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!

The exterior was under construction during our visit, but the interior was beautiful and very well maintained. Three floors of impressive architecture and decor. The small gift shop in the basement was a nice bonus.

This should really be called the Gresham house because that is focus of the tour. Being called the Bishop’s Palace, we thought we would learn about this building’s use as the Bishop’s Palace. Instead we learn almost exclusively about the Gresham family and how the house was before the Bishop lived there. The stained glass of St Therese of Lisieux and the chapel room are beautiful, but you can see that on the self guided tour. You won’t hear much about them at all from the guided tour. They had no idea why the bishop chose this saint for the glass, and only explained that it was added after the previous glass blew out. When in the chapel, the discussion is about what it looked like before the bishop lived there. It seems that the beautiful decorations in the chapel and its use are important and likely more entertaining than knowing a daughter lived there and she had some stuff in the room. Again, if you want to hear about the Gresham family, then this is a good tour for you. If you want to hear about what the Bishop’s time was like here (as I did), then you’ll be mostly out of luck. I guess they continue to use the name Bishop’s Palace as a bait and switch to attract attendance to the Gresham House. Note: All of my pictures are from the stairwell and the beautiful chapel.

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.

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.

Fantastic self guided audio tour. Lots of great historical information. The house is beautiful. Loved the marble fireplaces and beautiful woodworking. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves history and amazing architecture. So happy we went there. They are working on some more renovations outside, but you can still go inside and do the tour. Definitely worth seeing.

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.

During a long weekend trip last week to Galveston, I was fortunate enough that a waitress at BLVD Seafood recommended I check this old house out. It was nicely laid out and you could walk up and buy a ticket with a self guided audio tour of the place that included historical tid bits about the family and what was happening in the area at the time they lived in it. They apparently have private tours of the upstairs/attic areas but those you have to book and pay for in advance. I enjoyed the audio tour and even bought a few items at the quite spacious gift store! At times I felt like I was the only one in the house because it was probably a non tourist heavy day. You can easily park on the street and walk in to buy a ticket the day of...well at least on the day I was there!

We went 23 years ago and it was a much better tour. Lot of furniture was removed, since not original to the mansion. Also last time had a person do the tour- hand held "radio" now, not the same, at all. Still beautiful, but not anywhere near as informative as it was before.

If you want to do the Moody Mansion, get the Beauties on Broadway tour as it will get you into both and save you $2. This was a cool self guided tour via a hand held player. At first it was tricky to use but once you figured it out it was easy. The narratives had just enough information about each room and the tour wasn't too long. The only downside was the outside was undergoing a roof reconstruction project so the scaffolding blocked the beauty of the front of the mansion. It also had a fairly big gift shop covering several rooms but of not much interest to me.

Bishop's Palace is always quite impressive. In my humble opinion, Broadway and 14th is the most architecturally relevant intersection along this arterial of the east island. Standing here looking back and forth between Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the palace, the notion Galveston is one of America's architectural treasures is firmly reiterated.

If you like historic homes, you're sure to love this one. The house is beautiful from the outside, as well as the inside. There are lots of gorgeous details to explore -- stained glass, woodwork, etc. Also, they have a fairly impressive gift shop with a variety of books, trinkets, etc. A FEW PRACTICAL NOTES: -Parking was super easy (and free) on the street. We came on a Saturday morning and had no problem finding a spot right in front. -Tickets are purchased in the basement. Follow the signs. -It was $15 per person. Unfortunately, they don't offer discounts for seniors, military, or students. -The tour is self-guided. You get a handheld audio device. They gave us (a couple) one to share. -This is a relatively quick stop. You won't spend over an hour here. You can also obviously control your touring speed and the audio recordings you listen to. Each recording is also under two minutes so you can move quickly. Highly recommended!

