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Helpful Guidelines For Adult Groups
In order to make the visit to Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens an interesting and pleasant experience, we ask that you observe these guidelines:
All tours begin with an informative 20-minute audio-visual orientation program. Tours are guided by costumed interpreters. Large groups are always split into smaller groups of no more than twelve.
 The furnishings of Tryon Palace and the other historic sites are several hundred years old and must be treated with great care. We ask that they not be touched by students or adults.
Food, drinks, and gum are not allowed in the exhibition buildings. Gum should be removed before entering the Visitor Center area.
Visitors may take photos of the gardens and building exteriors; however photography is not allowed in the exhibition buildings.
It is recommended that visitors wear soft-soled shoes and comfortable clothes appropriate for weather conditions.
For your convenience restrooms are located in the Visitor Center and on the grounds; drink and snack machines are located on the grounds. Please ask the Visitor Center staff for directions.
Emergency Cancellation Of Tour
TELEPHONE: 919-514-4935 or 1-800-767-1560
If for any reason your tour has to be cancelled, please notify us as soon as possible. We may have hired additional personnel and need to adjust our schedule. We hope you enjoy your tour, and we welcome your comments!
Scheduled Tour Hours
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens is open 360 days each year.
Monday through Saturday:
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last tour beginning at 4 p.m.
Sundays:
1 to 5 p.m. with the last tour beginning at 4 p.m.
The New Bern Academy is open Monday through Saturday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day the gardens remain open until 7 p.m. with the last group tours of the day beginning at 4 p.m.
We are closed Thanksgiving Day, December 24, 25, 26, and January 1.
In addition, a number of special events are scheduled throughout the year. For more information contact the Group Sales Coordinator, Karen Pierson, at kpierson@tryonpalace.org, 252-514-4935 or 1-800-767-1560.
Group Reservations
Reservations for tour groups of 20 or more are essential to insure proper service and our special group discount. Our Group Sales Coordinator will be happy to provide you with all the information you need to plan a successful trip.
For detailed tour and itinerary information, or to schedule your tour, please contact:
Group Sales Coordinator
kpierson@tryonpalace.org
800-767-1560 or 252-514-4935
or write to:
Tryon Palace Group Sales
PO Box 1007
New Bern, NC 28563
Tour Rates
Tour
(For prearranged groups of 20 or more) |
Adults
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Students
(Grades 1-12)
|
Governor's Pass/All Sites Tour
(Admission to all Buildings and Gardens) |
$12 |
$5 |
Palace, Gardens, Academy (adults)
North Carolina Begins Here (students)
(Admission to Palace, Kitchen Office, Stable, Academy and Gardens) |
$10 |
$3 |
Holiday Celebration
(admission to first-floor decorated rooms
of all the historic sites)
|
$12 |
$5 |
Note: For student groups, teachers receive one complimentary ticket for every ten students. Additional adult tickets may be purchased at the adult rates. For adult groups, a complimentary ticket is given for the tour leader and the bus driver.
Military Tickets
The discounted rate is extended to all active duty military and their family members. The discount rate is equal to the Group Ticket Rate of $12 for adults and $5 for students. Large families pay for two children only – the others are free.
Complimentary Tickets
Caretaker
The person or persons accompanying their client (the visitor), in group tours
(from special homes, hospitals, etc.).
Preschooler
Any child not in school and under five.
Family
In family groups the first two children are charged the student rate, any additional children are not charged.
(Rates and hours are subject to change, please call to verify.)
Tour Options
Governor's Pass/All Sites Tour allows a group to visit The Palace and the Kitchen Office and Stables, the Robert Hay House, the extensive gardens located throughout the complex, the John Wright Stanly House, the George W. Dixon House, and the New Bern Academy. Tour planners should allow approximately 4 hours for this tour.
Palace, Gardens, Academy Tour, available only to prearranged groups of 20 or more, enables groups to see Tryon Palace, the Kitchen Office and Stables, the Robert Hay House, the New Bern Academy, and the Gardens. Tour planners should allow approximately 3 hours for this tour. Tour planners should also plan to allow extra time for guests to visit our two gift shops--the Tryon Palace Museum Shop and the Crafts & Garden Shop. Please note that the amount of time allowed for tours depends on the group size and several other factors. Tour planners should call our Group Sales Coordinator, Karen Pierson, at 1-800-767-1560 or email kpierson@tryonpalace.org for more specific information.
 Gardens Pass is a self-guided look at tasks that were necessary to maintain the Palace as a home and a seat of government. Knowledgeable interpreters will perform 18th-century household duties and explain their tasks and answer questions of guests to the royal governor's Kitchen Office. This tour includes a self-guided tour of the gardens.
Holiday Celebration Tours which run in December are self-paced between sites, with costumed interpreters in each room of the historic buildings. Daytime tours allow guests to see the first-floor decorated rooms of Tryon Palace and several other historic buildings.
