The Palmer House Inn
A romantic Victorian Falmouth, MA B&B in Cape Cod.
Come home to the year 1901, the Gilded Age, the age of gracious Victorian homes, of elegant family living, of unhurried holidays by the sea.
The Palmer House Inn Bed and Breakfast is a well-loved mainstay of Falmouth’s picture-perfect Historic District, clustered around a quintessential New England Village Green. Carefully curated to preserve its historic character, the inn has been updated to provide you with the comforts you would expect. First built in 1901 as an aristocratic Queen Anne Victorian, it retains its timeless grace and architectural elegance from its copper-topped turret to its wicker-furnished porches bordered by fragrant rhododendrons and azaleas. The back part of the inn was added in 1996 and was carefully crafted to architecturally complement the original house.
Apart from its twelve-bedroom main house, The Palmer House inn contains four rooms in its historic carriage house (one of them ADA compliant) as well as a quaint three-room cottage hidden in its own secret garden on the grounds.
The buildings are set on nearly an acre of gardens bordered by flowering cherry trees, dogwoods, hydrangeas and hostas. Year after year, loyal guests return to the inn and profess their love for its unspoiled character, for the beauty of its grounds and for its scrumptious home-cooked breakfasts.
Falmouth’s Historic District gives you, the visitor a glimpse into a bygone era. While walking along its picket-fence-bordered sidewalks, you might reasonably expect to encounter Thornton Wilder or Emily Dickinson. You won’t. Instead, a five minute walk brings you past the Village Green and the Congregational Church to a bustling downtown lined with tempting restaurants, upscale boutiques, spas that spoil you, bakeries and confectioners with more chocolate, candy and ice cream than any one person can be expected to handle!
From the historic downtown area you can continue your walk heading due south and travel through a residential neighborhood of engaging loveliness with traditional Cape Cod homes set among flowering shrubs behind immaculate picket fences. A ten-minute walk down this charming road will bring you to beautiful Surf Drive Beach, the home of gentle waves and warm, welcoming water in season.
Aside from shopping and eating, Falmouth offers plenty of entertainment in season. There’s theatre, opera, golf, bike riding, yachting, deep sea fishing, museums and of course, ferry boat rides to Martha’s Vineyard, the deservedly favorite destination of generations of visitors of global influence.
In the months following the busy summer season, planned event weekends and exciting holidays begin to take the place of lazy beach days. October’s Jazz-Tober, the Village of Scarecrows (preceding Halloween,) Holidays by the Sea with its multiple fun events and Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s celebrations bring visitors to Falmouth year after year. In addition to town-sponsored events, Palmer House Inn has a calendar of its own events for you through the year and has an e-newsletter to keep you posted on upcoming activities weekends.
Meet the Innkeepers
Tom von Zabern and Billy Brown bought Palmer House Inn on May 31, 2018 and moved to Falmouth after many years of residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Billy has a background in nursing home management and Tom comes from a 38 year practice as a real estate broker and home renovation consultant. Audrie Brown is Billy’s mother and also comes with many years of both nursing home administration and culinary experience. Lastly, meet Brody, the ever-amusing and funny Leonberger who has charmed his way into the hearts of so many of Palmer House Inn’s guests, and whose presence spearheaded the inn’s dog-friendly rooms in the Guest House!
