Ralph Waldo Emerson House
Ralph Waldo Emerson House
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
96 reviews
Excellent
49
Very good
27
Average
15
Poor
4
Terrible
1
katiebreen
new hampshire25 contributions
May 2022
As a history buff and one who enjoys New England tours, I have to say I was disappointed in this one. We visited this past weekend and found the tour boring and underwhelming. The docent or tour guide was dull. I could barely understand a word she was saying through her mask (and that was outdoors!) The house was well-maintained and artifacts interesting, but that's it. I learned nothing. I actually couldn't wait for it to be over. For $12 per person, we did not get our money's worth.
Written May 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DLP
New Jersey3,981 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
The house was closed to the public due to covid, but you are able to look at the house And admire the grounds from behind the white picket fence. We wish we could have gone in but from the outside , the house is your typical looking Colonial house. There is nothing fancy about it. It was just cool to see the homestead of such an influential writer.
Written September 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beth Y
Clinton Township, MI31 contributions
Jun 2023 • Friends
This home is still owned by the Emerson family and nearly every item in the home is original. We had a knowledge of Emerson but by the end of this tour we were absolutely amazed at what a generous, influential man he was - loved by everyone in the town and a dear friend to the Alcott's and Thoreau. If you are on the fence about visiting this house I would highly encourage you make it a priority. It was worth every moment.
Written June 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
History73Fan
New England73 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Our family was disappointed! This was a typical tea cup tour of "this is this and this is this and this is this..." instead of teaching us about Ralph Waldo Emmerson and his family. Emmerson is such an intriguing literary figure who inspired so many other literary and historical figures. There is so much information on this man available that they could really create a fantastic tour. I don't think our family walked away learning anything about Emmerson. This could be a great dialogic tour that people would walk away from discussing. Instead all we learned was what chair he sat in. Time for a rewrite on the script. Our guide really just rambled off what we assume was a script (though it felt more like an inventory of items) with no pauses or inflection in her tone that it was hard to retain. At one point our guide switched off with another guide but the tour continued on the same as with the first guide. Then after two rooms the first guide took over again. It felt odd but they both delivered the information the same way.
The gift shop could be so much more than it is. It was not impressive at all. It would be a great way to bring in money. I mean Emmerson has such great quotes, the gift shop could have great products.
We wouldn't bother going back unless we heard the tour was updated.
The gift shop could be so much more than it is. It was not impressive at all. It would be a great way to bring in money. I mean Emmerson has such great quotes, the gift shop could have great products.
We wouldn't bother going back unless we heard the tour was updated.
Written September 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dr. Steve B
Nanticoke, PA236 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
We enjoyed touring Emerson’s house. The tour guide provided much information on the family. We were disappointed that we did not learn more about Ralph Waldo himself, such as more about his philosophy, his writings, and insights into his life and his relationship with Henry David Thoreau. Instead, the tour mainly centered on the family. While we certainly got our money’s worth on the tour, but we were hoping to hear more about the person vs. the family and the house. Certainly worth seeing.
Written August 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jaybeeFL
Palm Harbor, FL3,464 contributions
Aug 2021
Non descript exterior, looks pretty much like any New England two story colonial. BUT it is full of history associated with one of America's great literary figures. Once again disappointed on our tour of Concord-Lexington area as it was closed like so many of the noteworthy historic sites.
Written August 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patti W
6 contributions
Oct 2024 • Family
Beautiful home and well maintained. The guides were very good and knowledgeable. Good price to get in. Would have loved to have seen a better museum store for something memorable to bring back. But otherwise, a very nice visit.
Written November 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
fiestylady
Long Island, NY184 contributions
My boyfriend and I just returned from a 1 week vacation in Massachusetts. Concord and Lexington were on our list to visit since we love anything to do with history. Let me start off by saying it is a very pretty area. But we were disappointed in many things. For instance many of the historical houses were not opened to the public. The trails are very long to walk so I would recommend driving and just stopping along the side of the road. There really arent any tour guides around to ask questions or at least explain to you what your looking at. Alls you have is a map to follow and your on your own. We did see Ralph Waldo Emersons house which was a nice tour as well as the Wayside house. That tour was at least an hour long. The North Bridge was closed due to renovations and this too was a great disappointment. We did see the Buckman tavern as well as a few others. The tours were nice but very brief. In all I didnt think these 2 places were that exciting. What they need to do is have a licensed tour guide with you in your car to explain everything to you and make it come alive a bit. At least then if you have any questions you can get informatable answers.
Written August 22, 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janette J
Breckenridge, CO866 contributions
My book club read "Mr. Emerson's Wife" so a few of us decided to go to Concord for a girls day ie; museums, Walden Pond, shopping and lunch. We really enjoyed visiting Emerson's house and grounds but the people who worked at the house were snotty and not that helpful. I lost track how many times someone in the group asked a question and they either wouldn't answer or said they didn't know. Also, we were rushed a bit out of each room. I was amazed how many paintings or photos the workers did not know who the people in them were.
Also, at the end we tried to look at the books/post cards and were rushed out.
Definitely would recommend Concord and visiting this museum but do not expect to be happy with the tour guides in this house.
Also, at the end we tried to look at the books/post cards and were rushed out.
Definitely would recommend Concord and visiting this museum but do not expect to be happy with the tour guides in this house.
Written October 4, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NewJersey_7
New Jersey58 contributions
Jul 2014 • Family
We were in Concord for a wedding and decided to visit some of the special places there and we are pleased we did! My husband study Emerson in college, thus, he was thrilled to visit his home and the Concord museum. The tour guides are wonderful and provided excellent information on the house and Emerson & his family for about 30 minutes. If you are in the area when they are opened, you must go! A few hints: you can get a ticket at the Concord Museum for the Museum, Emerson House and Alcott home for a discounted price. We did and would highly recommend going that way for once you buy the ticket all you have to do is get it stamped at the the other homes. Also, it DOES NOT have A/C, thus, if you go in the summer, go early. Some people were overcome by the heat when they went upstairs. (Some fans but no A/C and I didn't see a bathroom, however, you can go over to the Concord museum for a bathroom break) Lastly, I would not recommend this tour for young children or individuals who might have a difficult time with stairs. PLEASE go if you are in Concord..Worth the visit!
Written July 14, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
thurs-sat 10-4:30 and sun 1-430
When I was there, they keep the front door locked even if tours were happening and there were three people working in the place, it seemed they just did tours when people showed up, not every hr or 1/2 hr - I'd call to confirm that they're open to be on the safe side
Written October 4, 2017
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