Candlelight Tours are offered on selected evenings during the Holiday Celebration. Visitors see the same decorated rooms by candlelight, with period entertainment. Tour planners should allow approximately 3 hours for either of these tours.
Parking Information For Tour Bus Drivers
We’re glad you brought your motor coach or school bus to Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens. For everyone’s safety and convenience, please follow these parking do's and don'ts:
DO use the parking space on the Visitor Center side of George Street to off-load your group. As soon as all tour group members are off the coach/bus, please move the coach/bus immediately to the Visitor Center parking lot on Eden Street. map
DO NOT leave the coach/bus in the off-loading space. This blocks the view of drivers in other vehicles rounding the corner of George and Pollock streets.
DO pick up your tour group in the Visitor Center parking lot. There is a brick plaza with benches where tour group members may wait to be picked up.
DO NOT leave the coach/bus by the Palace gates or use the Visitor Center off-loading space when picking up tour group members. This creates a traffic hazard.
DO use the parking lot on the corner of Hancock and New Streets for off-loading and picking up groups that visit the New Bern Academy.
For your convenience restrooms are located in the Visitor Center and on the grounds; drink and snack machines are located on the grounds. Please ask the Visitor Center staff for directions.
Provisions for Visitors with Special Needs
 We welcome all visitors to Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, and we like to emphasize what can be done by visitors with disabilities rather than what cannot be done. Prior notice by special needs visitors will assist our staff in providing an enjoyable tour experience. The following specific information may be helpful in planning a tour for visitors with special needs. We hope that with this information, those planning tours for visitors with disabilities or limited mobility can make more informed decisions about tour options.
Every effort is made to accommodate our visitors with special needs. However, because of the historic period and age of many of our tour buildings, some areas may be inaccessible to visitors with physical disabilities. For best arrangements, please phone in advance for any special needs.
Our Visitor Center is completely accessible to all visitors with disabilities. Restrooms have a clear pathway to stalls with grab bars available and complete "turn-around" space. Mirrors, water fountains, and other fixtures are mounted at appropriate heights for visitors who use wheelchairs. The Visitor Center Auditorium where the orientation film is shown is easily accessible and has plenty of room for visitors who use wheelchairs.
We have added a ramp outside Tryon Palace to enable a visitor who uses a wheelchair to access the first floor with ease. For visitors who cannot or choose not to tour the second floor of Tryon Palace there is a photo album available with photographs of the second floor rooms.
First floors of other historic sites are accessible to visitors in wheelchairs; however, some steps must to be negotiated with an assistant:
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Kitchen and Stable offices ... |
1 step |
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Stanly House .................... |
4 steps |
|
Dixon House ...................... |
5 steps |
|
Museum Gift Shop .............. |
5 steps |
|
Craft & Garden Shop ........... |
1 step |
|
New Bern Academy.............. |
2 steps |
From the start our gardens have been designed to be accessible for all visitors. To avoid stairs when entering the Kitchen Garden, follow the path around the wood shed. Access to the parterre (main) level of the Latham Garden is via the Hawks Allée from the Wilderness Walk. Walkways may be uneven due to the nature of the material used to reconstruct period gardens.
We will make every effort to accommodate hearing or visually impaired visitors and others with special needs with advance notice. We have a "hands-on" policy for persons with visual impairments. A sign language interpreter is available for hearing-impaired visitors with advance notice.
Two parallel parking spaces on George Street in front of the Visitor Center are designated as “handicapped.” There are also designated parking slots in the visitor parking area on Eden Street.
Reduced rates are offered to special needs visitors and their assistants to compensate for areas which may not be accessible.
Emergency Contact Information
We hope that your visit will be trouble free. However, if you should need help, here are some sources. New Bern and Craven County support the 9-1-1 emergency response system.
Craven Regional Medical Center
2000 Neuse Blvd.
New Bern NC 28562
252-633-8111 - Main Number
9-1-1 for emergencies
Coastal Diesel Service Inc.
1700 Highway 70 East
New Bern NC 28560
252-633-2025 (24 hour response service)
Covington Detroit Diesel-Allison
3511 Highway 17 South
New Bern NC 28562
252-638-3161 (24 hour response service)
Heavy Duty Truck & Diesel Repair Company, Inc.
2705 Highway 70 East
New Bern NC 28560
252-638-6036
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens
PO Box 1007
610 Pollock Street
New Bern NC 28563
800-767-1560
252-514-4935
252-514-4876 fax
Taking Home A Memory From the Tryon Palace Museum and Garden Shops
Our shops offer a variety of items for sale, all of which have a connection to earlier times. The following list may change from season to season, but is representative of items that you will find there.
Garden Shop ~ Photo by Al Hesketh
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