This is one my favorite local museum tours! Highly recommend doing the 3 house tour to see original…read moreitems from the 1600-1700s. My tour guide Judy, a retired teacher, was incredibly knowledgeable. We were able to see how older kitchen and household "appliances" worked. The Heard House is the main house, with an interesting family history. One of the sons was a trader who brought back beautiful items from East Asia. The house also happened to be hosting a special art exhibit for a well-renowned painter from Ipswich when I went. We spent a little over 2 hours here doing the full 3 house tour, but you can probably do the main Heard House in less than an hour. The 1 house tour is $10 per person and 3 house tour is $15. I'm glad we chose the 3 house tour. I would recommend any visitors to Ipswich come learn about the early history from before there was a state of Massachusetts.

Must see if you are a fan of eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture. This home has been…read moremuseum since 1921 (the met tried to buy part of the interior in 1919 and that spurred the locals into preserving it) since it has been a museum for so long, it is remarkably intact, with little guesswork in the restoration. The interior woodwork is incredible. There is little original furniture, but the house itself is the show stopper. It is only open three days a week but is worth the visit.

My 22 month old cried when we were leaving because she was having so much fun. It's one big area…read morewith smaller rooms, each with a different theme. I think it definitely is best for walkers and this age was perfect. Everyone that worked there was friendly but I can see this being hard if it's busy as the rooms are a little small. We'll be back.

We brought our 18 month old over the last weekend and had such a great time (for both adults and…read morekiddo)! There are so many different themed rooms for the kiddos to explore safely. We bought tickets online for the 9AM-12PM block and some of the more popular rooms did start to get busy but you could easily go to another room if it was crowded. I liked that there were "trashcans" for toys that needed to be cleaned to prevent the spreading of germs. Bathrooms had step stools and toilet seats for kids which was great to see. There was a little room for kids to have their snacks as well. Check out the events calendar online to see if there are any special visitors/groups. The day we went there were visitors that brought crabs/hermit crabs and a project to make robo crabs. I do wish they had a water fountain or water filling station.

This is a lovely little museum on the grounds of a prestigious private academy. There was just…read moreenough variety as we wandered from gallery to gallery. My favorite seems to showcase a few pieces from their permanent collection. There was a nice piece from Hopper and three Whistlers that I loved. They have a website where you can verify hours and special exhibits. Parking was close and we had free admission. It was a nice family, holiday activity.

This is a great hidden gem for those of us not in the art community or the North Shore. If you are…read morereading this before January 4th. Please see the highway men (women) exhibit. It shows Floridan artists. They depicted the landscapes of Florida by Indigenous and African Americans. The gift shop is super affordable and the people are nice.

Great experience on every floor. Amazing things to see none stop. Tons of history. Can't believe…read morewhat I learned Thank you

The art is beautiful and varied. There are still lives, landscapes, portraits, sculptures, and even…read morea room full of Whistler's etchings! The staff are friendly and you can take a self or professionally guided tour. The gallery in the back houses local artists with temporary exhibits. This museum is a must see for anyone who enjoys art!

My ancient, nocturnal benefactor tasked me with inspecting human representations of dark creatures…read moreto ensure mortal pop culture was maintaining appropriate reverence for the underworld. Naturally, I ventured into the International Monster Museum inside the Witch City Mall in Salem. The admission price is remarkably low for the quality of the experience. Upon entry, you are handed an electric lantern to navigate the pitch-black halls, which sets a brilliantly eerie mood right away. The detail on the models is outstanding. From classic cinematic beasts to folklore entities from around the globe, the set design and pneumatic motion-sensor animatronics pull you right into the nightmare. Expect plenty of well-timed startles lurking in the dark corners as you explore. We highly recommend this spot over Count Orlock's Nightmare Gallery. Not only are the sets and overall walk-through significantly more engaging, but you are also allowed (and encouraged!) to take as many pictures and videos as you want, whereas other spots strictly forbid photo taking. While conducting my field evaluation, I paused in front of a particularly majestic, life-sized vampire display. Wanting to send proof back to my employer, I struck a dramatic pose beside it for a photo. Suddenly, a motion-sensor jump scare triggered, sending a blast of pneumatic air and a loud screech directly into my face. I instinctively let out an unholy, high-pitched shriek, threw my issued lantern into the air, and dropped flat onto the floor in a panic. The museum staff was delightful, though I had to spend ten minutes explaining to my centuries-old boss why the "scouting photo" he requested was just a blurry, low-light shot of my boots and a floating lantern. For the low price tag, incredible detailed craft, and endless photo opportunities, this is an absolute must-visit in Salem!

What a fun walkthrough! The creatures are detailed. Love the lore posted with each one. A few jump…read morescares to catch you off guard. Fun time for sure.

An unexpected surprise! While not a particular fan of the horror genre there were so many nicely…read morecollated objects, models, masks and wax works of recognizable characters, from early Bram Stoker, Christopher Lee, all the at upto contemporary figures like the demagorgon of Stranger things fame. No pics allowed which somehow made it more enjoyable.

