Mercer Williams House Museum
Mercer Williams House Museum
4
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
11:30 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Guided tours of historic mansion featured in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" featuring five centuries of artwork and antiques collected by notable historic preservationist Jim Williams.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Mercer Williams House Museum
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Downtown
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
461 within 3 miles
Attractions
190 within 6 miles
See what travellers are saying
- Zesty321Grafton, West Virginia148 contributionsNice mansionThis was a great tour in Savannah. The home was built right after the Civil War, and has been maintained with much of its original beauty. The tour guide did not give much details about the famous movie about Mr. Williams. It was on another tour that I learned that the person killed in the house was his lover, found it weird that that fact was glossed over. Maybe it is because the same family is still involved. Clearly, I have not seen the movie, but will do so now.Visited April 2023Travelled with friendsWritten 15 April 2023
- Bill RSaint Helena Island, South Carolina84 contributionsDefinitely worth 5 stars! And only costs $14.00!If you’re a fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, book and movie, this tour is well worth the $14 admission fee, definitely worth 5 stars. Bring my favorite movie, can’t wait to go back and watch the movie again now that I’ve been inside. Also learned on this tour that scene from Glory (Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman) was filmed here too (10 minutes into the movie). Contrary to some reviews, there is plenty of description of furniture, fixtures, renovations, etc. added by Jim Williams during the tour. 35 minutes is perfect length, an hour would be too long.Visited May 2023Travelled with friendsWritten 8 May 2023
- mdyuhas00817 contributionsDanny was an excellent guideGreat tour! Very informative as to how a single man was such a important figure in keeping Savannah history alive. Our guide, Danny, was incredibly informative about the house. Later in the day we ran into him again at Forsythe park and told us some history of the parkVisited May 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 17 May 2023
- Betty R1 contributionMidnight in the Garden of Good and EvilThis is a must visit, after you read “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, or watch the movie! The tour guide was excellent and the house is filled with valuable antiques. You only get to see the gardens and the first floor because the owners occupy the bedrooms.Visited April 2023Written 21 May 2023
- Pamela FWestford, Massachusetts43 contributionsGood Tour but wished for moreIf you are a fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil then you know all about this house. The tour is a quick one and no picture taking is allowed. You can only visit a few rooms on the first floor. Our tour quide was informative but we would have wished to see more, especially the ballroom upstairs.Visited May 2023Written 22 May 2023
- Kirby HKansas City, Missouri95 contributionsLast on my list of homes toured in SavannahBeautiful home but could not take pictures of home or garden, tour only hit garden and main floor 4 rooms and a bathroom. Tour was short about 30 minutes. Ceiling above stairway was one of a kind. Could not go up stairway could not take a picture. If you do go I suggest you read Wikipedia before going and research history of the home. 90 percent of tour is on the last owner. History given on tour is very "selective" leaving out multiple items. It is a private residence still owned by family of owner who restored most of the house which explains omissions. Of 4 home tours done in savannah this was my least favorite for multiple reasons. If you go due to history of mr wiliams and the history of the shooting in the study along with the book based on the incident just be prepared to ask questions.Visited May 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 28 May 2023
- Alexis JAustin, Texas11 contributionsA more unique short tourIf you read the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good Evil, you will enjoy this tour. It's truly a unique house that still looks exactly as what was left by the previous owner. This is a privately owned home so you only get to tour the garden and first floor of the home as the family still lives there. If you haven't read the book, but love hearing about very expensive antiques jammed in one home, you would also enjoy this tour. It's a short one so can easly be squeezed in.Visited June 2023Written 15 June 2023
- j68ky457 contributionsMust-See~ Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil MansionMust-see for the fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil. Lovely old mansion filled with antiques and history. Sunken garden designed by Jim Williams. Wonderful tour guide...very knowledgeable. Fun way to spend the morning.Visited June 2023Written 21 June 2023
- Christina T3 contributionsHighly recommend!Such a great tour! Our guide was personable, thorough, and seemed to truly enjoy explaining the history of the property. You will leave with a better appreciation for what Jim Williams did to preserve Savannah’s historical homes.Visited July 2023Travelled soloWritten 13 July 2023
- Carlos C1 contribution10/10 - Amazing Tour!!!This experience is utterly amazing!!! The staff is very kind and knowledgeable, and they provide an amazing services. We were greeted by Carol, who helped us schedule the tour. She was incredible. As far as our tour is concerned, Zack did an excellent job and was able to answer all of our questions. Overall, I recommend this tour 100% if you’re in the Savannah area.Visited July 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 24 July 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
1,533 reviews
Excellent
762
Very good
447
Average
224
Poor
64
Terrible
36
Lolla C
Evanston, IL4 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
Short, inexpensive tour of lovely home. Those familiar with the Midnight book will find williams life story especially interesting
Written 5 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Traveler918
West Des Moines, IA227 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
We came to this house, as likely many people do, because of its prominent part in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The first floor, which is all you see, is beautiful and our guide gave us info on each room. However, it felt like she was rushing us through (the whole thing took maybe 30 minutes?) and after a perfunctory intro to each room, she said, "What questions do you have?" Inevitably someone on the tour dominates this kind of conversation and almost all the questions were about the book and the family it describes. My husband and I were actually more interested in the architecture and the specific pieces chosen for each room. Would have been SO nice to see the second floor, too, though our guide said family members still live there. So — a mixed bag. Definitely see this if you are a fan of the book.