My daughter and I visited on a weekday and even though our self-guided tour only took about 30 minutes, we enjoyed seeing how the wealthy lived back at the turn of the century. The woodwork and decor in the mansion is just stunning, and we learned quite a bit about the lifestyles of the Gresham family and the history of Galveston. There wasn't a parking lot that we could find, so we parked on a side street. There is also street parking along the front of the mansion. We entered the building under the front stairs directly into the basement, which has been converted into a gift shop. I had already pre-paid for my admission at the Moody Mansion because they offered a package deal for adult admission to both sites, but I had to pay for my daughter separately at each location. We were each provided with an audio device that you can hold up to your ear and listen to as you move through the mansion. There are numbered placards in the different areas of the house and you type the number into the audio device to hear about that space. We started up a narrow staircase to the main floor of the house and quickly realized it's not centrally air conditioned. Upper 90s and humid outside, so you can only imagine what it felt like inside. They had a few window units and fans going, but it was still pretty warm. But, you know, it just added to the historical realism of the visit. The audio tour was very interesting and the home was absolutely beautiful. If you're in Galveston and you enjoy history, I would highly recommend touring the Bishop's Palace!

This was a lovely example of old architecture. The home was built by the Gresham family. There were lovely carvings - the staircase is exquisite! The fireplaces are imported marble and stunning. The house gets its name from a bishop who lived here after Catholic church bought home. (Disclaimer I am Catholic). This provides an example of how upper echelon of Church lives. While bishop slept in a twin bed, he refurbished one of the south rooms (ocean facing and color room) into a chapel. No cost was spared for this. The windows were replaced with imported stain glass and carved alter and pews we're also expensive. A stained glass window that was part of shell theme on staircase was replaced by one of a saint and it really did not fit (this one was destroyed by Galveston Hurricane). All and all an interesting place, especially on a rainy day.

Typically Im not a "tour" guy but in the case of The Bishops Palace Im going to make an exception. I did tour the "Palace" about 20 years ago. It left enough of an impression on me that I wanted to go back. Everything was just as I had remembered! Extravagant and over the top. It's called the Bishops Palace because the Catholic Diocese bought it for the 4th Bishop of Galveston to live in. They added a chapel and it's a beauty. The entire house demonstrates a level of craftsmanship and attention to detail rarely observed in today's construction. If you like. Architecture and or real estate and have one space on your agenda,make it Bishops Palace. Definite Go!!! I'd return.

Very beautiful home. Not many examples of old Galveston remaining. Feels like a step back in time.

Amazing! TJ was amazing and so sweet helping us out and explaining, extremely kind, the place was beautiful and clean, definitely recommend.

When you spot this house on Broadway you'll need to park along the street or in the neighborhood. In order to gain entry you will have to enter through the basement door where you'll find a very spacious gift shop. The great thing about this historical site is that it is a self guided tour. As a result you are on the tour as soon as you arrive without having to wait for an opening. You get to look at everything at your own pace. It's worth a $15 ticket to get in to see this gorgeous architecture.

This Victorian home was built in 1892 and at that time it was called Gresham's Castle. It was damaged as many buildings were during the Great Hurricane of 1900 but restored. The purchae of the hom in the 1930's by the Catholic Diocese of Galveston created the opportunity for additional architectural details to be included in the design. The home has 11 chimneys and an exterior of limestone masonary with granite and sandstone interwoven. The interior features marvelous pine, oak amd mahogany woodwork and millwork on each level of the home. The heavy wood rounded staircase is spectacular as are the chapel and stained glass windows incorporated when the Catholic Diocese owned the building. The home is an exceptional example of Victorian living. On the downside there is not a lot of furniture, nick-nacks or personal items on display. What they do display includes examples of hand-painted china, Mrs. Gresham's paintings including a self-portrait and a vase from Germany. Self-guided tours include the first and second floors and adult admission is $15. There is an audio to listen to, as well as, a hand-out sheet to follow. Guided tours are $30 and include the third floor and attic. Tours are less than an hour in length. There is a gift shop on the first floor. The gift shop is huge with many unique items for sale.

Disappointed. Read great reviews and thought we had to go since we love historical places. Yes, there are some gorgeous architecture features, but, for the price they could decorate better, many boring and empty places... they should add cozy period appropriate items and let you visit more than just two levels. Cannot access 3rd floor and attic level during week, only a weekend pass for even more money. Our schedule forced us to visit during week. Multiple bare empty rooms, empty walls, empty display cases and so on. So many missed opportunities. Audio tour told us location has been a museum since early 1960s (I think 1961), so there has been plenty of time to spruce the place up without taking away from the architecture. Over $50 for our family of 4, two children and two adults. One audio guide to share amongst us all, only one can hear/use at a time.

