Do a thorough tour of the museum, watch the films, and see the cyclorama. Next, take the bus tour. Then, all the other touring and sightseeing you do of the battlefield, the cemetery, and in town will have the necessary context.

Before touring do visitor center first, need to do the museum and the cyclorama of the Civil War I am still in awe of this

The visitors' center is an ideal place to orient yourself to the historical background and excitement of the entire place. The museum, the cyclorama--see it all, but stay away from the restaurant. The offerings were meager and very poor quality--all pre- prepared sitting under heat-lamps. And expensive. My best advice is to hire a professional guide if you are at... More

The Visitor's Center is the way to get oriented before you visit the battleground. There is a vey good orientation movie followed by the "cyclorama (a giant 360 degree painting of the battle) and an extensive museum. You can also arrange tours here and it is the starting place for the Eisenhower farm tour. The building is only a few... More

The new visitors' center is fabulous. Get tickets for the cyclorama, museum, and bus tour - well worth it. We spent two days touring the museum and the park with 7 grandkids ranging in age from 6 to almost 15, and their parents. We'd prepared for the trip by giving everyone age-appropriate books to read (there are even some great... More

Took a personal car battle field tour with Chris Brennanman who is a licensed tour guide with the park. Great tour and Chris is very good - ask for him if you go.

This is a must do when visiting the battlefield in Gettysburg. The new visitor's center is spacious, well laid out, and visitor friendly. The movie, cyclorama, and museum are a must-do. You can spend a few hours in the museum. Just loved the displays in the museum. Very interesting and educational! We also did a 2 hour bus tour with... More

Great new space for the museum's old collection. Room after room of artifacts give you as much information as you want, video shorts make it easier to understand the battle. Cyclorama was updated so that it is now AMAZING.

The film and cyclorama are excellent--very well done and moving!! The museum displays are also very informative.