Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Florida, United States

5SandiBinSC 5:00 PM Jan 21, 2022

An excellent place to visit for history, culture, and the "wow' factor
I would recommend this museum as an enchanting place to visit no matter what the season or the weather. I was a bit hamstrung by only having an hour to look around because of having a later engagement, since the electronic audio tour included with admission fee runs about 90 minutes. I asked where to start if I could not see the entire property. The greeter wisely told me that if I wanted to focus on the works of art, the grand scale of the property, or the Gilded Age and the social season in Palm Beach, to begin downstairs. If, however, I wanted to focus on the more personal stories and family history, I should begin upstairs. This was sound advice. Before leaving I was also encouraged to go to the adjacent atrium and see Mr. Flagler's personal rail car (also good advice). It can be argued that no one person had as much to do with the early development of the state of Florida than Henry M. Flagler. He was the equivalent of a billionaire in his age, and as the son of a Presbyterian minister, he was extremely devoted to using much of his wealth to improve the condition of those living in his adopted community and state. If you have an intellectual curiosity about how a super-wealthy family lived at this time, or the background of Standard Oil Company, or the former railroad that covered the area all the way to Key West, or a collection of European lace, or a variety of home goods from the upper class, or insight into a 19th Century philanthropist, or something more, I expect you will be delighted that you stopped here. (One other note, I am so thankful that this property is "mask optional" for visitors. It is easy to walk around the entire property and not come physically close to other people for more than a second or two. Masks are completely unnecessary, and the "optional" policy is why I chose this property to visit instead of the Norton Museum.)

5Jasmine38Chichester UK 5:00 PM Mar 2, 2020

Wonderful historic home
We opted to take the Docent led tour, which currently run at 11, 12.30 and 2 as included in entry fee. Takes around an hour and covers the ground floor only. You can then explore the upper floor of mainly bedrooms and some servants quarters, as well as Flagler's train carriage yourself. If the timings don't suit or you prefer to wander around on your own you can get an audio guide and/or floor plan, also included with your ticket. However, we though the guided tour was informative, interesting and well paced. There is also a small exhibit on Flagler and his wife and currently also a temporary exhibit on women's shoes, which was fun. This beautiful, opulent house was only used for around 6 weeks each year and was a wedding gift from Flagler to his third wife. I believe all the furnishings are original. We spent around 1.5 hours here and the ticket price for an adult is $18. We would have liked to purchase the dual ticket to include a tour of the nearby Breakers Hotel but we're told you have to book several months in advance. It only takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays and was already sold out thru to most of April! Note that whilst there is a cafe it's only for a full tea, sandwich and cake experience that you should book ahead for.