The museum is perfectly situated among the witchy good fun area of Salem. Parking in the deck…read morenearby was less than $10 for several hours, way better than I did in Boston! There are loads of exhibits on several floors, as well as the Yu Tang house and Ropes Mansion (Ropes adds a few dollars, but the Yu Tang house is included, you just need to grab a time slot.) There's a restaurant on site, and to tour Ropes, you walk straight down the witch-i-center with all the shops, coffee, bakeries, and historic houses. The museum is laid out well, and you can come and go all day.

I visited the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) with my mom at the end of our day in Salem about a week or…read moreso ago, and we really enjoyed our visit. The museum has an extensive collection of Asian Art, but it holds more than 800,000 works of historical and cultural arts covering maritime, American, Asia, and Oceanic and African art. The highlight of our visit was visiting the Yin Yu Tang House. The house dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Huang, a prosperous merchant, built this stately 16-bedroom, two story-house with a courtyard and called it "Yin Yu Tang," meaning "Hall of Plentiful Shelter." It was home to the Huang family in the Huizhou region for more than 200 years until the last of the family descendants moved from the village in 1982. In the 1990s, as part of a cultural exchange, the home and its contents were dismantled and transported to Massachusetts, where it was re-erected in the PEM. The PEM opened to the public in 2003. The house is currently undergoing work to preserve its roof tiles and masonry walls, so there was a lot of scaffolding obstructing views of the home and pictures taken of the museum. But it still well worth a visit; it's incredible. (The website says the house is closed 7/27-7/31 and 8/3-8/7, so maybe they'll have the work done by the end of those stretches!) I only wish the staff that had walked us into the house had explained exactly how much time we'd get inside the house before being ushered out for the next group, because my mom and I were using the audio guide to learn about the house as we explored. Before we finished several rooms, we were told our time was up, which was a bummer - we barely had time to peek into the rooms we hadn't gotten to yet, so I wish we'd known and could use our time better. They call it a tour on the website, but it's a self-guided experience; no museum staff walk you around the house. (FYI: You need a separate ticket for the Yin Yu Tang House, which you can buy on the website.) We explored the rest of the museum as well, including some of their interesting temporary exhibits: "Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers Are for Me," "On This Ground: Being and Belonging in America," and "Beyond the Broom: Salem Short Films." Other highlights of our time were visiting the East India Marine Hall and seeing art and artifacts relating to the Salem Witch Trials. They also have a great gift shop, so save some time for that. A very nice regional art museum that is worth visiting if you have time in your Salem itinerary!

This is a must see as part of History! There are so many interesting plaques to read as well as…read morepictures in this hall. Marblehead the ship is something to be proud of! We were here during festival days (over July 4th) and the place was teeming with music, art shows and contests and authors who showed their books on Marblehead and would sell them with their signature. There are many pieces of memorabilia here for you to enjoy. The town is filled with so many pieces of history that it is difficult to know where to start. My spouse used to live in Marblehead so we always make a trek back in the summer to visit friends and places!

Cute little museum, I wish I had time to explore more of it! But we got to see the iconic Spirit of…read more76 in living color. I highly recommend a side trip to Marblehead, it is so much nicer than it's neighbor to the East that makes money off tragedies of the past.

Family friendly. The kids loved the touch tanks and the free science lessons on the spot!…read more Maritime Museum is small, so you can easily do that and still have time for a whale watch nearby.

Kelsey (Natural Resources Education) and Justin (Historian) make this museum come ALIVE!…read more This place is an absolute gem. Thank you to the staff for presenting a wonderful display of natural history and seafaring artifacts. We'll visit again!

The staff are the nicest people and they had real artifacts inside. I had to touch everything for…read moresome reason. Lol. I heard someone say they didn't like it right before going in so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a museum so you have to stop and read all the things otherwise you won't like it either. It's not a scary place where people jump out at you, if you want that you should go to one of the haunted houses. The guy at the gift shop was dressed up too and was good at staying in character. He added the fun aspect and he told us he is one of the Jason's during October. He even makes masks you can buy. Cool guy.

