I was in Boston for a quick trip from New York City and decided to spend a day in the historic town of Salem, Massachusetts. It’s about 30 minutes from Boston’s downtown, and cost $8 one way on the train.
Salem in October isn’t something I ever thought I needed to do, but being in Boston so close just made sense to add it to the itinerary and make it happen! I’m so glad I did!
One tip: if you can, go during the week in October. Although it was crowded, it wasn’t as bad as the weekends- and if you do have to go on a weekend, make sure you are booking things in advance or you’ll miss out.
Ropes Mansion and Gardens
I started off just walking all around the town. I didn’t start on the main road (Essex Street), I decided to take a longer route and see some more of the old homes in the area. It was beautiful! As I reached Essex Street, I realized many of the homes are historic and have plaques on the fronts with the dates and some information about who owned them at the time. People had some really fun decor, scary and festive fall decorations alike. Since I went around, this post might seem a bit backwards if you are coming directly down Essex from the train station.
Ropes mansion is one of the most famous houses on the street. If you’ve ever seen Hocus Pocus, this was Allison’s house in the movie. They have self-guided tours on weekends, although I don’t think they were allowing visitors at the time I was there. The website says they will resume in May 2024. You can, however, visit the gardens in the back which are gorgeous. Even in mid-October they were full and blooming. It was a nice, quick stop on the way to the rest of the downtown.
The Witch House
I knew I wanted to go to the Witch House, so I made sure to get a ticket for that. If you go to their website, you’ll see the only way to get a ticket is if you go online the morning of and buy them (October-November). By the time I went for my time, they were sold out for the day. It was a great stop and gave some history and background of how life was back around the time of the witch trials. Well worth the $9.
Judge Jonathan Corwin lived in this home during the witch trails, so it is directly related to the Witch hunt in 1692. The stories inside of how people lived, the treatments for illnesses, life spans, etc was fascinating and gruesome. The house itself is iconic in its appearance. Many people stop to take photos with it.
Gulu-Gulu Cafe
For lunch I went to the Gulu-Gulu cafe, which is right down Essex Street from the Witch House. Its is known for its sandwiches, so I got a TBGT (no tomato of course) and the andes latte (mocha mint flavored deliciousness!) It’s a cute place with some outdoor seating, but I sat inside at the bar. Although I didn’t have a beer, they had a few local brews on tap.
Shopping
I did a little bit of shopping; I bought 2 fall-scented candles from a local shop and I bought a caramel apple (duh!) from the sweets shop. Despite there being quite a few stores, I didn’t go into many. The one thing I will say about Salem is how commercialized it is. It is very much “Witchy” and “Halloween-y”, which felt kind of wrong to me considering the travesty that happened there.
Salem Witch Trials Memorial
This is a must-see in my opinion. It is free and right in what I would say is the “city center”. It was a nice tribute to the people who were unjustly sentenced to death for being deemed witches in 1692. Each of the 20 people killed have a stone seat of sorts with their names and means of death engraved into it. 19 people were hanged, and one man was pressed to death. Others were jailed, some of whom died in prison.
Salem was the most notable and deadly witch hunt in colonial America, but others were found guilty and killed in Massachusetts around the same time. Over 3 decades later, all 20 people who were convicted and killed for witchcraft in Salem have been exonerated. It was a somber place to be at the memorial.
Back to Boston
Before heading back to Boston, I stopped for a beer at a place called Longboards. It’s right on the water and was a nice place to relax for a bit before catching the ferry back to the city. They had a special pumpkin beer on tap and rimmed the glass in cinnamon sugar. It was just the thing to end my day in Salem.
As I walked down to the pier (about .3 miles from town), I came across Nathaniel Hawthorn’s home, a beautiful little state park, and a house filled with metal art (see photo below). Salem is full of surprises.
The ferry cost $30 one way and took about 45 minutes or so. But honestly I thought it was worth it! I caught the last ferry back, so the sun was starting to set and it was a beautiful ride. The ferry is pretty big, there is seating inside or out, and for those who might get seasick, I hardly felt a bump along the way.
If you want to read about Boston too, you can click here and see what I got up to in the historic city.
