The Oldest House
The Oldest House
4
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800-year old Adobe house; considered the oldest house in the United States.
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Neighborhood: Downtown
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
515 reviews
Excellent
143
Very good
190
Average
161
Poor
18
Terrible
3
M J
Austin, TX7,878 contributions
Jul 2021
My husband and I went to the De Vargas Street House (the oldest house in US) on a Sunday afternoon at 3 pm. It is located just 5 minutes from downtown/plaza in Santa Fe. There were about 5 free parking places next to the 800 year old house and we got the last spot. The parking spots were tow away if not visiting the old house. Inside the house, there was a medium sized souvenir store and two rooms with old historical furniture and artifacts. That was neat. We were in and out in of the house in about 10 minutes. There was no charge to enter the old house. The oldest church in the US was across the street. Both buildings are worth a short visit.
Written August 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
goandgi
Monterey, CA30 contributions
Jun 2021
This two-room adobe structure is very well preserved with a variety of decor that evokes the rugged period its inhabitants experienced. Three positive points: 1. It is free (donations encouraged). 2. It provides much historical information. 3. The owner of the souvenir boutique is friendly, kind and informative, not just on the Oldest House, but on the Santa Fe area overall. If you like historical sites, this is fascinating!
Written June 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jim B
Grapeview, WA1,844 contributions
Sep 2021 • Couples
It was fascinating to be able to walk into a house that purports to be the oldest in the US. The museum portion was nice to look at, but very small. The gift shop takes up more space than the house museum, which was sad to us. I would rather see more history of the actual house.
Written September 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MemoryMaker5
Ohio1,313 contributions
Mar 2022
This was a really neat stop. It felt special to enter this place. They have a mini museum type area in the oldest space that we really enjoyed. It's right across the alley beside the San Miguel Chapel.
Written May 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gillian833
Cleveland, OH23 contributions
Oct 2020
Definitely worth a visit. Even though it is small, it is next to the Oldest Church next door and both visits can be done nicely in an hour. The gift shop attached to the oldest house has some nice native pieces and a man there was wonderful giving us local history of the area, the Santa Fe Trail and the Camino Reall. If you like history you will enjoy this
Written October 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ISilva76
Dallas, TX87 contributions
Mar 2022
The sign on the door encourages you to go in and explore the oldest house in the US. It is tiny inside but you get an idea of how people lived back then. There is a gift shop attached to it. It's free to explore, that was a plus!
Written March 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lou P
Kansas City, KS357 contributions
Jun 2022
We walked to the oldest house to find it closed. We returned later and stepped into a tiny slice of history. The displays and little bit of narrative provided suggested a donation. We covered the whole display in about 5 minutes.
Written June 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy S
Austin, TX850 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
It's cool to see, but doesn't take long because it's so small... seems like the cliff dwellings would be older than this house... the gift shop is larger than the "museum", but it's still cool to pop into. Next door to the oldest church, which makes it a 2 for 1.
Written February 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve M
Pulaski, TN584 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
This is a small museum with a lot history. Please don't expect too much. The house has furnishings from the period when it was built. You will enter into the gift shop and go down a couple steps. The house consist of two small rooms and a casket. Admission is free. It is a must see while checking out the historical area.
Written July 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
roadtrip_ken_2017
Oakland, CA445 contributions
May 2024 • Friends
I visited the "Oldest House in the USA" in Santa Fe, with parts of it supposedly dating to around 1646. Whether or not it's actually the oldest house is debatable, and frankly there's not that much to see here. Beyond the age claim, it's fairly unremarkable, but at least there was no charge to go in and look around. There's a small gift shop there too. If you have time to really explore Santa Fe I suppose it's worth checking out since it's not that far from the Plaza, but if you don't have that much time I'd skip it.
Written June 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A Tripadvisor member
Boulder, Colorado
What day did you visit?
Written November 3, 2017
Redmond: I visited on a Monday, after touring the church. Don't expect this to be a mansion refurbished; it is a pioneer "hut" that has been preserved, but not restored. Keep in mind that houses then had only two rooms. The kitchen--with winter warmth--also were the sleeping quarters, usually elevated and accessed by rope ladders. Bad news for sleepwalkers!
Written November 10, 2017
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