September in Indy means a few things: The pumpkin spice coffee shop takeover, cooling temperatures (hopefully), and historic home tours.
If you’ve ever wanted to take a legal look inside some of the beautiful houses on your block, you might be interested in embarking on one of Indy’s many home + garden tours. Here are a few to mark your calendars for.
Pro tip: For most tours, you can buy tickets online in advance for a discount.
September tours
51st Annual Irvington Tour of Homes | Sun., Sept. 15 | 12-5 p.m. | $15+ | This nine-stop tour is the biggest fundraiser for the historic Benton House. It also includes a “Classy Car Show” on the house grounds, with live music + food for purchase.
Broad Ripple Home Tour | Saturday, Sept. 21 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | $15+ | Gain a greater appreciation for the neighborhood’s diversity + character with this tour, which first kicked off in 2005.
Historic Lockerbie Square Home & Garden Tour | Saturday, Sept. 21-Sunday, Sept. 22 | 12-5 p.m. | $25+ | A wide variety of homes — from the oldest house in Indianapolis to restored structures to modern gems — will be on display, reflecting the architectural variety of the city’s oldest surviving original neighborhood.
51st Meridian-Kessler Home Tour | Saturday, Sept. 28-Sunday, Sept. 29 | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. | $25+ | This home tour was founded in 1973 + has donated over $400,000 to area schools, gardens, first responders, and agencies such as Coburn Place.
Winter + spring tours
If you’re a planner like us, here are a few other places that offer annual tours (subject to change):
Midtown Holiday Home Tour | November | Time + price TBD | Peek into three homes decorated for the winter holidays by local designers.
Cottage Home Neighborhood | June | Time + price TBD | Get an inside look at up to 15 different homes + gardens, or show off your skills by competing in the Renovator’s Relay.
Woodruff Place | June | Time + price TBD | This neighborhood enhances the classic home tour experience with porch parties, vintage photo displays, historical anecdotes, and a vintage fashion show.
Indianapolis Garden Club Garden Walk | Wed., June 4, 2025 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Price TBD | Tour lovely gardens around the city — rain or shine.
Out-of-town tours
Itching for a short road trip to another historic Indiana town? Here are a few bonus tours you might be interested in:
Noblesville Historic Home Tour + Downtown Unseen | Friday, Sept. 20-Saturday, Sept. 21 | Times vary | $10+ | This 37th annual event features not only historic homes, but an additional evening tour of beautifully preserved spaces in historic buildings on the square.
Franklin Heritage, Inc. Historic Home Tour | Saturday, Sept. 21-Sunday, Sept. 22 | Times vary | $20 | Visit some of Franklin’s most historic and architecturally significant homes and buildings, including fully-restored gems and restorations still in progress.
Back to the Future: A Mid-Century Modern Home Tour | June | Time + price TBD | See how modern design developed at IU’s Bloomington campus by visiting landmarks built from the 1930s through today, including designs by A.M. Strauss, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and I.M. Pei.
