Minneapolis has plenty of Gilded Age mansions you can admire from the sidewalk. Very few let you walk in. If you want a weekend built around the ones that do, there is an easy shape for it: sleep in one mansion, tour two of them, and finish with a long dinner in a third room that was built to impress. Here is how to put it together around the Pillsbury Club.

What is the Gilded Age Mansion Tour?

It is a trolley tour from Minneapolis Trolley Tours that, in the words of the Club’s experiences page, marvels at Minneapolis mansions from the outside and from the inside. The tour page lists the houses it covers, running from the Eugene and Merrette Carpenter Mansion at 300 Clifton and the Pillsbury Mansion at 100 East 22nd Street to the Turnblad Mansion on Park Avenue and the Winton Mansion on Mount Curve, among others. You can see the full list and book on the Gilded Age Mansion Tour page. Our trolleys depart from the Club itself.

Where should you sleep? Start at 300 Clifton

The best opening move is a night at 300 Clifton, the Carpenter Mansion in Loring Park, which is a working bed and breakfast. That makes it a house you can tour and then check into. Guests get a four-season garden hot tub and a movie room, and the property’s vouchers page says every guest receives a $20 dining voucher per stay to use at the Pillsbury Club, applied to any food or beverage item on the dining room menu. Staying longer than a weekend? Our friends at Oakland’s on 9th offer furnished month-to-month studios downtown.

How do you get into the Pillsbury Club?

The Club is a private club that is open to guests with a reservation, whether that is for a tour, a dining reservation, an event or another scheduled activity. The plan your visit page asks guests to reserve in advance and says you may be asked to show proof of your reservation when you arrive.

It also gives the single most useful tip for this weekend: arrive 30 to 45 minutes before your scheduled experience. That window lets you check in, look around and settle in before the trolley leaves, and it’s when many guests find their favorite moments. Parking is complimentary, with free street parking where permitted and a designated guest lot directly across the street.

What should you do before and after the tour?

• Before: use the early-arrival time to explore the property and have a drink. The Club’s bar and dining room are described on the dining page.
• During: keep an eye out for the architect’s fingerprints. Edwin Hewitt shaped the Carpenter house in the early 1900s, and Hewitt and Brown designed the Pillsbury Mansion; our History Journal asks whether the same architect designed both.
• After: book a table and let the evening run. If you are celebrating, the Club Rooms page covers private spaces, including the Emerald Suite.

What if you are visiting in December?

The winter version is worth planning early. The Holiday Light Ride leaves from the same front door, and the ride page mentions a holiday market with handmade gifts from over 50 Minnesota artists, so a December visit can combine a mansion, shopping and a heated trolley. Details and booking are on the holiday light ride page.

Planning the rest of your weekend

Your Gilded Age weekend works best with a loose second day. Stroll Loring Park from 300 Clifton, browse events and museums on the Meet Minneapolis visitor site, and use the Metro Transit trip planner to get between stops. If the houses have you curious about preservation, the National Park Service explains what the National Register of Historic Places protects. For the mansion’s inner workings, read what engineers found behind its limestone.

Ready to plan? Book the Gilded Age Mansion Tour, then reserve your visit and come early.

Keep reading: What Are the Rules at the Pillsbury Club? Tickets, Parking, Smoking, Food and Photography