Begin your tour at the visitor's center, at which you'll be assigned a ticket and a tour guide. Walk over to the house, through the front door with the nameplate "A. Lincoln" and into the front hall, where you'll see one of Lincoln's stovepipe hats on the Gothic style hat rack and a cane down below it. To the left is the front parlor, the formal room where Lincoln was told of his nomination to the presidency. When in this room, Lincoln preferred sitting in the horsehair rocking chair, one of the few original pieces in the house. Behind this room to the right is the back parlor, which was originally the master bedroom and where Lincoln's son Edward died. Furnishing include a glass-fronted bookcase and terrestrial and celestial globes.
Continue to the right to the dining room, papered in a white floral pattern. In this room, Lincoln's hands were molded in plaster. On the right side of the entry hall is the sitting room, the main living room of the house, where Lincoln, in violation of the customs of the time, often sprawled on the floor playing with his children and pets. The Lincoln boys received little to no discipline from their father and tended to run wild.
Take the stairs up to the second floor. At the top of the stairs to the left is the bedroom of Lincoln's eldest son Robert Todd, who was later a successful lawyer and cabinet official. This room was also used for guests.
Go across the hall and on the northwest corner is Lincoln's bedroom. Take special note of how high Lincoln's shaving mirror is set on the wall. Wife Mary Todd Lincoln's bedroom is behind this. The couple maintained separate bedrooms after 1855. The garish wallpaper in both rooms is a reproduction of the original pattern. Behind Mary's room is a spartan room for the maid and next to that, the bedroom occupied by Willie and Tad, the two youngest Lincoln boys, which includes a few period toys.
Descend the back stairs into the kitchen, which has an stove dating to 1860, then exit the house. Afterwards explore the neighborhood, which includes many buildings from the Lincoln era, as well as the state-of-the-art Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
