---
title: "Old Wilmington by Candlelight: Historic Homes Tour Guide"
description: "Plan Old Wilmington by Candlelight on Dec. 5 and 6, 2026. Find tour hours, ticket prices, and booklet pickup tips for the downtown historic homes walk."
url: "https://www.wilmingtonbeachrentals.com/things-to-do/old-wilmington-by-candlelight-tour/"
published: "2026-09-23"
updated: "2026-09-23"
neighborhood: "downtown"
---

# Old Wilmington by Candlelight: Historic Homes Tour Guide

Old Wilmington by Candlelight is a self-guided holiday walk through private historic homes and churches in downtown Wilmington. The 2026 tour runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 4 to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m. One ticket covers both days. Collect the printed booklet at Latimer House for the current stop list and map, then choose where to spend your time.

The [Lower Cape Fear Historical Society's ticket page](https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/lcfhs/items/268569/?flow=464072&full-items=yes) confirms the dates, hours, and price. It says more than a dozen homes and churches will participate, but does not name the full lineup. Check the organizer's page before booking travel around a particular house.

## What the walk through the historic district is like

The Lower Cape Fear Historical Society organizes the tour through downtown Wilmington's historic district. In previous years, private homes, churches, and other historic buildings have opened their doors for the weekend, decorated for the holidays. You walk between them at your own pace, and docents at participating sites explain the buildings' histories and architecture. The [organizer says](https://latimerhouse.org/series/old-wilmington-candlelight-tour/) that visitors may tour sites in any order.

You can set your own pace through the historic district, spending longer in a house whose story catches your attention, leaving a crowded stop for later, or dividing the walk between the two days. You will be moving through residential blocks around the historic core, so wear shoes you can walk in and bring a coat for the stretches outdoors. The organizer's standing guidance also warns that some buildings may involve several flights of stairs and that visitors may be asked to remove their shoes.

The list of open doors changes each year because private owners decide whether to take part. The society says more than a dozen homes and churches are included in 2026, but it has not published their names. [St. James has announced its participation](https://www.stjamesp.org/event/old-wilm-candlelight/2026-12-05/); wait for this year's booklet before planning a route around any other particular building.

## Key Takeaways

The 2026 tour runs Dec. 5 from 4 to 8 p.m. and Dec. 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. One ticket covers both days and includes a booklet with the map and stop descriptions. The 2026 booklet pickup window and full roster have not been announced, so confirm pickup with Latimer House before you go.

## Buy the ticket, then get the booklet

[Buy tickets through Latimer House's website](https://latimerhouse.org/). The organizer says one 2026 ticket covers both days and includes a printed booklet with the map and descriptions of the stops. Its [2024 event instructions](https://latimerhouse.org/event/old-wilmington-by-candlelight-tour-2024/) directed buyers to collect that booklet at Latimer House, 126 South Third Street. The 2026 ticket page lists the house as the meeting point but does not specify when booklet pickup begins.

[Latimer House currently lists](https://latimerhouse.org/contact-us/) office hours Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and closes Sunday and Monday. For the [2025 tour](https://latimerhouse.org/event/old-wilmington-by-candlelight-tour-2025/), the society also offered pickup on tour day. It has not published a 2026 pickup window, so call **(910) 762-0492** if you are arriving Saturday afternoon or Sunday. Collecting the booklet earlier is a simpler plan when your schedule allows.

The 2026 ticket is **$45 through October 31** and rises to **$50 on November 1**, according to the organizer's booking page. The tour is a fundraiser supporting the society's preservation and education work. Check the total shown at checkout before buying.

Latimer House is more than the place to collect a booklet. [The society's account of the house](https://latimerhouse.org/about/) dates it to 1852 and says three generations of the Latimer family lived there before the society took ownership in 1963. If you want to spend time inside the museum on another day, check its regular tour schedule separately. A day tour of the house and the December multi-site walk are different tickets and experiences.

## Plan the two days around the stops you care about

Once you have the booklet, circle a few places you most want to enter and group nearby stops together. The tour is self-guided, so there is no leader to follow and no fixed order to keep. A two-day ticket gives you room to come back for a building you skipped or to leave when you have had enough walking.

The map below locates Latimer House, where the society has handled booklet pickup, and St. James, which has announced its own 2026 participation. Use it to orient yourself downtown while the organizer prepares the full tour map. The society has not announced when the full 2026 stop list will be available.

_Image: Schematic downtown Wilmington street grid showing St. James Church near Third and Market streets and Latimer House on South Third near Orange Street. The full 2026 tour route is pending._

If you can attend only one session, start with participating private homes, which are the hardest sites to see outside this event. Save buildings with regular public visiting hours for another trip when possible. For a full weekend, use the first session to see your priority homes and the second to pick up what you missed. That plan stays flexible even if a popular doorway has a wait, and it avoids treating the printed stop list like a checklist you have to finish.

The society's 2026 booking page sets the Saturday walk for **4 to 8 p.m.** and the Sunday walk for **1 to 5 p.m.** St. James lists slightly different hours for its own participation, so use the society's schedule to plan the whole tour and check the church's listing if that stop is a priority.

Downtown street parking and decks are both options, and the easiest place to begin is near Latimer House if you still need the booklet. Check the city's current parking signs or payment app when you arrive. Saturday and Sunday can have different parking rules, and an evening visit may cross the end of the paid-meter period. A deck may be simpler if you plan to spend several hours moving between stops.

For a meal around the walk, our guide to [downtown Wilmington restaurants](https://www.wilmingtonbeachrentals.com/where-to-eat/top-downtown-restaurants/) can help you pick somewhere close enough to return to the tour. If you would like another historic-district outing, the [Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington](https://www.wilmingtonbeachrentals.com/things-to-do/ghost-walk-of-old-wilmington/) covers nearby streets with a guide and a very different evening story.

## What to check before entering a private home

The society's standing tour guidance [prohibits interior photography and video](https://latimerhouse.org/series/old-wilmington-candlelight-tour/). It also says visitors may face stairs or be asked to remove shoes. Because the final 2026 roster is not published, there is no reliable building-by-building access list to use yet. Call Latimer House before buying if stairs, wheelchair access, or a stroller will affect whether the tour works for your group. A historic house's exterior does not tell you what access the temporary tour route will provide.

Keep food and drinks outside the tour sites; the organizer's standing rules prohibit them indoors. Give the docents and homeowners room to manage each stop, especially if a doorway is busy. This is a chance to see private interiors opened for a short weekend, so the house rules are part of the plan.

## A December walk with a useful starting point

Start at Latimer House for the booklet, then let this year's map shape the route. The addresses inside it are more useful than any list copied from a previous December. If the buildings and stories leave you wanting more local history, the [Cape Fear Museum guide](https://www.wilmingtonbeachrentals.com/things-to-do/cape-fear-museum-grace-street/) gives you an indoor option on another day of the trip.

This tour is easy to confuse with a ticketed Candlelight concert or the light walk at Airlie Gardens. Old Wilmington by Candlelight is the historical society's walk between downtown buildings. Check the organizer's ticket page for any updates, put the booklet in your pocket, and give yourself time to linger at the doors that are open this year.