Salem, Massachusetts
The New England port where nineteen innocent people were hanged for witchcraft in 1692 now lives off that memory, between museums, a granite memorial and the shop windows of modern witches, and every October turns into a month-long Halloween festival. Behind the broomsticks, Salem is also a town of deep-sea captains made rich by the China trade, with its 18th-century wharves, its Federal mansions and one of the oldest museums in the United States.
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Salem, Massachusetts · Photo Mjgus / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Things to do in Salem, Massachusetts in 4 days
Day 1
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In a former neo-Gothic church on Salem Common, a sound-and-light show with life-size figures retraces the 1692 trials, followed by a section on how witches have been seen through the centuries.
💡 Tickets are sold online only, for set times; in October, they go on sale at 10 pm the day before for the following day and sell out fast. Open from 10 am to 5 pm all year, later in July, August and October. Price: $19, about €16; $16, about €14, for ages 6 to 14.
Upstateherd / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
Founded in 1799 by sea captains, the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, with China trade treasures and Yin Yu Tang, a Chinese merchant's house rebuilt in its courtyard.
💡 Open Thursday to Monday, from 10 am to 5 pm. Yin Yu Tang is included in the ticket but requires a timed slot booked at the same time: take one when you buy. Allow three hours. Price: $25, about €22; $15, about €13, for students; free up to age 15.
Fletcher6 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
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A dark timber house of 1668 on the harbour that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, visited on a guided tour with a secret staircase hidden in a chimney and his birthplace in the grounds.
💡 Tickets must be bought in advance, for set times; October tickets go on sale in two batches, in early and mid-September, and sell out fast. The garden pass, without the interior, is cheaper. Price: $26, about €22, from November to September, and $31, about €27, in October; $18, about €15, for ages 5 to 12.
Acroterion / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A stone enclosure dedicated in 1992 by Elie Wiesel, with twenty granite benches naming each victim, next to a burial ground of 1637 where Judge John Hathorne lies.
💡 Come early in the morning or outside October to find it quiet: this is a memorial, not a stage set. The exact site of the hangings, Proctor's Ledge, identified by historians in 2016, has a second memorial at the foot of a hill, 1.5 km to the west. Price: free.
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The first national historic site in the United States, with a wharf of over 600 metres ending at an 1871 lighthouse and the Custom House where Hawthorne worked as a customs surveyor.
💡 The wharves and the park are open day and night; the buildings, which are free, open according to the season, often Wednesday to Sunday. The regional visitor centre, in the former armoury near the museum, screens a film about the 1692 trials. Price: free; film $6, about €5.
Rizka / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
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The only house still standing in Salem with a direct link to the 1692 trials, home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, showing daily life in the Puritan colony without theatrical effects.
💡 The house opens from mid-March to November; in October, same-day tickets go on sale from the morning and sell out. The self-guided visit is enough, and the guided tour costs a few dollars more. Price: $8.25, about €7, for the self-guided visit.
w_lemay / CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
One of the finest streets in New England, lined with Federal mansions built by shipowners and often designed by Samuel McIntire, with Hamilton Hall and the Phillips House.
💡 Take the walk in the late afternoon, setting off from the centre along Essex Street, then carry on along Federal Street and Broad Street, just as beautiful and far less busy. The Ropes Mansion garden is free to enter in season. Price: free.
Fletcher6 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
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A fishing village founded in 1629 and now the sailing capital of the East Coast, with colourful 18th-century wooden houses on a rocky peninsula, Abbot Hall and Fort Sewall guarding the harbour.
💡 Come by car or rideshare from Salem, park near the harbour, then walk from the harbour to Fort Sewall and Crocker Park for the view of the sailing boats, and climb up to Old Burial Hill, the hilltop cemetery. In summer, Devereux Beach offers a bracing swim. Price: free.
"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
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Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
Burgers and barbecue
brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl
the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
Mexican food
tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
Pancakes and weekend brunch
a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
Dishes to look for in the good places: Salem, Massachusetts.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
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