The House of the Seven Gables

This place is amazing. Love learning the history of this place. Seeing the rooms and how they lived in the late 1600s. This home is incredible. It had a great tour guide who did a wonderful job. The John Hawthorne birth home is on site to to visit. If you are Salem this is a must visit. It is well worth the drive or walk!

Definitely worth seeing. The tour was short but the house and property it sits on is beautiful!

This is a tour worth the admission fee. The home is beautifully preserved, the grounds are amazing and the tour guides were very informative and patient. The house has a very interesting history and there are a few other homes that were moved to the property that are also interesting to see, including the home where Nathaniel Hawthorne was born. For parents with littles, the grounds are great for kids to run around a little bit but it is right off the water so keep an eye out. There is a little house they can go and play in and lots of outside seating. Just a warning, the seven gables house has some really narrow stairs, so it might be cumbersome with really little kids or persons who are uncomfortable with stairs or tight spaces. I really liked this tour, it was one of the better ones that we had been on. Definitely do this instead of the Salem witch museum! That one was terrible!

I did read the novel and the introduction to it casts doubt on the relationship between this house and the book. I suspect it’s correct because when you visit, the guide is honest enough to not push the Hawthorne connection too hard. Although interestingly Hawthorne’s birth house has been moved on site and you can go into it. The house is a bit strange and is very much the product of construction projects at various times in history. Interestingly it was used as a settlement house for immigrants at one point. It’s hard to get around and well worth going to. The grounds are also nice.

I had high expectation for this place, but the tour was very mediocre. It’s most certainly not worth $ 13 per person. First of all, the tour guide seems to have low energy, and I could tell he was regurgitating a script. At one point during the tour, he even said he has to re-​think his script because the order of the tour changed. Seriously?
In addition, no photography inside the house, which I knew before entering the tour. After the tour, I understood why it’s the case. It’s an interesting but not impressive house, so if photos are allowed and shown, no one would want to visit this place any more.
Finally, I suggest those interested in visiting read the book before going as the tour guide constantly made references to the book. I felt a bit lost during the tour since I didn’t read the book.

its so fasinating with a great history and right when i steped inside i could just imagine what it was like. it really speaks for itself

We landed and headed to Salem.
Not really familiar with what to do there… all I know, as many of us, is that there were (and still are) «witches» there.
Lucky for us, we had a tour guide. A friend of my friend just moved there and generously offered to showed us around.
Our first stop, The House of the Seven Gables. I must admit I didn’t even know this was a book (planning on reading it now). To me, when I looked online, this was an old house with a story (which I always love) so, when they asked me if I wanted to go, I immediately said yes.
Tour is about $ 12/​person or free if you are a Salem resident
The tour is very interesting. I’m not a history fan but when you turn it into a «story» and bring it to life for me then I’m immersed in it. This is exactly what our tour guide did, I could picture the characters and their everyday life in that house.
Interesting to hear how Captain Turner had such a huge fortune and big family by 36 but, I’m still curious to know how he died (no records of that, according to our tour guide). I love how the wood squeaks when you walk on it, how the ceilings are low (to keep the warm air of the kitchen in during the cold days), the beautiful and rustic common rooms but the grandeur of the master bedroom and dining room.
I also loved the secret stairway to the room where they kept the family member with mental illness. Spiral, tight staircase that led right up to that room. This reminded me of Mr. Rochester’s wife in Jane Eyre.
There’s always a romantic feel to these houses, at least to me. I love transporting my imagination to that time, sounds, dresses, parties and everyday life…
After seeing The House of the Seven Gables, you are then welcomed to see Nathaniel Hawthorne’s house. Filled with quotes from his books and letters, and even the desk where he wrote some of them.
The tour lasts maybe about an hour but seems shorter when you are inside their world.
They have a gift shop, and my other favorite part, after the house, their garden. Really hope I get the chance to visit again in Spring or Summer. Must be beautiful seeing all those trees and flowers in bloom while having the amazing water breeze and view.
Regardless of time of year, I think this is a must when in Salem.

Enjoyed a free event here with my daughter, Holidays at the Gables. The staff set up 4 – 5 cool crafts that we enjoyed as well as a colonial food discussion and colonial games. They also had an author there signing books, Mr. Robert Booth. It was a great experience and looking forward to more events for kids!

