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Seeing Salem: Audio Tour from the Common to Pickering Wharf

By VoiceMap Audio Tours
Free cancellation available
Price is NZ$9 per adult

Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 1h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation

Overview

Salem is one of America’s most storied cities. On this relaxing self-guided audio tour through the city’s historical heart, you’ll discover its enchanting past. You’ll weave past colonial architecture to see the city’s maritime heritage, and hear about its literary giants. The tour starts at the Washington Arch in Salem Common, the birthplace of the National Guard. You'll explore the city’s charming streets and waterfront before circling back to where the beloved film Hocus Pocus was filmed. Along the way, you’ll hear fascinating stories about the characters who shaped Salem’s history – from Englishman Roger Conant, who established the settlement in 1626, to novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose legacy lives on in the city’s streets and buildings. As you walk, I’ll tell you all about Samuel McIntire, our most famous architect who was active in the late 1700s and early 1800s. I’ll also point out several examples of his work along the route.

Activity location

  • Washington Arch
    • 35 North Washington Square
    • 01970, Salem, Massachusetts, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Washington Arch
    • 35 North Washington Square
    • 01970, Salem, Massachusetts, United States

Check availability

Seeing Salem: Audio Tour from the Common to Pickering Wharf in English
  • Activity duration is 1 hour1h
    1h
  • Opening hours: Tue 12:00 am-11:59 pm
  • English
Language options: English
Price details
NZ$8.53 x 1 AdultNZ$8.53
Total
Price is NZ$8.53

What's included, what's not

  • What's includedWhat's included
    Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
  • What's includedWhat's included
    App for Android and iOS
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Smartphone and headphones
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Transport
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Food and drink
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour

Know before you book

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transport options are available nearby
  • Transport options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Activity itinerary

Salem Common (Pass by)

Stroll into this sprawling green park, one of Salem's most beloved public spaces, where history has unfolded for nearly 400 years. This was the training ground of the first muster of the American National Guard, making it the very birthplace of a national institution.

Washington Arch (Pass by)

Pass beneath this modest but meaningful arch, erected to commemorate President George Washington's visit to Salem in 1789. It marks the starting point of the tour and sets the stage for the stories that follow.

Roger Conant Statue (Pass by)

Marvel at this striking nine-foot bronze figure of Salem's founder, standing watch near the edge of the Common. Erected in 1913, the statue depicts Conant in a broad-rimmed hat and flowing cape, grasping an oak tree Salempl, a symbol of the resilience that shaped this city from its earliest days.

Nathanial Hawthorne Statue (Pass by)

Enjoy this thoughtful bronze tribute to Salem's most celebrated author, seated on a moss-covered rock along the boulevard that bears his name. Hawthorne's connection to Salem runs deep, from his childhood here to his time working at the Custom House just down the road.

Theobald Mathew Statue (Pass by)

Pass this marble statue of the Irish priest and temperance advocate, now amusingly surrounded by some of Salem's liveliest bars. It is a reminder of the waves of Irish immigration that shaped the city's social and religious fabric in the 19th century.

Pickering Wharf (Pass by)

Walk along this lively waterfront area where Salem's proud maritime heritage meets modern harbour life. It is the perfect place to pause, take in the sea air, and picture the merchant ships that once made this city one of America's wealthiest ports.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site (Pass by)

Explore this national park site right on the waterfront, preserving the wharves and buildings that drove Salem's extraordinary maritime trade. Derby Wharf stretches out into the harbour here, offering one of the most atmospheric views on the entire tour.

The Custom House (Pass by)

Pass this handsome Federal-style building where Nathaniel Hawthorne once worked as a surveyor, an experience that directly inspired the introduction to The Scarlet Letter. The building still stands largely as Hawthorne would have known it, making it one of the most tangible literary landmarks in America.

The Derby House (Pass by)

Marvel at this elegant brick mansion built for Elias Hasket Derby, the country's first recorded millionaire, whose fortune was built entirely on maritime trade. It is one of the oldest surviving brick buildings in Salem and a quiet testament to the extraordinary wealth the sea once brought to this city.

Narbonne House (Pass by)

Stroll past this weathered timber-framed house, one of the most quietly remarkable on the tour. A single family occupied it for over 200 years, making it a rare and intimate window into everyday colonial life in Salem.

Hawkes House (Pass by)

Pass this striking Federal-period merchant's house, part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site complex along Derby Street. It stands as one of the finest examples of the architectural style that defined Salem's prosperous merchant class in the late 18th century.

Notch Brewery & Tap Room - Salem (Pass by)

Enjoy a stop at this award-winning craft brewery, a fitting landmark in a city with deep traditions of local craftsmanship. It makes for an ideal post-tour destination, where Salem's history and hospitality come together in a glass.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Washington Arch
    • 35 North Washington Square
    • 01970, Salem, Massachusetts, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    Washington Arch
    • 35 North Washington Square
    • 01970, Salem, Massachusetts, United States

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