Springbrook Farms Horse Carriage Rides

Wilmington, NC History Tours 

Explore Wilmington's Most Treasured Places on Historical Tours

Our riverside city has an abundance of historic riches showcasing attractions from a WWII-era battleship to haunted pubs and more. Travel brick-lined streets by horse-drawn carriage or see how people lived in the past at three historic museum homes. 

 

Tours and Cruises

National Register Historic District

If history is your passion, let Tour Old Wilmington take you to the many landmarks which make historic downtown notable during a walking tour. Or, experience downtown Wilmington and its 230-plus-block National Register Historic District at the pace of days gone by during a horse-drawn carriage tour with Springbrook Farms. The rescued Percheron draft horses and a costumed carriage driver guide visitors on a narrated journey highlighting downtown Wilmington’s history, as well as the famous personalities who have called the city home.

Wilmington, NC Battleship NORTH CAROLINA

WWII Heritage

Head "behind the hatch" at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA and discover the hidden nooks and crannies of the storied WWII ship, from the inner bottom of her hull all the way to the top of her fire control tower. Download the World War II Heritage Guide Map and explore dozens of notable nearby locations – from a shipyard to the USO – that led to Wilmington being dubbed "The Defense Capital of the State" during WWII and the first city in the country to be designated an official "American World War II Heritage City." 

Couple walking past historic homes in downtown Wilmington

Historic Mobile Tours App

Download the Wilmington History Tours mobile app and choose your own adventure. The app includes five historical tours – including Pub Crawl Wilmington and African-American History. Explore historic sites at your own speed, with each “stop” featuring a 3-to 5-minute history lesson and historical photos.

Bellamy Mansion

Historic Home Tours

Discover the splendor of three of Wilmington's historic house museums. Get an up-close look at Victorian architecture at Bellamy Mansion Museum of History & Design, originally built in 1861 as a prominent family’s residence; take in a prime example of Georgian architecture and Colonial-style gardens at the Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens, or envision what upper-class life was like in Victorian Wilmington at the Latimer House Museum. All three homes offer regular tours that provide a glimpse into the history of prominent Wilmington families.

Haunted Tours

Wilmington is considered by some experts to be one of the most actively haunted cities in the world. Get in touch with your paranormal side during a Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington, which takes brave visitors on an eerie adventure through the past with tales of haunted homes and burial grounds. The Haunted Cotton Exchange Tour traverses stairs, alleyways and courtyards of the eight inter-connected buildings that make up the former cotton market, many of which have been in use since the Civil War. For beer – and ghost – lovers, the Haunted Pub Crawl raises a glass to the most ghostly downtown pubs. 

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Ghost Walk tour guide

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Henrietta Riverboat Docked at Riverwalk

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Wilmington and Beaches CVB

929 N. Front St., Suite 410, Wilmington, NC 28401
Toll-Free: 1-877-406-2356

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