Why so many people visit Cape May in December

While some shore towns seem ready for hibernation as winter approaches, Cape May keeps things lively through the holidays, with historic buildings decked in lights and garland

Bill Barlow

December 11, 2018

Christmas tree inside the Victorian Band Stand in Cape May, N.J. (Photo courtesy of Robert Driebe)
The Mainstay Inn was built in 1872 as a private gambling club. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Redelico)
Congress Hall interior. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Inside Congress Hall. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Outside of Congress Hall in Cape May. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
The Albert Stevens Inn on Wilbraham Park in West Cape May is well lit for the season. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
The Blue Pig Tavern inside Congress Hall in Cape May. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Wreath at the Twin Gables B&B, which was built in 1879. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Inside the Twin Gables B&B on Columbia Avenue in Cape May, N.J. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Regina Dougherty-McCarren, in Victorian costume, is ready to talk with visitors to the Twin Gables bed and breakfast in Cape May. The inn is included on a Christmas walking tour of the city. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Ginger is always ready to greet guests at the Twin Gables. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
The display at the Carriage House at the Emlen Physick Estate. (Photo courtesy of Beth Klenk)
On display in the Carriage House on the property of the Emlen Physick Estate in Cape May, N.J. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
In a gallery in the Carriage House on the property of the Emlen Physick Estate on Lafayette Street, the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities has a display on an old-fashioned Christmas, including an elaborate village and model train display. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
On display in the Carriage House on the property of the Emlen Physick Estate in Cape May. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
The cross on the top of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Minnie sits by the tree in Cape May. (Photo courtesy of Katie Morris)
The Cherry House on Hughes Street, believed to have been built in 1849, is an elaborately decorated private home included on house tours in Cape May. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
(Photo couresty of Ginny Flynn Murray)
The Queen Victoria Bed & Breakfast in Cape May, N.J.(Photo courtesy of Werner Tedesco)
A decorated room in the Cherry House. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Cherry House stockings (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Cherry House kitchen (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
A doll inside the Cherry House. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Cherry House parlor (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Decorations inside the Cherry House in Cape May. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Boyana Ivanova at Sawyer Inn. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Joan Bauer at Sawyer Inn. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
Decorations in the Sawyer Inn. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)
The Virginia Hotel also accommodates diners in The Ebbitt Room restaurant. (Bill Barlow/for WHYY)

While some shore towns seem ready for hibernation as winter approaches, Cape May keeps things lively through the holidays, with historic buildings decked in lights and garland inside and out. It’s part of an economic strategy that helps draw tourists throughout the year.

It also leverages Cape May’s biggest asset, its historic status. In 1976 the entire city of Cape May was designated a National Historic Landmark. Each December the city becomes a Victorian Christmas Village.

Cape May’s Rotary Park lit in purple. (Photo courtesy of Marcie Sixeas)

The Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities offers a series of Christmas-themed walking tours, offering a glimpse inside some of the elaborately decorated inns and homes.

The organization’s Christmas candlelight house tours are a huge draw, gathering hundreds on December Saturdays. The final candlelight tour of the year is 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 15.

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We sent our photographer on the house tour for great inside photos and we got members of Cool Cape May to share some of their photos so you could see for yourself how festive Cape May can be during the holidays.

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