Written 29 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cheryllos
East Northport, NY55 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
Interesting short tour of property and accomplishments/ contributions to the city of Savannah by James Williams in the ‘70s and ‘80s. This home was featured in the movie Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil. Honestly, we expected more from the tour but good way to learn more about Savannah history. Located in a beautiful spot (though Savannah is just so beautiful just about anywhere). $14
Written 28 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wansfel
20 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
Excellent tour, very knowledgeable guide, beautiful house, with or without knowledge of the book or movie. (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil)
Written 26 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
chibrit
nyc17 contributions
Feb 2024 • Family
Savannah really rakes it in from the (in)famous book/movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil"--lots of copies of The Book for sale everywhere along with postcards and replicas of the famous "bird girl" statue, location tours and of course, the actual site of the crime the Mercer Williams House, which I was excited to see. It is beautiful.
HOWEVER I wish I'd read some of the reviews here first--it is true, the tour only includes the first floor of the house, and you don't learn this till you are already on the tour. Very disappointing! The reason given is that there is only one (impressive) staircase, and that the fire dept laws state there must be an additional exit/stairway, so you can't go upstairs. This means you don't get to see the infamous ballroom. It also means that the tour is pretty short--basically four rooms, plus the hall and a bathroom.
As others have stated, you spend no time in the garden and photos are not allowed in the house or garden. On the upside, the rooms basically almost look like Jim Williams just walked out of them, and it was interesting to learn how he built his career/business. There is some memorabilia from the film. I thought the best part was the study, completely painted "Buccaneer Brown" and filled will all kinds of treasures and taxidermy Williams collected. A fascinating man, murder charges notwithstanding.
Our tour guide did a decent enough job, informative (though I would have loved even more details about what we were seeing). His delivery was animated, but at times felt a bit "scoldy" and like he hated his job. I think we were out in less than 30 mins, so a bit rushed.
HOWEVER I wish I'd read some of the reviews here first--it is true, the tour only includes the first floor of the house, and you don't learn this till you are already on the tour. Very disappointing! The reason given is that there is only one (impressive) staircase, and that the fire dept laws state there must be an additional exit/stairway, so you can't go upstairs. This means you don't get to see the infamous ballroom. It also means that the tour is pretty short--basically four rooms, plus the hall and a bathroom.
As others have stated, you spend no time in the garden and photos are not allowed in the house or garden. On the upside, the rooms basically almost look like Jim Williams just walked out of them, and it was interesting to learn how he built his career/business. There is some memorabilia from the film. I thought the best part was the study, completely painted "Buccaneer Brown" and filled will all kinds of treasures and taxidermy Williams collected. A fascinating man, murder charges notwithstanding.
Our tour guide did a decent enough job, informative (though I would have loved even more details about what we were seeing). His delivery was animated, but at times felt a bit "scoldy" and like he hated his job. I think we were out in less than 30 mins, so a bit rushed.
Written 16 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mary B
9 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
Gorgeous home with astonishing museum artifacts and decorative objects - just the chandeliers are amazing! Also there's a great story to be told about Jim Williams - you will learn a lot that's not in the book! Jim made changes to the house that are fun to discover. There are items in this house that you would never expect - like the knife that is reputed to have killed Rasputin, among many many unusual and otherwise beautiful objects. There are Audubon paintings and portraits by famous artists of historical figures. Our guide told us some curious and funny stories, he knew a lot. Be sure to ask questions! The attendant in the gift shop asked if we'd seen the birds in arsenic in one room - we'd seen it but not learned about it. So everyone there knows a LOT.
By the way, the gift shop is fabulous. So many things there to consider! There's lots of clothing items too, and it all seemed quite reasonably priced. This is the only gift shop you need to go to - save your time for touring!
By the way, the gift shop is fabulous. So many things there to consider! There's lots of clothing items too, and it all seemed quite reasonably priced. This is the only gift shop you need to go to - save your time for touring!
Written 14 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa McLaughlin
Boston, MA14 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
Great tour, learned more about the house, its history, and movies filmed there. It was also well-decorated for the holidays.
Written 30 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Crazyh0rse67
Baltimore, MD58 contributions
Dec 2023 • Couples
Even if you have no interest in the book/movie, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, this house is pretty amazing to see. The history, architecture, furnishings and narrated information from the guide (I think his name was Max) were fantastic. I had seen the movie a couple of times, so seeing the house was fun. I am now reading the book and it also interesting picturing the rooms, gardens, and streets of there town having seen these things. If you have any interest in architecture, Savannah history or the book/movie, I highly recommend this tour.