Great home and happy for Galveston's efforts to preserve its history. It can be a little warm on hot summers day but an excellent retreat to get out of the sun and see a piece of what helped build this town.

If you love historical homes with amazing architecture, you must see this spectacular home! Take your time to notice the countless intricate details in this home. I have to say, I wasn't fond of the handheld recording that was given as part of the self guided audio tour. Very difficult to hear. I believe this system could be greatly improved.

Absolutely fabulous! Self guided tour very helpful. Recommend for everyone visiting Galveston!

beautiful house and lots of cool information, just be prepared to have the experience ruined by an EXTREMELY rude staff member. the guy who sold us the tickets was super friendly, but the lady who hands out instructions shouldnt have a job in tourism.

While I throughly enjoy old architecture, I'm usually not one that enjoys audio tours. However, the Bishop's palace has done this very well, and the audio readings are the perfect length. Aside from the audio tour, this property itself is absolutely stunning. The craftsmanship that went into each piece of this house is incredible. The history is also very cool to learn, while also learning a bit about Galveston's past and the storms the island and Bishop's palace have endured over the years. This is the perfect stop for anybody interested in old architecture, history, or just looking to step out of the rain and support the local history foundation. After seeing this property, I certainly want to check out the other historic houses of Galveston Island!

The Google page, phone number/voicemail, and their home webpage doesn't say that the Palace is closed on Tuesdays, but Yelp does. We drove all the way over to Bishops palace, but there was a chain-link in front of the entryway and nobody was there. No one picked up their phone either.

There is only street parking but we were able to get a spot right out front. The entrance is in the lower level to the left of the stairs to the front door. There wasn't any signage saying this so we stood around for a few minutes outside. (I saw the sign inside that directed to the entrance). There are no discounts for senior citizens or military, $15 for adults. They give you a device that tells you the information about each room or area of the house with plenty of background information about the family life of the early residents. The whole place is awesome, beautiful woodwork, marble and paintings in many rooms. I was very surprised to see a chapel on the second floor. They had fans in most every room and a few window units as well. It made the tour comfortable in the Texas heat & humidity. We strolled through the gift shop and picked up a few items at the end of our tour.

Hubby and I visited while on vacation to the island. We wanted to at least tour one historic house while here. We chose this over Moody Mansion because of the addition of the religious history. We spent about 45 minutes walking through. Appreciated the paper handout to guide us through the rooms since they didn't offer audio or in-person tours. The Chapel was my favorite room. The stained glass and altar were simply beautiful. Also enjoyed the room with the enlarged historical facts and photos hanging on the walls. The basement has a large lovely gift store that also offers other cute knickknacks for purchase. It was a great visit, I just wish we would have been able to go to the third floor. *Note: We visited during COVID and felt precautions were adequate! We visited during the week and it wasn't crowded at all.*

This is great but not so huge building with stunning architecture. Kind of looks like building made for fictional movies. Very minimal fees of $12 and they do tours. Great exterior looks and worth visiting atleast to get some pictures from outside. Looks nothing less than magical Disney movie home.

This is a beautiful house filled with fascinating history. I've been 3 times, but my favorite was the Basement to Attic tour. Greg was our guide and was fantastic. If you'd like to do this tour, check the site since they only have it on certain days and you have to buy tickets online.

You HAVE TO bookmark this place and take a tour the next time you are in Galveston. I have toured the Moody Mansion several times, so on this trip I booked tickets for the sought after "Basement to Attic" tour. Our tour guide Melissa was a wealth of information, she is a History buff and will share personal stories along the tour that really ad to the enjoyment. She knows A LOT about this building and has a true passion for sharing the information and preserving this building. The tour itself is at least 90 min long, and does require you to go up and down several steep staircases. A majority of the people in our group were 60+ and no one had any trouble...but keep in mind it is an active tour. I do not want to share details about the building or the tour because that would spoil it.

Loved our hand held device for this tour! Amazing place! Take your time and really enjoy it! Nothing like this being built today!!! After the big hurricane Galveston tore down lots of fabulous buildings by the same architect! You must check out the books in the gift store! Only two stories available on the hand held tour but if you want to see the third floor call early at least one week and book a tour! Enjoy! I think it was $14 each and no senior pricing.

