Kingston Penitentiary

They have the tours here running like a well oiled machine. Very little wait time, nicely paced and plenty of great sites to see, even on the basic tour.Our guide was amazing, and regaled us with personal accounts, stories and historical facts about the Penitentiary. We were also treated to stops throughout the grounds and enjoyed additional tales from other former employees of The Pen.The Penitentiary itself is truly something to behold. It’s not hard to imagine what it was like while still in service, and is impressive with its recreated cells (both old and new).This tour had been on my bucket list for years, and it certainly didn’t disappoint!I am already looking forward to visiting again!Be sure to save enough time to visit the Museum across the street. (Entry is by donation, so remember to have some cash handy), there is some pretty cool stuff in there.Free parking is on site for both locations and there are washrooms on site as well.The Penitentiary tour is not accessible for those in wheelchairs (unless they have accommodations onsite that I didn’t notice) and participants should be prepared to do a few stairs and some uneven surfaces. Maybe call ahead to inquire about additional accommodations if required. Suitable for a younger crowd as well.

It was really cool to see and learn. In my opinion it's something you need to do once if you're in the area (like Fort Henry). Shoutout to Bjorn,(spelling?) my 1.5 hr tour guide who made the tour fun and informative.

Such a unique experience.History that needs saving. Took the expanded tour, and well worth the price.Our tour guide, Adi was amazing. She did a great job

We did a regular length tour and very much enjoyed it! Our tour guide was polite and clear. Be ready to stand for a while and endure the heat outside. The retired corrections workers were super enjoyable to listen to, so much history and great stories!

Kaelin was an excellent story teller!She was engaging and honest. I loved the connection where her grandfather also worked at the Penitentiary. Former staff made cameo appearances to introduce their perspective and personal experiences. So well done!The extended tour was informative and gave a great overview of prison operations. This is a once in a lifetime experience, do the full tour!

Five stars for the tour and our tour guide Kaelin. Kaelin's energy, passion, and knowledge took the tour to the next level. A fascinating building with a lot of history, the added experiences of retired guards situated throughout the tour adds to the authenticity. I'm not a local to Kingston or even Canada but this is well worth your time!

This was so much fun! I had a great time seeing and learning the history of the kingston penitentiary!It is a bit pricey, and there are no deals for family/group tickets that I saw, so it was unfortunately too expensive for my family and I to see anything more than the cheapest tour.- There is also another museum across the street that is free" (they accept donations of any size as admission) and it's open from 9am to 4pm. It's completely self guided and DEFINITELY a sight to see! -I do wish there was an option for a self guided tour (with directed signs so you don't get lost) that has a set time limit...The 45 minutes we spent was mostly standing and listening to a tour guide. Although that may be something most people prefer

Very good experience which gives you perspective of another life. Guides were friendly and knowledgeable. Some questions could not be answered due to privacy regulations. Before the tour starts, guides do a good job at setting expectations around question that they cannot answer. Recommend every to visit such facility at least once. Thanks.

Definitely do the extended tour if you can because you hear a lot more stories about prison escapes. You hear from former prison staff too at various stops throughout. Our tour guide (forgot his name, older male) was fantastic!! Very knowledgeable, funny, and enthusiastic! It's a long tour, but you get an in-depth look and feel of what the prison was like throughout its extensive history. It gave me a better understanding of what the penitentiary did and how inmates were treated

KP is a very interesting place to tour. The architecture is beautiful and there is so much history between these walls. I greatly enjoyed the fact that a lot of the stories and information is provided by former corrections officers who worked at KP. Our tour guide also shared stories about famous escapes. I do recommend booking in advance, especially on weekends. I plan to come back for the extended tour one of these days but the standard tour was great.