We visited Count Orlocks in Salem, MA on a Sunday the week before Halloween. Salem was BUSY! On the…read moretrain over, I noticed that there were tickets still available for Orlocks which surprised me since everything else in town was booked up! Our teens love horror flicks & villains so, we decided to do this first upon arrival. It's right on Main Street & easy to find. Regardless of having tickets booked for a specific time, we still had to wait in line for other customers to leave so, the timed-entry tickets were a little inaccurate but we had a nice convo with James while we waited! The wax characters were all really well done & cover a range of classic & modern horror movies. Not sure if I missed this on the website but, we couldn't take any photos which was a major bummer. I've been in wax museums before that are really interactive with props & photos ops. This was different. Definite "look but don't touch" vibes, there were staff sitting with the wax figures watching & signs up scolding about taking pictures. I understand wanting to keep the experience a secret but, the experience for us was really lacking because we were limited to only look. Took us about 20 minutes to get through the whole experience & then we spent about 30 minutes in the super fun gift shop taking pictures & checking out the merch. I felt the cost for 20 minutes was comparable to other things we could do in Salem but, this would have been a 5 star experience if there had been more photo ops.

For those of you who may not know there is a quaint, vibrant Arts community in downtown Haverhill,…read moreMA located on Wingate Street. Starting with Angels and Arts at 80 Wingate Street, this beautiful Gallery is owned and managed by Harmke; a lovely, talented woman. They offer custom framing and showcase local artist paintings as well, (both for show and sale). In addition to hand-crafted and custom frames, Angles & Art offers laminating services to help preserve your memories in a variety of styles. You can view more at www.anglesandart.com. Keep on traveling and you will see Mizan Salon and Mizan @ Home on 62 Wingate Street where the owner Jimmy and his stylists use the best products from Aveda and treat you with respect and care. Once you walk in to the brightly lit salon with stylistic art, you feel so relaxed and welcome. They are a great group and they take the time to get to know you and what is best for your hair type. You can view more at www.mizansalon.com. Across the street at 63 Wingate Street is Second Thoughts and Violet and her husband own the store. It is really cool place where old and new funky furniture is hand painted or restored and creative home decor adorns the store. If you are looking for that special creative piece, stop on in and talk to them, I'm sure you'll find a match. Next door at 61 Wingate is Positive Images Gallery which is owned by Patricia, a sweetheart who offers a personal touch of a unique gift shoppe. The store started out as a photo gifts store and expanded to include many different unique and personal creative and spiritual gifts. If you are looking for a special unique gift she most likely will have of it or know where to get it.. Plus she has beautiful photo cards. The Gallery to the right of Mizan on 53 Wingate is Margot's Gallery, owned and operated by Margot Landau. She is a wonderful person who has a passion for the Arts. Her Gallery offers some of the finest jewelry and hand painted treasures from around the world. She is very active in the Arts and organizes the Wingate Arts Council and works with local groups to enhance the aesthetics of the city. The Wingate Street Arts District is a group of businesses on Wingate Street dedicated to bring greater awareness of the arts. This is done by supporting fun events and venues on the street for all to enjoy. To learn more about the Gallery, please visit online at www.margotsgallery.com. After strolling for a bit, feel free to visit the Peddler's Daughter www.thepeddlersdaughter.com on 45 Wingate and enjoy a pint and the best fish sandwich. They are known for a great, warm atmosphere that serves up the best meals, drafts and Irish music available. They offer Live Music on Thurs, Fri and Sat nights too. There is public parking across the street in the Wingate lot and if it's full there's usually a space in the Granite or Essex St. lots. If it's cold out and you are looking for an excellent freshly brewed cup of coffee, or Americano, then definitely visit The Wicked Big Cafe www.wickedbigcafe.biz on 19 Essex Street and say hello to the owner Mark. This cafe offers the most scrumptious baked goods and handmade fresh sandwiches in the neighborhood. There are many tables to dine at and you can relax in a comfortable chair and read a book or surf your Laptop with free Wi-Fi. Either way it is worth the trip to savor these fine coffees and treats. These are just a few of the many places I have visited in downtown Haverhill. Not only is the Arts district a great place to be, but Washington street right round the corner has some of the best restaurants in the area. If you are looking for a place to unwind and enjoy the local arts, it definitely worth the trip to the Wingate Arts district, you may just like what you see.

What's so great about this area? probably close to nothing. It's a one-way side street next to…read moredowntown helltown. I mean, I've never actually went in any of the stores here because 1) parking sucks. 2) the stores seem to never be open. 3) There is always stores changing hands so you never know whats there. 4) I would likely get sucked in to peddlers rather than trying to figure out what to look at. I guess they could do better advertising or have better retail hours (like during the times most other folks are not working). Just a thought. I don't know how a string of 3 or 4 storefronts constitutes a "district" in little old Haverhill, but I wouldn't give anyone false high hopes that this place is "hip"