P.S. - This tour would not be of interest to most young kids, and the barriers are limited.
P.S. - This tour would not be of interest to most young kids, and the barriers are limited.
Written 27 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LindaJP4
Toronto, Canada52 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
If you’re a fan of John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil don’t miss this opportunity to view the main level of Jim Williams’ home. The architecture and design are exquisite, as are the furnishings, art and antiques from his collection. Grady provided a fun, animated tour.
Written 20 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
blueXjello
Clayton, GA406 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is one of my all time favorite books (even named one of my childhood cats after beautiful Lady Chablis!). Though I live only a few short hours from Savannah, I've awaited my tour through this home for many many years!
It did not disappoint. Grady knew his stuff and did an amazing job of leading this tour. It was my partners first experience with MW, it was so fun to hear this incredible history. Thank you!!
It did not disappoint. Grady knew his stuff and did an amazing job of leading this tour. It was my partners first experience with MW, it was so fun to hear this incredible history. Thank you!!
Written 13 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
travelinspiration
Dallas, TX343 contributions
Is it hard to hear the tour with the docent wearing a mask? Thanks!
Traveller
New York City, NY3,263 contributions
I went to Savannah in June. The name of the docent was Max. I seem to recall that he was not wearing a mask. I wore a mask as I am very cautious. I am sure that has changed by now due to the Delta variant and all docents are wearing masks (hopefully).
QuickWhitTravel
Washington DC, DC4,071 contributions
Do I need to buy tickets in advance or are walk-ups welcome?
GoThere88
Fort Lauderdale, FL767 contributions
Also...I was there Thursday, June 13, 2019. An elderly gentleman, long time resident of Savannah, was the tour guide. He is fabulous! Ask him anything about Savannah history or the Mercer house history - he knows it all!
BamaGal83
Phil Campbell, AL320 contributions
What is the story about the Williams House?
gstuyvesant
Ashtabula, OH104 contributions
Sorry didn’t get Back sooner but don’t get on iPad much. Has lots of local Savannah history. Was worth going for sure if your in the city
Brooklyn J
2 contributions
Can you just your this house? Is there parking at site?
patterd7
Wilmington, NC361 contributions
There is only a guided tour. Parking can be tight in the city, so I would recommend Uber and/or walking.
Brooklyn J
2 contributions
Can you just your this house? Is there parking at site?
HappyTravellerNC
Zug, Switzerland134 contributions
Parking on the street is easy to find and you can just visit this museum. Enjoy!
charlotte712
Richmond, VA12 contributions
how long is the tour?
Holidav
New Braunfels, TX339 contributions
I can't remember exactly. Less than an hour! Maybe 45 minutes. Depends on how many people ask questions at the end, and if you stick around to hear the guide's answers. You only see the back garden and the 1st floor's 4 rooms. No photos allowed.
missusaverage
Dublin, Ireland15 contributions
I visited the Mercer Williams House in June and was absolutely captivated. Mr Williams clearly had exquisite taste. The tour was a fantastic mix of historical detail,Architecture,Arts and Crafts and Interior decor. The guide mentioned the name of the blue colour on the study walls but I cannot remember it.I would love to use the colour in my own home which is Victorian and we have gradually restored. Can you tell me the colour and whether it might be commercially available?
Nicola
SandyLouTwo
Cleveland, TN128 contributions
The color was nice; however, he mixed ALL his colors used in all the houses he renovated. I'm afraid I can't think of a way to duplicate the color for your use since they don't allow photos & photography colors are so unreliable.
Good luck in your efforts!
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingMERCER WILLIAMS HOUSE MUSEUM: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Mercer Williams House Museum
- According to Tripadvisor travellers, these are the best ways to experience Mercer Williams House Museum:
- Savannah Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil Narrated Walking Tour (From £27.42)
- Savannah Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour (From £24.31)
- Historical Bike Tour of Savannah and Keep Bikes After Tour (From £38.39)
- Genteel and Bard's Savannah History Walking Tour (From £27.42)
- Savannah's 13 Ghosts, Voodoo, Murder & Mystery Tour (From £20.33)
- Hotels near Mercer Williams House Museum:
- (0.03 mi) Historic Townhome, Private Courtyard Great Location
- (0.08 mi) Eliza Thompson House, Historic Inns of Savannah
- (0.09 mi) Home above Mrs. Wilkes restaurant with a King bed
- (0.09 mi) Historic Studio Carriage House Blocks from Forsyth by Lucky Savannah
- (0.09 mi) Historic Savannah CarriageHouse Park & Walk to All
- Restaurants near Mercer Williams House Museum:
- (0.10 mi) Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room
- (0.15 mi) Gryphon Tea Room
- (0.20 mi) Crystal Beer Parlor
- (0.20 mi) Clary's Cafe
- (0.13 mi) Art's