NAFOW Tours 2026 ~
All tours are priced individually and are not included in the Festival Pass.
#1 ~ Thursday, 8:15-4:30 Historic Connecticut ($110 per person)
Join us for this full day tour visiting some of Connecticut’s most historic homes. Lunch included. Stops include: Old State House where in 1780, George Washington and his aides Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette met French General Comte de Rochambeau for the first time. Their meeting resulted in a powerful relationship that led to America’s Independence. Completed in 1796, the Old State House’s Senate has been restored to its original Federal style. You will also learn about the Charter Oak.Then move on to the Mark Twain House where you’ll have the chance for a 1 hour tour of the house plus a little museum or shop time. The house was built for Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain and his family in 1874 and he contracted Louis C. Tiffany & Co to spruce it up in 1881.The historic Mark Twain House has 3 floors, stairs and has no elevator. The first floor which takes up the first half of the tour is accessible for most mobility aids. The top floor includes his famous billiards table. Ticket includes a 23-minute film Mark Twain, by Ken Burns if you choose to see it. Then we move on to Wethersfield, to the Webb-Deane-Stevens Houses. We will begin with having lunch at the Museum. These historic houses include The Joseph Webb House, a National Historic Landmark which served as General George Washington’s headquarters in May 1781; The Silas Deane House, also a National Historic Landmark built in 1769; and The Isaac Stevens House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut, built in 1789.
Join us for this full day tour visiting some of Connecticut’s most historic homes. Lunch included. Stops include: Old State House where in 1780, George Washington and his aides Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette met French General Comte de Rochambeau for the first time. Their meeting resulted in a powerful relationship that led to America’s Independence. Completed in 1796, the Old State House’s Senate has been restored to its original Federal style. You will also learn about the Charter Oak.Then move on to the Mark Twain House where you’ll have the chance for a 1 hour tour of the house plus a little museum or shop time. The house was built for Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain and his family in 1874 and he contracted Louis C. Tiffany & Co to spruce it up in 1881.The historic Mark Twain House has 3 floors, stairs and has no elevator. The first floor which takes up the first half of the tour is accessible for most mobility aids. The top floor includes his famous billiards table. Ticket includes a 23-minute film Mark Twain, by Ken Burns if you choose to see it. Then we move on to Wethersfield, to the Webb-Deane-Stevens Houses. We will begin with having lunch at the Museum. These historic houses include The Joseph Webb House, a National Historic Landmark which served as General George Washington’s headquarters in May 1781; The Silas Deane House, also a National Historic Landmark built in 1769; and The Isaac Stevens House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut, built in 1789.
#2 Thursday, 8:45-2:30 Norman Rockwell Museum and Stockbridge ($80 per person)
This is the home for American illustration inspired by Norman Rockwell’s legacy! Marvel at Rockwell’s full-size original paintings, view all 323 of his The Saturday Evening Post covers, and be enchanted by special exhibitions that highlight the artistry of leading illustrators, then and now. 10 galleries, engaging programs, and a scenic 36-acre campus. One and a half hour self-guided tour.
Following the tour we will drive 10 minutes to Stockbridge, to have lunch on your own, shop and see the Red Lion Inn, made famous by Norman Rockwell’s art.
This is the home for American illustration inspired by Norman Rockwell’s legacy! Marvel at Rockwell’s full-size original paintings, view all 323 of his The Saturday Evening Post covers, and be enchanted by special exhibitions that highlight the artistry of leading illustrators, then and now. 10 galleries, engaging programs, and a scenic 36-acre campus. One and a half hour self-guided tour.
Following the tour we will drive 10 minutes to Stockbridge, to have lunch on your own, shop and see the Red Lion Inn, made famous by Norman Rockwell’s art.
#3 ~ Thursday, 10:00am and 3:00pm Walking Tour of Springfield ($10 per person)
This walking tour takes you just 1 mile through Springfield’s streets and will be guided by local Historian, Dave Robison. First we go to the Miles Morgan statue where we will learn about this 1600’s Welsh settler, then through Court Square to the the First Church was which was organized in 1637, the year following Springfield's founding by Puritan iconoclast and businessman, William Pynchon. The first church building was built in 1645, on what is now the southeast corner of Court Square. Then to “The Puritan”, the Deacon Samuel Chapin statue, Dave’s ancestor. We end at the Museum Quadrant where you will self-guide through as many of the 5 museums you’d like to see. Return to the hotel at your leisure.
This walking tour takes you just 1 mile through Springfield’s streets and will be guided by local Historian, Dave Robison. First we go to the Miles Morgan statue where we will learn about this 1600’s Welsh settler, then through Court Square to the the First Church was which was organized in 1637, the year following Springfield's founding by Puritan iconoclast and businessman, William Pynchon. The first church building was built in 1645, on what is now the southeast corner of Court Square. Then to “The Puritan”, the Deacon Samuel Chapin statue, Dave’s ancestor. We end at the Museum Quadrant where you will self-guide through as many of the 5 museums you’d like to see. Return to the hotel at your leisure.
#4 Monday, 9:00-4:00 Old Sturbridge Village ($90 per person)
Old Sturbridge Village, the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, depicts a rural New England town of the early 19th century. The Village is designed to approximate the look and feel of a historic landscape and includes more than 40 historic buildings, such as houses, working farms, meetinghouses, a district school, country store, water-powered mills, professional and trade shops – all situated along the Quinebaug River on the homeland of the Nipmuc peoples. Visitors begin their self-directed exploration by entering through either the Visitor Center or the Museum Education Center and move through the museum on dirt roads and pathways. Wayfinding and interpretive signage is positioned strategically throughout the museum. At Old Sturbridge Village, they are diving deep into the "what happened next" story. After colonization, people settled, farmed, and survived. Step into the everyday lives of people who shaped our Nation.
Old Sturbridge Village, the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, depicts a rural New England town of the early 19th century. The Village is designed to approximate the look and feel of a historic landscape and includes more than 40 historic buildings, such as houses, working farms, meetinghouses, a district school, country store, water-powered mills, professional and trade shops – all situated along the Quinebaug River on the homeland of the Nipmuc peoples. Visitors begin their self-directed exploration by entering through either the Visitor Center or the Museum Education Center and move through the museum on dirt roads and pathways. Wayfinding and interpretive signage is positioned strategically throughout the museum. At Old Sturbridge Village, they are diving deep into the "what happened next" story. After colonization, people settled, farmed, and survived. Step into the everyday lives of people who shaped our Nation.