This well exceeded expectation! The story telling In The beginning, setting the scene made the…read moreattraction even more special. The real life artifacts and pirates treasure were top tier... this is a NON CHEESEY WORTH THE MONEY attraction. My family loved a little something different in Salem and not the same regurgitated witch stories. This did not disappoint. 10/10. Will come back! #worthit

What a fabulous find!!! Wet and rainy day in Salem. Took off with the cameras in tow, exploring and…read morewas drawn by artwork across the bridge from the hotel. Explored the nooks and crannies of the building for a few hours. Beautiful, splendid art to feast my eyes upon. LOVED it all!

If you are in the Salem area don''t miss checking out these fabulous murals spread across city…read more Park your car and walk the blocks as some of the murals cannot be seen from the streets. New buildings have been built since many of the murals were completed, so they are now sandwiched between buildings or in courtyards. The map of the murals is on Lafayette St. between Peabody and Ward Streets. Make sure to walk down the walkway past the Window Phone. There are several murals in the courtyard.

Absolutely loved the Salem Museum of Torture! The exhibits were fascinating, detailed, and…read moresurprisingly immersive. The staff was friendly, and the experience was both educational and entertaining. Definitely a must-visit if you're in Salem!

While we were visiting the City of Salem. We wanted to find something to do or experience while we…read morewere in town. We looked up the map and found this interesting Salem Museum of Torture. Curious minds brought us to this interesting and cool museum. There was a nice gentleman that was working at the time, he helped us decide if this was something we would have a great time exploring. He wasn't wrong. It was an interesting experience to say the least. After we paid for our tickets, he explained that we can stroll thru there at our own paces. There is no time limit here. You can go through there fast or take your time to read, and take in the history of all the different torture apparatuses they had inside the museum. We find it fascinating how they used to use these devices to torture people back in the days. Glad we aren't living in those times. Can't imagine the suffering they used to go through. It was a very interesting visit. Glad we at least experience it once to learn the history and the stories behind each device. After you are done, you can head back up and check out their gifts shop. It was a great and interesting experience. If you happened to visit Salem and is curious about torture devices, definitely stop by and experience it for yourself.

This is an homage to American folk art. If that is your cup of tea, you will love it here! All…read morethe things are just as the original owners left it. The tour is a brisk 45-60 minutes packed with lots of information and things to see. There is a walking trail on the grounds. There is a bathroom with indoor plumbing for guests to use. Free parking is available on the grounds.

I enjoy American folk art yet, more often than not, your only opportunity to experience it is in…read morethe sterile environment of a museum display case. Cogswell Grant is the opposite. You get to see an amazing collection in-situ, just as the owners intended. Additionally, you get to experience this marvelous collection within the Little families charming 18th c Essex farm house. The Little's were collecting American folk art before it was "discovered" by high-end collectors (such as Abby Aldrich Rockefeller). My favorite pieces: the decoys, chickens, and other avian representations throughout the home. The hook rugs are magnificent, too. They have some kitsch mixed in with absolute masterpieces. The home is a jewel box! The surrounding farm is open to exploring and is very close to Crane's Beach and the wonders of Essex. So, when you saunter to Woodman's for clams, continue to Cogswell to satisfy your aesthetic needs.

I haven't had much experience with historical societies, but touring this house and seeing the…read moremuseum was really great! The staff are very friendly and helpful. They helped my husband and I discover some wonderful things about our current home. They have an excellent room dedicated to Beverly's part in the Revolutionary War.

BHS has 3 houses from three periods of New England history. Seeing all 3 provides a great…read moreoverview of the 1st period English settlers, the rich maritime merchant class of the 18th century and the carefree summer lifestyle of a Boston brahmin family. Each house is loaded with period artifacts relevant to Beverly and to top it off there is a huge accessible collection of documents, records and personal items for researchers and genealogists. A must stop for anyone interest in North Shore or early American history.