The Bishop palace is nice if you're into not into interactive tours, it's self-guided (there's guided tours but only once or twice a day) and you can't touch anything. It's a beautiful structure. Not super big, but you can definitely kill about 45 mins. Definitely try to go there when the sun is out so you can really appreciate the stain glass windows. Unrelated but if you've got the Bishop Palace on your right and you're passing it about 2 houses down there's a strange sculpture of a hand coming out of the ground grabbing another hand in someone's yard... so poon left if you're curious about that.

Nice piece of history that you should check out while in town. Nice little shop downstairs that has a variety of items. There is a self-guided tour with iphone type device they give you for a small fee for the first two stories of the house. Note: the entrance is in the basement. For tickets to take the tour see the counter there.

This is an absolutely beautiful Victorian home, just full of history. It illustrates perfectly the fact that at one time, Catholic bishops were called "princes of the Church" and lived accordingly, even if their personal possessions were minimal. Much of the stained glass is original to the Gresham period, the religious windows were added later when the house was owned by the diocese. I imagine that the furnishings were more numerous and sumptuous when the Greshams were in residence. Still, the house today evokes their time, a wonderful tribute to its builders and those who cared for it - and still do.

09/01/2023 Neat place to visit. It's not in the best shape and the third floor was closed, but it was still a nice piece of history to visit.

The details in this house are phenomenal and nothing like you will see in most old houses and museums. The mural's to the woodwork to even the engraved door hinges. So many details they are easy to miss if you don't look closely. We absolutely loved this place.

I visited with my big family of teens, and they all loved it. The architecture is amazing, and the paintings are lovely too. We went in the middle of the week so it wasn't busy at all. It's a little pricey, but definitely worth a trip for the history you're exposed to. We parked on the street for free, and the audio tour really accentuated the experience.

A must see for all history and architectural fans. Reasonably priced at $14 for adults (if I remember correctly), you are given an easy to follow self guided tour with audio. The structure is a true gem of history and architecture. Originally built by the Gresham family, this 19,000 square foot home was built in the 1890's for $250,000 and sold to the Catholic diocese in the early 20th century for $37,000. The structure has survived numerous major storms (including the historic 1900 hurricane) almost unscathed. No resources were spared in the building and finishing of the home. The craftsmanship is just stunning. The entire tour takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and definitely worth the time and money.

We visited the Bishop's Palace while in Galveston for the Historic Homes tour that the Galveston Historical Foundation does annually the first two weekends in May. Bishop's palace is part of the Galveston Historical Foundation and located in Galveston's East End Historic District, The home is on the Historic National Register for it's Victorian architectural importance. The home has stood all these years even after the devastating storms that have hit this area throughout the years. The Bishop's Palace was first home to the Gresham family who then sold it to the Bishop. Admission is $12 for adults and includes a free audio guide. The home is open daily for visitors. There is a special Basement to Attic tour that is offered monthly, and can be booked online. I have been through many historic homes in the U.S. and Europe, and this was definitely beyond my expectations. It was ornately beautiful. The attention to detail in the wood work, to the artistic glass light fixtures, is impeccable. It's also great to see how the amenities in homes have changed over the years. Even the original sinks in the home are distinctly unique. I liked that the audio guide was sophisticated enough to allow you to click on what you wanted to hear or not hear. You weren't forced to listen to everything. This is definitely a place to stop and visit if in Galveston for the first time.

This place was amazing. They have an audio device that gives explanations about areas of the house. It's a beautiful place to explore with a neat little gift shop.

Beautifully maintained 100+ year old home that was originally built for a family and then sold to the church for use as the bishop's house. There are a few areas that have had minor recent damage, but overall the house is in very good shape. They have decided to only show furnishings that were either owned by the family who built it or the bishop so all the rooms are not furnished. The $12 per person cost includes $2 that go toward restoring the roof, and that seems pretty reasonable considering you also get a guided audio tour as part of the fee. If you do the basic audio tour it'd take around and hour, and you could easily spend a couple of hours looking around.

We visited on the inaugural Galveston Museum Day and were greeted with information and free entrance into the home. With a one pager of history and well labeled rooms, we were able to easily do a self tour throughout the mansion. Really enjoyed the tour and the warm hospitality from the Galveston Historical Society.

