Salem 1630: Pioneer Village, Massachusetts, United States

3Jen 5:00 PM Sep 19, 2020

Not what I expected
From the pictures I have seen from various places to check out in Salem such as the witch house/museum and the gable house for short, I was overall a bit disappointed. I liked it in the fact that there are numerous restaurants and witch stores to really give the visiting folks the witchy vibe but the town does the opposite. There is trash everywhere going into and out of the town. The roads are awful. Full of potholes. They are horribly uneven with horribly marked lane markers for driving. Also the very overwhelming amount of modernization that has come to the town has ruined the actual mystery and the ambience that the town probably once had, but now it overshadowed by enormous modern hotels and parking garages. The houses that are on the trip as a must see are overshadowed by the ugliness of the town and to me, it ruined the trip so much so that I probably won't go back. If you like shopping and eating, you would like it. If your a history buff trying to get the experience of going to a location rich with the history your trying to connect to, you'll be disappointed as it feels bulldozed and destroyed over by modernization. Sad part about it is, I heard other folks who were visiting saying the same thing, as we were waiting in line to get into one of the stores. The pictures of the town are misleading. Sure there is a spooky looking house but next to it is a trash pit or a busted up parking lot. Gallows hill is now underneath a Walgreens, if that gives you any insight.

3ae1389 5:00 PM Aug 27, 2021

Not exceeding in customer availability or satisfaction.
On my fourth trip to Salem, I figured I'd try again to gain entry to the elusive Pioneer Village. No such luck. On Friday, the were open but hosting a kid's summer camp. They are only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Opening time was around 12-ish. Eager to finally visit, we're disappointed to learn that they're only taking cash admission that day due to their website "acting funny." After driving 14 hours and spending five days in town already, we were tired of driving around and weren't about to go out and find an ATM on a blazing hot day with plenty of mid-day traffic already piling up. Admission was $5, for those who dare *try* to enter.