Had a great time. I’m glad we stopped here on a whim while on a mini getaway. Very cool to experience something so old with so much history. Great memories! PS NO PHOTOS INSIDE THE HOUSE OR VIDEO FYI

This is a must see while out and about around Salem! It is definitely money worth spending especially if you enjoy history. The grounds are at their most beautiful through the end of September and offer a wonderful ocean side view of the harbor. There is also a cute little gift shop and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace which is self-​guided. I only gave it 4 stars because the tour was a bit rushed and we didn’t have much time to ask questions about anything beyond what the guide shared with us before we were ushered right into the next part of the house. Other than that– a great destination overall.

Have been here twice now 2 years between visits. Loved it both times. There’s a lot to see & they have the best gift shop in Salem. It’s too bad the Hawthorne birthplace house lost a section when they moved it, but nice that a couple halves could be salvaged & put together. It’s a really beautiful area with generally nice & polite people working there, particularly in the gift shop. If ever we come back to this part of the country again, we will be sure to stop in.

This is a site that you just have to visit when in Salem. This is one of Salem’s oldest homes dating back to the 1650s. It is most famous for being the house that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book of the same name. I really liked this tour because the information provided was interesting and straight to the point. You learn a lot of interesting stuff on the tour and they give some cool background information on the two families that occupied this house and how they tie in to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his book and the witch trials. Also on site is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace which is included with admission to the House of the Seven Gables.
Admission is $ 12.50. One downside is that you can’t take pictures inside the houses. The lady selling tickets was really nice and gave me some super cool background information on hot spots in Salem.

I recently had the opportunity to revisit Salem’s historic House of Seven Gables with a grandson. We were allowed to join a group just beginning the introduction to this site. Both my grandson and I love reading and find Nathaniel Hawthorne books fascinating.
Our guide gave us a thorough description of the way the house changed over the years from original family ownership to sale in auction. We learned that parts of the building recorded in the story were added to authenticate the story.
I enjoyed the new design of the reception area which could accommodate tour buses.
Salem is a picturesque place to go. Let’s thank those who had the foreknowledge to preserve these historical buildings so that our stories can be passed on to future readers of Nathaniel Hawthorne. #Massachusetts

Such a cool house with so much interesting history. The tour guides are passionate and always doing their research to keep their tours as historically accurate as possible.

Quite expensive to get in and/​or to just a tour of the garden, but you can walk around the outside and get a general idea of one of the main tourist attractions of Salem for free. The garden is pretty small, so I wouldn’t pay to do just that.
It’s nice at sunset, especially for the back (near the water)

Just learned that for over 100 years as a museum this place has been using admission towards preservation and community outreach. What a mission!
The history, stories, and architecture was just awesome! Now I want to read the book. Amazing tour guide… Wish I remembered his name.
We are very able bodied people but this is NOT for those who struggle with closed spaces, stairs, or who is over 6’4″ and gets annoyed leaning over. Would be great for kids 7+

Visiting this historic sight was a treat! The grounds are beautiful and the house is quite grand. The tour was short, but the tour guide (Diana) was knowledgeable. She seemed a little irritated and rushed, but was engaging enough. You don’t see too much of the house, just about 8 rooms. But you do feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. A lot of the information given about the house has to do with Hawthorne and his cousin. I wish they knew more about the house itself, and included more about its history. Instead, they focused on how the woman who purchased it in the early 1900s renovated it to suit fans of Hawthorne’s novel. Included in the price of admission is the Birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne which is self-​guided, as well as the gardens and the gift shop. The only real complaint was that the group we were with was too big. There were 20 of us and it was really hard to squeeze in the small rooms and actually see the furniture and artifacts in each space. A highlight of the tour was the secret staircase. I won’t give anything away about that though, you have to see and experience it for your self!

We really lucked out going at the end of the day for this tour. We were the only ones there for the tour and Peter was our guide and he was fantastic!
We were hesitant about going because we didn’t know a ton about Nathaniel Hawthorne. Don’t let that stop you because this history itself is unreal. The way everything has been preserved is unbelievable and amazing.
Definitely make time for this tour!!!

Kind of disappointing. The house is very cool, however the bulk of the tour is focused on talking about Nathaniel Hawthorne. Now, I love Hawthorne and his books, however we came to see the house and you really see very little of it and they take pretty large groups through, so you’re also crammed in the small areas where your allowed to stand.
We happened across the Thomas Phillips house earlier in the day and LOVED that tour, so if your actually into old houses I would recommend doing that before the house of seven gables.

This place is often crowded, but the tour is very cute and the views of the water are very nice. We went back off-​season (not in October) to get a tour (no photos during tour allowed). We actually enjoyed the birthplace of Hawthorne the most, as well as learning about his history.
Now time to read the Gables book!
Also, getting candy across the street from America’s oldest candy is a nice post-​tour sugar-​boost.