were lovely and the vegetable garden was exploding. A fish-shaped pond with arched footbridge leads to the tower-like "summer house" where the Paca family enjoyed meals and leisure time in particularly hot weather. These lie at the shaded back of the gardens, closest to breezes blowing in from the Bay. I'm not sure the gardens alone are worth the $7 entry fee since you can easily see everything in under 30 minutes (although if you were so inclined, you could probably bring along some reading material and pass hours here on a nice day). But the volunteers who were working on the afternoon of our visit were very helpful and clearly well-versed in the history of the home and the man behind it. So if you're *not* OD'ed on Colonial dwellings, it's probably worth the time and money to tour the home as well. read more

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I was interested in a wedding here but after unanswered phone calls and emails I gave up. Definitely don't want a company to be so lackadaisical when it comes to wedding planning - if they can't follow through now they especially won't on that special day. read more

A low-tier historic house museum. The entrance area is tight and requires a step-up to enter. If you have mobility issues just turn around, at best you'll have to enter through the driveway, which will require someone unlocked a fence. From there you'll just be stranded on a back patio. The actual entrance is tight and requires a step up. Huge desk and unhelpful woman to mumble through the limited options of overpriced tours. There's a little shop of things that have no business being sold at a house museum which is odd...your audience is history lovers so why not have more historical items to choose from? Anyways, small gripe. For the actual house tour you have to hike up and down a flight of stairs six times in total before you're left to go to the gardens, which are pleasant enough. The tour was weak, the collections are even weaker. Barely anything from the Paca family or even the period in some cases. Tour guide's answers to questions? "I actually don't know." Literally any time there was a question deviating from the obvious script. Idk...this was such a lame institution. Annapolis is a nice day trip because it's nice and compact. I'd skip the Paca House and spend that time elsewhere. read more

I worked an event on the patio of Paca House yesterday. Staff were truly outstanding and very helpful. There were no questions answered with 'No' - just "let's figure out how we can do that." Much more staff on site than expected, more help. Didn't get beyond the restrooms (clean) and kitchen (really fine for those bringing in caterers, tight for DIYers) inside, but the gardens are absolutely wonderful. read more

Went to the gardens with my family and was completely confused! Gardens were dead, unkept, and neglected. Even full grown trees were dying and bare. Not sure what has happened but definitely not worth the 5$ or your time read more

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An amazing experience. We took the 45-60 minute all-inclusive tour and were blown away at how much we learned. The tour guide knew so much about the home and the period of history in which it was built. Getting to see the day-to-day life of the people, servants, and culture was fascinating. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is interested in 1700s-era history. Make sure you take the time to walk in the gardens and see the summerhouse as well! read more

My friend and I visited William Paca House & Garden at the last minute on a day trip to Annapolis. We were very pleasantly surprised, especially because we happened to visit on the first day that guided tours were available again after Covid. Our tour guide, Barbara, was wonderful. Despite being a bit rusty (her words) after a year and a half, she was very friendly, knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. I'm really glad we saw William Paca House & Garden! read more

The garden is gorgeous with so many hidden lily ponds, bridges, archways and tufts of beautiful plants. There is much to explore. The house tour is also very interesting with very animated, knowledgeable guides that stay in character the whole time. (I loved how when a child asked a question our guide would say, "Yes, good sir?") When exploring Annapolis it is important to work this into your itinerary because William Paca is a part of many other residents' intertwining stories. Many of the old homes are only within 5 minutes of each other, so if you pair this house tour with at least 1-2 others in the nearby area you will truly feel like you just spent the day in a Colonial neighborhood. read more

this place was horrible experience my hubby was so excited to take me this place but we can't believe this place has no flowers, no designs not even things ware looking good. we both ware laughing each other what a money waste. before you go inside ask them show you garden! read more

