All tours begin and end in Ithaca; pricing based on size of group,
choice of vehicle, and luncheon venue. Times are approximate.
Ask us for a quote for your ideal excursion!
Ithaca Area (4-hour tours)
· We begin at Sage Hall on the Cornell University campus, originally built in the nineteenth century as the Women’s Residential College, and transformed in the 1990’s as the home of the Johnson School of Business Management. We explore the controversial history of the building, which was built to accomodate coeducation at Cornell, and also the challenges that faced the design team in “melon-balling” and constructing the ultra-modern interior inside the historic brick shell. We walk across the Arts Quad to the Johnson Museum of Art for a docent-led tour, and take in the view from the sixth floor, home to the university's Asian collection. We finish downtown for lunch at one of the many fine establishments on the Commons.
· We take a behind the scenes look at the laboratories of Duffield Hall, the Cornell facility that allows the university to bring together many of the various nanotechnology and materials-development groups that previously did their work independently in scattered areas of the campus. From there we go to the Cornell Plantations and walk through the botanical gardens, guided by one of their horticultural specialists. Lunch on the Commons.
· We enjoy a scenic drive up Cayuga Lake to the Museum of the Earth, and explore the archaeological history of this unique landscape. From there we travel to Taughannock Falls, the highest free-falling waterfall in the northeastern United States, and hike down the trail. Returning to Ithaca, we lunch at the Boatyard Grill with its waterfront views of the lake.
Seneca Falls (6-hour tour)
· Journey from Ithaca to the birthplace of feminism, Seneca Falls, a former mill town located on the Erie Canal. Learn how its courageous 19th century abolitionists and suffragists helped to change the course of our nation.
· Our first stop is the Women's Rights National Historical Park, documenting the struggle for women’s rights, and its neighboring Wesleyan Chapel, currently under rehabilitation. Here is where the first Women's Rights Convention met in 1848, and where Seneca Falls resident Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered her “Declaration of Sentiments,” arguing that women as well as men are created equal under the law.
· We walk down Falls Street to the Seneca Falls Heritage Area Visitor Center, with its fascinating model of the Erie Canal, which shaped the development of westward expansion in 19th century America. Then we tour the National Women's Hall of Fame, commemorating influential women from Susan B. Anthony to Rosa Parks.
· Finally we visit the Seneca Falls Historical Society, housed in a three-story Queen Anne Style mansion whose architectural and decorative details, including painted and stained glass windows, gas lights, and carved fireplaces, remain unchanged since the 1880’s.
Auburn (6-hour tour)
· We drive up the east shore of Cayuga Lake to Auburn, home to prominent abolitionists and an important stop on the Underground Railroad. We tour the simple Harriet Tubman House and its interpretive center presenting the remarkable life of the “Moses of her People,” who guided many family members and other freedom-seekers north to Canada and eventually settled in Auburn. We walk through the historic Fort Hill Cemetery, burying place of Harriet Tubman and William H. Seward, and take the short drive over to the Sherwood Inn, on beautiful Skaneateles Lake, for lunch. Returning to Auburn, we go back in time again, but this time enter a different world in the William Seward House, where this Secretary of State to Abraham Lincoln lived sumptuously, and where his descendants preserved an astounding number of artifacts of his life of travels. On our return, we stop for a tour and wine-tasting at the excellent King Ferry Winery on the shore of Cayuga Lake.
Canandaigua and Keuka Lakes (8-hour tour)
· We drive over to Seneca Lake and stop at Red Newt Winery for a behind the scenes tour and lunch at their Bistro. Discussing the origins of the unique landscape of our region, we journey on to the Ganondagan Native American Historical Site, with its replica longhouse and interpretive center bearing witness to the history and society of this town of 150 longhouses that was destroyed by the French in 1687. We hike one of their trails with a guide, and then drive down scenic Canandaigua Lake to view the birthplace of the Seneca Nation. On our way back to Ithaca, we visit Dr. Konstantine Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars on Keuka Lake, the first New York winery to grow vinifera wines, for tastings and a tour.
Geneva (6-hour tour)
· Heading westward to Seneca Lake, we stop for wine tasting at the Hazlitt 1852 Vineyard and then travel on to Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca for some Austrian-inspired locavore cuisine. We continue north to Rose Hill Mansion, a National Historic Landmark built in 1839 and considered one of the finest examples of Greek Revival Architecture in the United States, and tour the house and gardens with a docent. On to the Geneva Historical Society, where we enjoy their permanent exhibits, including two parlors furnished in the Colonial Revival style of the late nineteenth century and a mural depicting the visual history of Geneva over 300 years, as well as their changing exhibits. On our return to Ithaca we stop at Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars to tour and sample their award winning wines.