VISITING GETTYSBURG: GETTING STARTED

To get the most out of your stay, begin your visit at the new Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park:

• Immerse yourself in the Gettysburg experience by purchasing a ticket to the Cyclorama, Film & Museum. Click here for ticket information. Allow 1.5-2 hours.
• There are a variety of ways to tour the Battlefield. Allow 2.5 hours. A Licensed Battlefield Guide can accompany you in your car. Or you can join a Battlefield Bus Tour. You can tour on your own, using a CD that can be purchased at the Museum Bookstore, or you can download the Gettysburg National Park’s official map and guide.
• Did an ancestor fight at Gettysburg? Want to know more about something you’ve seen during your visit? Stop by the Resource Room to use the databases.
• Recharge in the Refreshment Saloon, modeled after the 19th-century establishments that offered home-cooked meals to weary soldiers.
• Be sure to save some time to browse the extensive selection of books and souvenirs in the Gettysburg Museum Bookstore.

For three days, the Union and Confederate armies overran the ridges, creeks and fields of the region, into the streets and houses of the little town of Gettysburg.

• Some 62 percent of the buildings in town today were standing at the time of the battle. Some are open to the public as historic house museums. Guided Gettysburg walking tours of the town can be reserved through Main Street Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau can provide information about the other attractions, historic sites, special events and accommodations.
• Take an hour or two and spend some quiet, contemplative time on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Nearly 1,400 monuments and memorials to the soldiers who sacrificed so much here dot the landscape of its 6,000 acres. Make sure you have comfortable shoes and water.

Four months after the battle, President Abraham Lincoln came here to dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. In his 272-word Gettysburg Address, he offered his vision for a reunited nation — a “new birth of freedom.”

• Today the Soldiers’ National Cemetery is the final resting place for American veterans from the Civil War through Vietnam. It also is the site of numerous monuments and memorials, including the Lincoln Speech Memorial. Special walking tours of the cemetery are available; check the Information Desk at the Museum and Visitor Center. You can also visit the grounds on your own. Self-guided walking tours are available at the new Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, or you can download a copy here.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, owned only one home, and it was here in Gettysburg. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and 34th President of the United States, kept an office in town and he and his family worshipped there as well. Click here for more information about the site.

• Tour the iconic home and farm of one of our nation’s most celebrated public servants, who chose to live right near the Battlefield. Tickets for the shuttle to the Eisenhower National Historic Site can be purchased at the Museum and Visitor Center. Allow 90 minutes to 2 hours for your visit.

See the house where President Abraham Lincoln put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address. The David Wills House, a new National Park Service museum in downtown Gettysburg, tells the story of the aftermath of battle and Abraham Lincoln's visit to give the Gettysburg Address. Allow 1 to 1/2 hours for your visit.

IF YOU ARE VISITING FOR THE FIRST TIME

• Immerse yourself in the Gettysburg experience by purchasing a ticket to the Cyclorama, Film & Museum. Click here for ticket information. Allow 1.5-2 hours.
• Tour the Gettysburg Battlefield: Reserve a Licensed Battlefield Guide, take a Battlefield Bus Tour, or tour on your own using the CD that can be purchased at the ticket window at the Park Museum and Visitor Center.
• Did an ancestor fight at Gettysburg? Want to know more about something you’ve seen during your visit? Stop by the Resource Room to use the databases.
• Experience dining, 19th-century style, in the Refreshment Saloon.
• Set aside some contemplative time to walk the Battlefield and to visit the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.
• Learn more about the experiences of residents with a Gettysburg walking tour of the town.
• Browse in the Gettysburg Museum Bookstore.

IF THERE ARE CHILDREN IN YOUR PARTY

• Visiting Gettysburg with family is an enjoyable and educational experience. Begin by immersing yourself in the Gettysburg experience by purchasing a ticket to the Cyclorama, Film & Museum. Click here for ticket information. Allow 1.5-2 hours.
• Tour the Battlefield: While there are a number of ways to tour the battlefield, touring on your own, using the CD that can be purchased at the Museum Bookstore, offers the best balance of information and flexibility. Other options include reserving a Licensed Battlefield Guide or joining a Battlefield Bus Tour.
• Did an ancestor fight at Gettysburg? Want to know more about something you’ve seen during your visit? Stop by the Resource Room to use the databases.
• Hardtack anyone? Experience 19th-century-style dining in the Refreshment Saloon.
• Set aside some time to walk the Gettysburg Battlefield and study the monuments. Visit the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.
• Learn more about the Civil War experiences of Gettysburg’s families with a walking tour of the town.
• Don’t forget to leave time to browse the Gettysburg Museum Bookstore for your post-visit reading list, as well as a variety of Civil War, Lincoln and Eisenhower mementoes appealing to all ages.

THINK YOU’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE AND DONE ALL OF THAT?

• Immerse yourself in the Gettysburg experience by purchasing a ticket to the Cyclorama, Film & Museum. Click here for ticket information. Allow 1.5-2 hours.
• Consider a specialized tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield: Ask your Licensed Battlefield Guide to focus on a particular area of interest, such as Culp’s Hill, or the movements of one regiment, or the monuments.
• Guided tours of the battlefield are available on horseback, by bicycle and on Segways by private companies. To learn more, contact the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.
• Did an ancestor fight at Gettysburg? Want to know more about something you’ve seen during your visit? Stop by the Resource Room to use the databases. Or, for more in-depth research using the park’s extensive collection of manuscripts, letters, documents, periodicals and photographs, books and microfilm, make an appointment in advance to use the new Library and Reading Room.
• Experience dining, 19th-century style, in the Refreshment Saloon.
• Set aside some contemplative time to walk the Battlefield and to visit the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.
• Learn more about the experiences of Gettysburg residents with a walking tour of the town.
• Before you leave, stop by the new Museum Bookstore — still a destination bookstore for its selection of Civil War, Lincoln and Eisenhower-related reading material, and with a greater variety of merchandise.