Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

This is a lovely place to visit, especially for any fan of Little Women or Louisa May Alcott's other books. There is a small but quaint gift shop where tour tickets are purchased and tours start at the school building (looks like a barn) that sits beside the house. No photos allowed in the house, but postcards are available to purchase of most rooms. Highly recommend.

Living my dreams...walking where literary giants walked, peering out the same window as my hero did when she wrote many amazing tales. The guides were so knowledgeable and detail oriented, teaching me facts about the family I never knew. It was everything I dreamed it would be....this is a MUST do if you are in town!❤️

it’s been a dream of mine to visit Louisa May Alcott‘s home in Concord, Massachusetts. Our recent trip gave us a few hours to make this dream possible. We purchased the tickets online. We were told that the tour would take approximately 45 minutes. We were able to walk the grounds before the official tour began. we found the organization of the tour itself to be rather disorganized and confusing. Much of the time was spent in the schoolhouse space watching a video which was in essence a video tour of the house and background information about Louisa herself. It was fine, but that is not exactly what I was expecting as a tour. We had a group of approximately 25 which was split up into two sub groups. Again, this was done in a fairly unorganized fashion. We went through the house with a tour guide who was competent, but did not necessarily inspire. Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the home which is completely understandable. It was exciting to see many of the Alcott’s family artifacts, because 80% of what is inside the house was there when she lived in it. The most moving article was the crescent shaped desk, where Louisa wrote her Little Women book.
There is a small gift/bookstore at the end of the tour.
The tour was definitely worth it, but I feel that it could have been much better organized. The signage was not clear, nor was the information on where to go when we arrived for the tour, leading to lots of confusion and mixing of groups, etc. If I were the manager, I would spend a few moments trying to find ways to organize visitors so it does not seem so Lackadaisical.

Without exaggeration, it was the best museum experience of my life! 😊 The staff members were truly passionate about their work and shared fascinating facts with us. We learned so much that tears welled up in my eyes while within the walls of this remarkable house! I'm already eagerly dreaming of returning next year. Thank you to all the team members of the museum for the wonderful tour, and thank you, dear Louisa May Alcott!

My husband and I were able to visit Orchard House for the first time today and it was so incredibly wonderful and special. From the moment we arrived we were greeted by such a sweet staff member who gave us instructions, got us checked in for our tour and kicked off our time there up at the school with a short video and gave us some great information the schoolhouse and Bronson Alcott. There was an area to sign a guestbook as we arrived as well and it just made it feel a little more special. (I saw several other reviews with complaints about the little video in the beginning but I thought it was cute and reminded me of historical/educational videos I watched in grade school.) Our main tour guide that showed us through the home was an absolute treasure and the highlight of our time here. She was so passionate and loving in the way she spoke about the Alcott’s. As if she were an old friend of theirs. She even spent time at the end of the tour speaking with me, sharing her feelings on Alcott’s work, Little Women, the movie adaptations, etc. and asking my opinions and feelings. It solidified all of my feelings in the importance of Little Women—sisterhood, womanhood, connection. I already felt overwhelmed with emotion moving from room to room in the home of someone who created work that has felt important to me through most stages in my life, but to have someone who expressed such thorough care throughout the tour really tied it all together for me. Everyone there continually thanked all of us for coming, expressed how happy they were to have tours and interest in the home. But I must thank you all for such a beautiful, wonderful experience. It was such a gift. I recommend it to anyone, especially fans of Louisa’s.

My friend loves Little Women so we couldn't pass up a visit while in the area. It was a nice video and little tour with guide sharing the history. No indoor pictures allowed :( They have a sweet gift shop on the grounds with lots of her books and other gifts.

I don't know how to relay it all. Five stars doesn't do it justice. Granted, Little Women is my favorite book of all time, so I'm a bit biased.

Absolutely beautiful, perfection. So well preserved, the amount of original items owned by the family and the state they're in is mind-blowing. To see it all in person created so many connections and realizations, absolutely priceless.

Our tour guide, Nancy, was as sweet as could be. She made an effort to engage my somewhat bored 13 year old son. I could tell she was there because she loves it, it wasn't a "job", a true fan recognizes another.

I wanted to buy everything in the entire gift shop. Fortunately, it was surprisingly affordable so I was able to get quite a few precious mementos.

100% recommend whether you're a fan or neutral and know nothing of Louisa May Alcott. If you haven't read the book, it'll make you want to.

My only wish or request would longer/private tours. I absolutely understand the time constraints and I think it's probably plenty for many, but I wish I could have had more time in each room to soak it all in. But I'm still so grateful, and I gained so much.

Also highly recommend Sleepy Hollow Cemetery after, where you can visit the graves of the entire family!