Bishop’s Palace

The Bishop's Palace was an absolutely incredible stop for diving into Galveston's rich history! Every detail of the architecture is amazing; the more you look, the more hidden gems you discover. The stunning stained-glass windows throughout the home and the intricate wood carvings with their amazing details are truly a sight to behold! We were truly amazed by the sheer number of paintings and the rich history of the wealthy families who lived here back in the day, and it's incredible how well-preserved the home is!! Plus, the staff was friendly, and the self-guided audio tour is fantastic. You can pause or rewind whenever you want to soak in all the stories of this beautiful home. While we understand the palace is undergoing renovations, it would have been even better to have access to the third floor to finish the rest of the palace. You can purchase tickets online or right at the palace in the basement, where you'll also find a cute gift shop!

Me and my family went to Galveston this weekend for my birthday and I absolutely love anything historical. My dad really loved the architect part of the tour, my mom and sister loved the prayer room and bedrooms, and I enjoyed hearing the history around the house and looking at every room. It was an amazing experience and definitely worth doing if you go to Galveston.

This place is really cool to see if you like history, or older houses! The tour is self guided through the basement level, first floor, and second! The gift shop has a ton of things and the sweet ladies who were working were so nice!! We booked tickets online but you can buy them there as well.

This house is well preserved and maintained. The woodwork and stained glass windows are spectacular. It's a self guided tour however the free hand sets that described each area are easy to use, have lots of information, and background information if you want to hear it. There's free street parking in front and on the side of the house.

We purchased tickets online but they are also available in the basement where you enter the property in front, parking on the street. Renovation with scaffolding around the exterior (April 2025) and some wallpaper has been removed for replacement. The basement entry takes you into the basement area where items are available for purchase and where you are provided your audio device describing the numbered points of interest on the main and upper levels of the house. There is a lot of stain glass and woodwork to admire, and some rooms have beds and furniture along with oil paintings on walls to view. This historic structure is very interesting and will take around an hour to tour.

We went 4 days after Christmas and we're able to go in with no wait. We took a narrow staircase up from the basement gift shop to the 1st floor and were awed with the level of decor! The style is quite gaudy but the craftsmanship in the woodwork is something to be admired!! The palace seems to be a little unkempt due to refurbishing but what took away from the experience for me was that I did not find enough informational cards throughout. We had a handheld device for the audio tour but found it to be difficult to navigate while trying to share our thoughts so we ended up not using it after all.

Self guided audio tours for $15. Beautiful home with exquisite woodwork throughout. Also has a gift shop. Currently, the exterior is under repair, but it's still open for tours.

Rating 4 stars due to renovations. Very dificult to get around if you have any type of walking disability or walking restrictions. The historical setting and information are great. Highly recommended.