"Thanks to a new building in 2003 and one of the country's most ambitious capital campaigns, the Peabody Essex Museum is now one of the largest museums in the country in terms of both gallery space and endowment. It is has some of the country's most important American and Asian art collections. Natural light streams into the galleries, ensuring an atmosphere that's always serene and never stuffy. On rainy and sunny days alike, this is a worthwhile place to geek out. There are tours available every day, and one of the best is the Two Merchant's Houses tour. It compares two of the museum's greatest treasures, both built around the same time: the Gardner-Pingree house, built in Salem in 1804, and the Yin Yu Tang house, home to a single family in southeastern China for 200 years." - Todd Plummer
