Group Tours

Picture Perfect Days

Let us help you plan a memorable day for your group at The Mount. We have special rates for groups of 10 or more and offer a number of touring options, including guided and self-guided tours of the house and gardens.  Our experienced and knowledgeable guides will tailor their tours to suit the interests and needs of your group. Complete your visit with lunch or tea on the terrace, where you can unwind and enjoy views of The Mount’s elegant gardens and breathtaking mountain vistas.  Planning your trip for July or August? End your summer day at The Mount by attending one of our celebrated Monday afternoon lectures or popular Wharton on Wednesday readings.  Be sure to leave plenty of time to browse through our museum bookstore and gift shop’s large selection of Wharton titles, garden and design books, and specialty gifts.

For more information, please contact:

Ryan McLaughlin

Group Tour Coordinator
(413) 551-5118
Fax (413) 637-0619
rmclaughlin@edithwharton.org

Programs for Adults

A Guided Tour of the House at The Mount

One of our skilled guides will lead your group on an hour-long exploration of Edith Wharton’s spacious and sedate summer home.  The tour not only reveals the history of The Mount from its building to its restoration, but also chronicles Wharton’s life, her remarkable achievements and her literary legacy. The house features three floors of recently restored formal rooms, un-restored bedrooms and original service spaces. Highlights include Wharton’s private library, restored original paintings and plasterwork and several rooms of exhibit space.

All areas visited by the tour are wheelchair-friendly; all three floors are accessible by stairs or elevator.  

A Guided Tour of the Gardens at The Mount

An experienced guide will take your group on a 45 minute walk through The Mount’s restored formal gardens. Originally designed by Edith Wharton herself, our three-acres of tailored grounds feature grass terraces, an English lime walk and French-inspired, sunken Italianate and rock gardens. The tour recounts the history of the estate’s structures and plantings, discusses the influence of Wharton’s seminal 1904 publication Italian Villas and Their Gardens on her landscape at The Mount and pays homage to Wharton as a passionate garden lover.

The garden tour involves walking and some stairs. For groups with mobility issues, we offer a formal garden talk on the terrace. 

"We all enjoyed the tours and both docents were so knowledgeable about Wharton and The Mount. We really appreciate that you were able to accommodate our group…and thank you for a wonderful experience."
(RCS Community Club)

"We did have a lovely visit and enjoyed the personal tour of the house and grounds. Several members are now in the process of rereading Wharton’s works." (Worthington Gardeners)

Programs for High School and Undergraduate Students:

Edith Wharton wrote some of her most popular and acclaimed literary works (The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome) during her prolific decade of residence at The Mount. Our scholastic tours emphasize the events of the author’s life and the significant ways in which they influenced her work. A knowledgeable guide will lead students through rooms of the upmost literary importance, including Wharton’s oak-paneled library and the bedroom where she wrote every morning. Students will explore one of the most distinct and historic Berkshire country houses of the era.  They will glimpse what daily life was like for Wharton and her guests in the main house and for the household staff in the servants’ wing.

Our current three-room exhibition Edith Wharton and the First World War details lesser-known aspects of the author’s life in Paris. Wharton was one of few women to visit the front lines and the trenches, and her firsthand experiences inspired the publication of numerous journalistic articles, several fictional works and an edited charity collection, The Book of the Homeless.  The exhibit not only commemorates Wharton’s war-time writings, but also honors her charitable works for which she was granted the French Legion of Honor medal and the Belgian Order of Leopold.  

The Mount also caters to art, design and horticultural classes.  Here, students of landscape and garden design will gain an understanding of Wharton’s influential design philosophy.  They will see how features of The Mount’s house and gardens fuse to create a one-of-a-kind country estate. Our grounds and elaborate gardens form an inspiring backdrop for art and design students and provide endless opportunities for artists to sketch, paint, or take photographs.