If you like historical tours, I would recommend this. It was interesting and it's a self guided tour. It's a beautiful building and to hear of its historical significance was very entertaining.

The history and mansion were beautiful. We had a great time there. Galveston was a great vacation spot.

This place is a must see! It is amazingly beautiful. We were lucky went on a free day. But we did visit gift shop, bought some really nice things. Wish I could they had a guide, that you could ask questions. Really well kept home. Take your time seeing it.

This was incredible! Worth seeing. Definately get the hand held tour guide which explains the features of each room. So glad we went! They don't build them like that anymore!

Tried booking tickets online, they said plenty were available, but my wife got in then it said sold out so I didn't have a ticket. I called to see if they could squeeze me in but they were very rude about it and just said sucks for you. There's nothing we can do about it and hung up. Very rude and unreasonable staff. Would not recommend.

Beautiful historic home. We were in Galveston I. A rainy day and decided to tour the Bishops Palace. Parking was on the street and free. Home is beautiful and well kept. Not slot of furnishings throughout the home. The wood work is phenomenal. I guess the audio tour isn't working right now, so we were sent up a staircase with a piece of paper describing the rooms. Not a lot of info and was confusing as some rooms weren't marked. I'd prefer a brief introduction before being sent in our own, like a summary of the homes history.. we hadn't done any research prior as it was a last minute rainy day decision... we asked some questions after we finished and they were all answered expertly by the young girl. They do special tours on weekend tat are guided and they include the 3rd floor as well. The 3rd floor is blocked off or the self guided tour. Overall, I'd recommend but do some background research before you go so you can appreciate it more

Bishops palace is simply an amazing historical visit. The tickets are 12 dollars and the audio tour is up to an hour which is very well worth it. The structure and architecture of this mansion is stunning. We got some absolutely amazing pictures out if our visit along with pretty interesting historical background of the Greshams.

This place is awesome. The whole reason it's still there is the Catholic Church across the street purchased it to save it from being leveled and becoming a texaco. So thank goodness. It's a restored gem there in Galveston. The floor inlays are gorgeous, the detailed woodwork, the just ambiance of the place is amazing. If you can catch the marine to give you your tour. He gives you lots of side information that makes the tour that much more fun. Absolutely recommend this place.

Excellent day trip! Fabulous history of Galveston within the beautiful walls of the Palace. A must see if you're visiting the island!

Do not miss this amazing home in Galveston! It's a self-guided tour, so you can set your own pace. They provide the audio pieces so that you can listen to information about the various rooms as you walk around. The home is amazing. A historic landmark in Galveston. Definitely worth a visit.

Bishop's Palace is an enjoyable thing to do in Galveston if you want to do something where you learn historical facts and have fun at the same time. It is quite a beautiful mansion, imagine if it were fully furnished inside?! Then it would be a tour! But, the tour guides really know their stuff so it's quite interesting throughout. The tour lasts about an hour and you're only toured through the 1st and 2nd floors out of 4 floors. We asked why not all 4 floors and our guide said it was because the fire marshall said there always needs to be 2 ways off of a floor and the 3rd and 4th floor don't have 2 ways. I could feel creepy aspects of the mansion because of the paintings everywhere, the old smells and squeaky floors. I would not want to be stuck in there at night. We were so close in asking if there were any hauntings there. Haha.

The mansion is grand. We did the self guided tour that comes with a little audio guide that is numbered for each room in the mansion. The recorder gives a pretty detailed description of each room along with a bit of history. The tour took about 2 hours for us as we took our time in each room. The architecture is auh-mazing. From the marble columns, coffered ceilings, stained glass windows, carved mahogany woodwork and silk fabric covered walls. This home withstood the great hurricane of 1900. Rumor has it the Gresham's and staff formed a human chain to reach out into the churning waters to rescue survivors. Hundreds of people were welcomed into their home seeking refuge from the deadliest storm in US history.

If you're into old Victorian style architecture you'll absolutely love this place. It's ornate decorations are incredibly beautiful with extreme detail and care presented in each piece. The cost of admission is low compared to other similar attractions and for anyone that enjoys buildings and their beauty, the Bishop's Palace is certainly not a place to pass by. I'd almost say it's the most well known building in Galveston. If you're passing through make sure to schedule it into your itinerary, it will definitely be worth it.