Hemingway, Key West

The house was filled with many beautiful anitques, paintings and old photographs . I especially loved the antique headboard from the 17th century, which was once a spanish gate. The cat sleeping on the bed is one of the 44 cats that live on the property.

The Hemingway House was a nice visit. Tickets are available in front of the house. Military gets a discount! There are lots of tour guides, some are better than others, and they like to get tips. We tipped just a few dollars, which was average. There are also lots and lots of cats. The place is famous for the cats and of course some other historical stories provided by the guide. The house is big and the gardens surrouding it are beautiful. I can't remember the exact price, but I am pretty sure it is under $10. Hours are 9-5 daily.

the hemmingway house is one of the most visited attractions in key west. ernest hemingway (1899-1961) is considered one of america's best novelists of the 20th century. he received a pulitzer prize for his "old man and the sea" in 1953 and a nobel prize for literature in 1954. his most famous works are, "the sun also rises" 1926, "a farewell to arms" 1929, "for whom the bell tolls" 1940, and the "old man and the sea" 1953. hemingway lived and worked in this house from 1931 through 1940 and then again in the 1950's. ernest hemingway is one of key west's most famous residents. a very interesting place to visit in key west especially for those interested in american literature.

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Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote here for more than ten years. They say he loved Key West because he found creativity in the turquoise waters that surround the island. Some of his famous writings include "A Farwell to Arms" and "The Old Man and the Sea". It is a tour that fans of his would appreciate, but if you never read any of his books I wouldn't bother coming here.

There are tours available, open everyday, 9am - 5pm.
Admission is $11.00 but you can find a discount coupon almost anywhere. There was no military discount which was surprising. Locals get in free. (Alot of good that does you huh?)

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The one place I absolutely knew I wanted to visit in Key West was Ernest Hemingway's home. It wasn't so much about his books that made me feel this way, but the stories that surrounded this man's life. There are some great old stories about his home as well and you'll hear it all on a guided tour (which is included in the admission price), or you can choose to walk the grounds on your own. We had a fantastic guide who brought the whole place to life for us; she knew so much about Hemingway, his home, his wife that you'd think she knew them personally!!

On the tour you will see Hemingway's large two-story home, each level had a wrap around porch, and each room is filled with art and antiques. Our guide told us interesting stories of certain pieces of furniture or art and where they came from. There is also Hemingway's separate studio where he wrote located on the second floor of a smaller building in back of the main house. You'll see fountains & pool. Hemingway was apparently quite put out when his wife had the in-ground pool put in!

I loved seeing all the descendants of Hemingway's 6-toed cats, which number around 50 - 60 cats (some with only 5 toes on each foot!) and the memorable "graveyard" built for them. Each cat has a name! The cats have their own stories, beginning with Hemmingway's first cat who apparently came from a sea captain.

Admission generally is $10 adult; $6 child when we visited. Check current prices.
Open 9am to 5pm 365 days a year. Nice gift shop on grounds.

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The cats that live in the home and on the grounds are descendants of the cats he kept while he lived in the house, including many extra-toed (polydactyls) cats. It looks like they are wearing little mittens.

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Key West and Ernest Hemingway are inseparable. Papa Hemingway's years in town were among his most productive, from a literary standpoint, and his contribution to the attitude and nightlife of the town continues to this very day. Why, even his "cat water fountain" is an antique urinal ripped from the original Sloppy Joes' Bar location in the late thirties.

The house is privately owned, and lovingly maintained. It's so authentic as to still be devoid of air-conditioning. Now, I wouldn't describe the interior as super-comfortable on the hot June day we visited, but the construction of the house, its ceiling fans and the large ceiling to floor windows, make tropical ventilation happen.

Like almost everything in Key West, it costs $10 to get in. Guided tours, once inside, are free...you just congregate at the entrance for the next one to start. You'll be treated to a 30 minute walk through both the house and history. I was especially moved to visit Hemingway's writing cottage out back, left as he'd left it when he departed the area. Seeing Ernest Hemingway's typewriter made me appreciate my quiet-key computer keyboard and nifty laptop even more. :)

Hey, one other fun fact about Hemingway's house...it's the only dwelling in Key West with a basement. Papa was smart enough to buy the highest ground (elevation about 10 feet) in town, and he bought land that had a big chunk of stone below the surface. So, the basement was literally carved out of this stone, which is why it doesn't seep water like most places in Florida would do. Also, during hurricanes, the famous Hemingway cats instinctively hide in the basement, which is usually a safe place to be.

We loved the stories of Papa Hemingway and all his wives, too. And yes, we saw his cats, including a bunch of the famous six-toed mutants. Definitely worth the visit, folks.

After many years of visiting the Keys I finally visited the Hemingway House and even took the guided tour. The reason I never did before is I thought of it as too touristy and assumed I'd be disappointed, shame on me for being so negative. I actually found the house interesting and the tour a fine way to spend 30-45 minutes. We had a great tour guide, he was very knowledgeable, friendly, joked a bit, and kept up a good pace - I was never bored and/or aching for the tour to move on. We almost didn't take the guided tour because it was HOT and we were HUNGOVER but I'm glad we did, I know it made all the difference in our visit. I definitely recommend it.

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The house is a really cool place to visit. It costs $10 for entry fee. I enjoyed walking around outside the best in his garden with the cats. Also, the house in the back, which is where he wrote is really neat. They have it where you can only see inside, but not go in. Definitely worth the money. The 2nd picture is of the house with his library, which is out back. The 6-toed cats are everywhere.

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I'm not sure this belongs in a Must See category, but it certainly isn't off the beaten path either.

This is another place that we didn't go back to yet (since the 60s) mostly because of the cost. Tours take 45 minutes, and they cost $10 for adults and $6 for children in 2003. If I were to go back, one of the primary attractions would be the six-toed cats (decendants of Hemingway's original cats) that live there.

In 1851, Asa Tift, a marine architect and salvage wrecker built the house. It was bought for Pauline and Ernest Hemingway by Pauline's rich uncle Gus in 1931. Pauline was Ernest's 2nd wife. When she divorced him in 1939, Hemingway moved to Cuba. Pauline died in 1951. Only Patrick, one of her two sons is still living.

The house has the first pool in Key West - it cost $20,000 in the late 30s. Hemingway also built the brick wall around the house in an effort to get some privacy from the crowds of tourists peering in through the fence. (see last picture). Hemingway still complained that the lighthouse keeper had a view into his bedroom. That is partly true - there is a picture I took from the top of the lighthouse that shows the upstairs balcony.

Hemingway had a lot of friends in Key West, and many of them appeared as characters in his novel "To Have and Have Not" which is about Key West during the depression.

This picture was done by one of his friends - Mario Sanchez. The figure in the middle that is twice the size of anyone else is Hemingway. The clouds depict three of his novels - The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and For Whom the Bell Tolls