If you've been dying for an excuse to check out one of those lavish historic homes on Beacon Hill,…read moregive this one a try. The tour is inexpensive ($5) and the house is gorgeous, with period furnishings mixed in with modern recreations. I would presume that the tour groups are typically small because it's not one of those "must-see" locations. Even so, it's right next to the Common (across from the Frog Pond), just a couple hundred feet from the State House so the location is very easy to find. Take the T to Park Street, for example, or park in the garage under the Common. The tour itself was led by a very friendly guide. Most of the tour seemed to focus on architecture or, more specifically, how the home changed over the years. I was not entirely interested; what usually drives me to visit a historic house is the person (or people) connected to it. In this case, I heard very little about William Hickling Prescott (a well-respected historian who was nearly blind) - up until the end. Inexplicably, there also was a focus on the American Revolution and how Boston was made up of landfill (neither aspects were relevant to this house). My guess is they were catering to the out-of-towners. Ultimately, I wouldn't call the Prescott House a hidden gem. But, it's worth a visit for folks that don't mind taking a few steps off the Freedom Trail (after all, there's more to Boston than a red line).

How is it I'm given tours in Boston for nearly 20 years and missed out on this Federal beauty? Our…read moreguide, Cynthia, clearly loves the house and its story. She was wonderful! The architecture is exquisite (interesting as subsequent generations made updates and you see that progression), the furniture wonderful, the costumes amazing (the accessories are just breathtaking!) and the stories of the people who called this place home really bring the house to life. Thanks to the Colonial Dames of America for preserving this piece of our past and opening it to the public. Hard core history buffs should definitely visit!

Stunning detail of this mural is impeccable! I dove a little into the artist- intrigued by this…read moreportrait and found that the artist prefers to work in black, white and grays. Mainly portraits- the artist's lifelike works center on ideas of women's strength and their ability to build community, in addition to the ways families are bound together and remember their ancestors. This particular mural has a tired, sad conveyance. Life can wear you down and lift you right back up again. It is the things that are hard that make you appreciate the things that are worth everything. Title: Katherine Where 6 Ward Street Artist: Paola Delfin Date: August, 2018

Wonderful walking tour through Salem! We wanted to hear stories and the history of the buildings,…read moreand this was perfect for a busy October when we couldn't get into the museums! The guide was a wonderful story-teller and took us all around Salem.

Learned about Jeff's tour from his podcast "Salem the Podcast" when researching for my trip. Jeff…read morethe owner and tour guide is extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and a natural presenter and entertainer. The tour was funny, mysterious, informative and frankly one of the best tours in Salem given by a true insider and lover of Salem. My group left the tour buzzing with energy cause his energy was so contagious! I highly recommend!!

Small museum with a big heart. Our guide was knowledgeable. The museum has some Tewksbury Hospital…read morehistory and some public health history...I learned things I never knew. We took a timed, socially distanced tour - it worked! We hope to visit in the spring to take the outdoor tour next time.