Had my wedding and reception here in September 2013. Besides price, they win hands down on multiple fronts. The venue coordinator, Jodie Dalton, is born for weddings. She gushes about the couple, asks questions, tries to take stress away from the couple, coordinates with vendors, offers suggestions, has plans B/C/D already in place before you think of it, and is so incredibly sweet. The venue is gorgeous and the price is comparable for other such places (plus tent included!). But Jodie is why we came back after checking out other garden venues. The gardens are so pretty and taking a glass of wine for a stroll during the reception, so perfect for our guests. It was an amazing venue and a great day. We are incredibly grateful to the William Paca House, staff, and especially Jodie for making our day so special. read more

Beautiful place for a wedding! However the staff was snuffy and botched the dessert service. By the time they served cake to me, which I asked for twice, the bar was closed. I rarely eat cake and was looking forward to some wine with it. I was told no :( No plates for appetizers, and hummus was a choice. They provided cocktail napkins. read more

Great way to spend an hour or so and learn about historic Annapolis and one of the early lawyers of the time period. Tour is hosted by knowledgeable volunteers who make the tour fun. Beautiful house and garden! read more

My sister lives in Annapolis and decided to take myself, my daughter, and my Grandson on a tour of the city. It is a beautiful town, small with lots of charm. She decided to take us through the William Paca House and Garden. It's very tight when you first walk in, especially if you go in as a group when one is already inside. The woman at the front desk was friendly, but extremely slow. I forget the name of our guide, but she was not very knowledgeable. My background is in American Studies, while my daughter has practices medicine. Let's just say that between the two of us, we could tell when the guide was pulling stuff out of a hat. Sometimes "I don't know" is much better than making something up. The house is minimal at best, with what it has to offer. There are some nice objects, but again, there isn't much to show off. What is beautiful is the gardens, especially for a kid. My grandson got bored during the tour. It's definitely not for kids, extremely long. Most house museums we go to have something for kids, either an "I spy" game or "treasure hunt" or something that helps them want to pay attention to the guide. Once he was out doors he loved the gardens though. My only complaint is the cute little house at the end of the garden, where you are "guided" toward is locked. There is furniture inside. I've seen pictures of the house from the top. When I asked the woman inside why we couldn't go in she just shrugged and said "its not open to the public anymore". Why? I was underwhelmed. I think it would be nice to just sit and enjoy the garden, but is that itself really worth five dollars a person? Its a shame. read more

Went on first visit to a Historic Annapolis house over holidays. We had a group of four and an excellent docent, Michele. Michele was very knowledgeable, friendly and answered all our questions. She made the tour fun. Paca House is a gem in Annapolis and worth a visit. Ask for Michele, if she is there when you go. read more

We are local and I love this destination! Just yesterday my first-grade daughter and I stepped in as we had an hour to kill. It was a quiet Monday, and our timing was great to catch a quick tour! Our guide was incredible... She had my six year old hanging on her every word! And it was all the discussion later that day. A great way to introduce young people to history and early American culture. read more

Do not plan your wedding at this location. The Director of Weddings was disorganized and unersponsive. Because it is located in a historic neighborhood, there are more rules than most venues. We needed clarification on some items in the contract and could not get a response from her. I would call and email, and she would never be around to respond. Then, she said she was out sick on two seperate occasions. I understand that people get sick, but if you are going to be out for two weeks, you should find someone to cover for you, or at least respond to emails. I ended up having to go to her supervisor to finalize items on the contract. I was told that it would be handled and that the Director would call me back to complete the process. Two days later we received a call that we no longer had the venue. This started in Sept and ended on the last day of November. I now do not have a venue, need to find all new vendors and will possibly have to change my date. If this employee had done their job, and would be more responsive, none of this would happen. Additionally, while searching for vendors, I was told by one caterer that Paca House will nickel and dime you after you sign the contract and one DJ said that he had a lot of problems working with the Director. read more

Our daughter's wedding reception was held at the Wm. Paca House and Garden and what a fantastic setting! Everything was just perfect. Jody the coordinator was excellent to work with, she manages all the details and she treats the Bride and Groom like royalty! The garden surroundings are perfectly maintained and lush. This was a memorable afternoon affair and was exactly what the happy wedding couple wanted for their outdoor reception! read more