Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, is a sprawling Victorian mansion that Sarah Winchester, widow of the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, kept building for 38 years until her death in 1922. Its staircases that climb to nowhere and doors that open onto empty space made it one of the most talked-about houses in America. It stands just across the street from the shops of Santana Row.

The story behind it

Sarah Winchester came into a vast fortune from the Winchester Repeating Arms company after the loss of her infant daughter and, years later, her husband. Legend says she became convinced she was haunted by the spirits of people killed by Winchester rifles, and that a medium told her to keep building a house to confuse them. Historians still debate how much of that tale is true, but the building work really did continue for decades.

The result is a maze of additions rather than a single planned design. Rooms were added, changed and sometimes left stranded, and the 1906 earthquake damaged parts of the house. When Sarah died in 1922 the house stood as the strange monument visitors still come to see.

What to look for

• Look for staircases that end at a ceiling, a reminder that the house grew without a master plan.
• Spot the doors that open onto a drop instead of a room, one of the oddities that gave the house its name.
• Take in the Victorian exterior, with its gables, turrets and layered rooflines that hint at how many hands and decades shaped it.
• Notice the contrast across the street: Santana Row is a modern district designed to feel like an old town, while the mansion is the real century-old oddity.

Tips for your visit

• You go inside on a guided tour, so check current opening hours and booking options before you arrive.
• Leave a couple of hours if you want the tour plus time to look at the outside and the neighbourhood.
• Daylight shows off the facade best, and the evening is a good time for a walk through Santana Row nearby.
• Santana Row has plenty of places to eat and rest before or after your visit, all within easy walking distance.

See it on a quest

Ghost Hunt in San Jose suits a house built around a ghost story. You reach the place on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle right in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in San Jose is a darker way to explore the same streets. You walk between the stops at your own pace, hear about each landmark as you get there and work out a puzzle on the spot. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.