The museum is fine. It's nothing fancy and oddly enough, completely inaccessible to people with…read moredisabilities, and I had to search for a staff member to answer my question about an unlabeled item. But for $5 and a half hour, if you're in the area, fine. Public health is important. Anti vaxxers would hate it but that's their problem. What I am actually sad about is the tour of the hospital grounds, led by an older white woman who seemed informed enough but whose knowledge of history and psychiatric care, etc, was easily outmatched by the children and adults in our group (because the people taking a 90 minute walking tour of a state hospital are not just curious tourists, we all had a specific interest in the history of health.) She simply did not seem to have any real sympathy or empathy for the poor souls held there against their will, and her cheerful demeanor as she led us around would probably be appropriate at another historic site, but not one where people were locked up for life for the crimes of being poor or disabled. She showed us a picture of a row of fat babies in a crib, admitted it was probably staged as most of the kids would be thinner, but didn't mention the well known fact that the majority of infant inmates there died before their first birthday and that their bodies were sold to be dissected. (http://homenewshere.com/tewksbury_town_crier/article_fade0809-5eb1-5269-a6f3-9fbfcb056845.html https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/tewksbury-almshouse-investigation/) To me, a disabled woman, the hospital grounds are a sacred space, a space where thousands upon thousands lived and died and suffered due to the fact that society at the time did not want to deal with them. These attitudes persist today when businesses do not want to make their stores accessible or when schools deny a disabled child needed accommodations. At the time of its opening, Tewksbury hospital was a model for the nation, and today, it has offices for Mass health, the direct model for Obamacare and one of the best public insurance programs in the nation. There is a direct link between yesterday and today, and today, our guide did not even attempt to make it. A small amount of online research makes the place come alive as it did not during the tour, because you are able to find out the actual names and stories of people - very few stories, unfortunately, but many names. This tour had no stories whatsoever, simply random facts about how at that end of that building, the more 'dangerously violent insane' were kept, and how wonderful the farm worked, and how hard people worked, (until their workshops were forced to shut down because there was a law made saying that people had to be paid. This is said as if it were a bad thing......) It is largely just the pointing out of what population was held in this building that is now used for (some program) or, in about half the case, in this building that no longer exists. (Why in heavens name is there a daycare in the building formerly used as the main asylum for mentally ill men?) It is stories that make people come alive. These people are dead, many not very long ago, and their stories are all gone with them. The tour is completely inaccessible to people with sensory disabilities. There are many sections of rotting asphalt road, many stops and starts, few near a place you can sit down, also with one exception you don't get close enough to touch the buildings and not many visual descriptions are given even with a blind person in our group. And although the museum uses up to date language - saying, for example, 'people with mental illness' as has been the standard for years - the guide doesn't bother to, because, she ever-cheerfully explains, they just said 'the insane' then, so that's what she does. It's a poor choice of language and it's a poor tour in general. I do hope that other tour guides are better than ours was. Do go down the road a bit to the cemetery and pay your respects, over 10,000 people are buried there with metal markers that peep up through the leaves. Do think about the lives they led, and the choices that were taken from them as they were locked inside those cells and crowded rooms. Do think about their death and what they mean today to you as a person who maybe benefits from the great public health system of Massachusetts.

Gordan Harris is an Ipswich treasure! Wonderful tour learning more about our family history.read more

We took a tour last week with Gordon Harris. He does tours unique to your ancestors, which is what…read morewe opted to do. It was wonderful! He has a wealth of knowledge about Ipswich's history, the various homes from different periods in history and great stories to tell. He also researched our ancestor and took us to the areas where he and his children owned land, as well as the historic grave yards. What a wonderful way to get a glimpse into our family that proceeded us. We highly recommend taking a tour with Gordon! Thanks again Gordon for such a wonderful experience.

What a great experience! Tons of history, sights, vegetation, and flowers. Really enjoyed the…read moreoutdoors and the walk, handsomely groomed. Plenty of upkeep by the department of the interior and Boston. 10/10 recommend.

We almost messed up big time and tried to do Concord in our own. Last minute we booked two…read moreback-to-back tours with Concord Tour Company and had such an amazing day! Beth took us from end to end in the town and filled our day with amazing stories and facts that brought the history of the city to life for us. Seriously - don't do this city without a guide. You will only get a sliver of the history. We now have a greater understanding of how the literary history tied in with the military history. Beth was great teaching us about what we already knew, should have known, and never would have guessed. I left feeling much more informed and jonesing for a good read! Don't skip any of these tours!

She is simply magical! Of course she is the Queen of the Block~ I bet the town! Looking to the sky~…read moreshe has this mystical feel and the colors and style have a little 70's vibe going or maybe an 80's boombox feel? Beautiful face uplifted simply stops you in your tracks! Gaze upon her in wonderment. I had fun checking out this mural! I am only so-so in painting face/portraits. To see such style and grace portrayed in paint! Such fun. I love when you bump right into pubic art installations! What a wonderful way to breathe life into the neighborhood! Inspire soul sister! Title: Queen of the Block Where: 113 Lafayette Street Artist: Mr Cenz Medium: Spray Paint Date: September, 2018

Technically unnamed by the artist- this mural is a flourishing bundle of leaves growing up the side…read moreof a building seen from Ward street on the back of a building on Peabody street. The white leaves painted on the brick building create quite the contrast. The artist prefers doing murals in urban settings to bring nature back in via her art. "I would make leaf compositions and paste them mostly in abandoned buildings as a way of nature reclaiming these spaces."- from the artist. Ttile: Untitled Where:46 Peabody St Artist: Veronica Rivera Date: September, 2018