7 Things Actually Worth Your Time in Salem, Massachusetts
I’ve been to Salem five times. These are the seven things I’d actually spend my time on again—including one objectively terrible museum I still think you should visit.
ONE: The Witch House
If you only tour one historic house in Salem, I’d make it this one.
The Witch House was home to Judge Jonathan Corwin, one of the magistrates involved in the 1692 witch-trial investigations. It’s dark, crooked, atmospheric, and actually feels like you’ve stepped into the Salem you imagined before you arrived.
It also has one practical advantage over some of the other historic houses around town: it’s open for a much broader part of the year. If you’re taking my advice and visiting in November, just check the schedule before you go. After November 15, hours typically drop to Thursday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
This is not a huge time commitment, either. You can tour the house, absorb some actual history, take your pictures, and still have plenty of afternoon left for wandering, shopping, and making questionable financial decisions in witch stores.
The Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts — the only building in town still standing with direct ties to the 1692 witch trials.
TWO: The Peabody Essex Museum
Yes, Salem has an actually excellent museum.
The Peabody Essex Museum is where I’d go if you want a little more substance between all the witches, haunted dolls, and aggressively spooky souvenirs. The collection covers art, maritime history, New England history, architecture, and objects connected to the Salem witch trials, and it’s genuinely worth setting aside a couple of hours for.
PEM is currently open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so this is another one to plan around if you’re building a short Salem itinerary.
If you only have 1.5 days in town, I would not try to see everything. Pick the galleries that interest you most, wander for a couple of hours, and move on before museum fatigue turns you against culture entirely.
The Peabody Essex Museum — one of the seven things worth your time in Salem, Massachusetts.
THREE: Ropes Mansion — Mostly for the Garden
I have to confess something that may get me kicked out of the spooky girl club: I think Hocus Pocus is garbage.
There. I said it! Sorry, but I made my living as a storyteller and actor for 20 years and I just can’t with that movie. At all. We’ll have to chalk it up to one of the many cultural phenomena I’ll never understand.
YOU can still go see the house, though. The Ropes Mansion is one of Salem’s most recognizable filming locations, but for me the real reason to stop is the garden tucked behind it. It’s free, open every day from dawn to dusk, and has a completely different energy from the busier streets nearby. Think winding paths, old trees, benches, gorgeous flowers and that slightly secret-garden feeling that makes you want to sit down and stay awhile.
Come for the Hocus Pocus photo if you’re into the film.
Stay because the garden is actual magic.
Dahlia flower in the Ropes Mansion garden, Salem, MA
FOUR: Charter Street Cemetery
If you want one historic cemetery in Salem, this is the one I’d choose.
Charter Street Cemetery, also called the Old Burying Point, dates back to 1637 and is Salem’s oldest surviving cemetery. It’s compact, atmospheric, and packed with the crooked old gravestones you came to New England hoping to see.
This is a real cemetery, not a Halloween set, and no, the people executed during the Salem witch trials are not buried here. You will find people connected to Salem’s colonial history, however, including Judge John Hathorne, one of the magistrates involved in the trials.
It’s also right beside the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, so give yourself time for both instead of treating this as a quick spooky-photo stop. Walk slowly. Read the stones. Stay on the paths. Think about how long those names have been sitting there.
FIVE: The Salem Witch Museum — Which Is Awful and You Should Go Anyway
Oh, Salem Witch Museum. I say this with love, but you kind of…stink.
The main presentation consists of dramatic narration, dim lighting and life-size stage sets depicting the 1692 witch trials. It opened in 1972, and parts of the experience absolutely feel like they have remained unchanged since.
The figures are bad. The staging is bad. I made my kids go anyway, and we still laugh about it.
And yet—I would still tell you to go.
Because underneath all the unintentionally campy presentation is a chilling story about fear, scapegoating, greed, religious extremism, neighbor turning against neighbor, and what happens when a society gives suspicion more power than evidence. So yes, laugh at the mannequins. But listen to the story.
Human beings keep proving that we need the reminder.
Living my best shopping life at Nocturne, Salem's dark-romantic boutique.
SIX: Walk the Waterfront and Derby Wharf
Salem is not just witches. It was also one of the most important early American seaports, and the waterfront is where the city starts feeling romantic instead of merely spooky.
The Salem Maritime National Historical Park stretches along the harbor with historic buildings, old wharves and views out over Salem Sound. Derby Wharf itself reaches more than 2,000 feet into the harbor, and the waterfront grounds are open 24 hours a day.
Walk toward the water. Look at the old ships. Poke around the shops near Pickering Wharf. Stand at the end of Derby Wharf and watch the light change over the harbor.
This is one of my favorite parts of Salem because it reminds you that the city had a whole dramatic life before anyone started selling plastic witch hats. (And there are quite a few nice places to get a drink or dinner down here, too…)
A giant witch hanging inside one of Salem, Massachusetts' witchy craft and decor shops.
SEVEN: Wander Downtown, Window Shop, Really Shop, and Stop Trying So Hard
This may actually be my most important Salem recommendation.
Don’t schedule every minute. Downtown Salem is one of those places where wandering is the activity.
Walk Essex Street. Turn down side streets. Go into whatever store catches your attention. Try on the ridiculous dress. Buy the tiny book purse. Smell the candles. Look at jewelry. Find something mildly cursed at Salem Flea. Get coffee because you feel like getting coffee. Then sit somewhere and drink it.
There are enough witchy shops, bookstores, vintage stores and weird little boutiques downtown that you can lose a couple of hours without even noticing. And honestly? That’s part of the fun.
Salem has a lovely, wistful energy, and you’ll miss it if you spend the whole day hustling from reservation to reservation with Google Maps open on your phone. Leave some empty space. Walk through Salem Common. Watch people. Look at the houses. Grab a snack. Change your plan because something looks interesting.
You don’t have to extract maximum efficiency from Salem.
You just have to be receptive to her magic.
But if you are just DYING for an itinerary, I made one for you.
And if you’re craving a list of can’t miss shops, I have one of those too! (As well as a strong argument for why November is actually the perfect time to visit.)
