A Day in Salem for Two: Witch History, Hocus Pocus and a Candlelit Dinner

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Salem is spooky in the most romantic way. Think 17th-century houses with diamond-pane windows, Federal mansions on leafy streets, a harbor full of old sea-captain stories, and, of course, the witches. It's also genuinely doable as a day trip from Boston. We rented a car, drove up from our stay at the Marriott Boston Quincy, and found that one well-planned day really is all you need.

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Here's the day, hour by hour, the way we'd do it again. Jump to coffee, the witch-history walk, lunch, tarot and the Witch House, the Hocus Pocus house, cocktails, dinner or our tips.

A day in Salem for two, at a glance

• 10 AM: coffee by the harbor at Jaho on Pickering Wharf.
• 11 AM: a witch-history walking tour with Witch City Walking Tours.
• 1 PM: chowder and a lobster roll at Turner's Seafood in Lyceum Hall.
• 3 PM: a tarot reading, the Witch House, then Chestnut Street at golden hour, with a Hocus Pocus stop at the Ropes Mansion garden on the way.
• 5 PM: witchy cocktails at Hallowed Ground or The Speakeasy Lab at Deacon Giles.
• 7 PM: a candlelit French dinner at Bernadette, then the drive back.

Getting there: Boston to Salem

Salem sits on the coast north of Boston, and there are three easy ways to get there. We drove: our stay was the Marriott Boston Quincy, south of the city, so a rental car gave us the most freedom, and we parked once and walked all day. Downtown Salem is compact, and almost everything below is within a short walk of the Essex Street pedestrian mall.

• By car. Easiest from outside the city, but October traffic and parking are the real challenge (see our tips).
• By train. The MBTA Commuter Rail (Newburyport/Rockport line) runs from Boston's North Station to Salem in about 30 minutes, and the station is a short walk from downtown.
• By ferry. The seasonal high-speed ferry runs from Boston's waterfront to Salem from spring through October, a pretty way to arrive by sea.
  Boston to Salem ferry on Viator

Rather not plan it yourselves? A guided day trip from Boston takes care of the transport. The Brush Hill coach tour pairs Marblehead with free time in Salem, with pickup at select downtown Boston hotels (it runs seasonally, June to October), and the small-group ferry day tour adds a local guide and a walking tour.
Boston to Salem day trip Small-group day tour by ferry

Coffee by the harbor at Jaho

Jaho Coffee Roaster · Pickering Wharf, 197 Derby Street
Salem made its fortune trading by sea, so starting at the waterfront feels right. Jaho is a local roaster whose original café opened on Pickering Wharf in 2005, and it opens early every day. Take your coffee for a wander along the wharf before the crowds arrive. If you're driving, the South Harbor Garage on Congress Street is a short walk away, so you can park once and leave the car for the day.
Official website

A witch-history walk

Salem's story is darker and more human than the Halloween shops suggest. In 1692, a wave of accusations ended with innocent people executed for witchcraft, and the best way to understand it is on foot, with a good guide. Witch City Walking Tours runs our pick, the History & Hauntings of Salem: about two hours with a local historian, from Old Town Hall in Derby Square through the Essex Street pedestrian mall, past the Ropes Mansion and the McIntire Historic District, to the Witch Trials Memorial. It mixes the real history of the trials with Salem's seafaring past, its architecture and a few chilling ghost stories, and it runs rain or shine (it's outdoors only).

Coming back after dark? The Salem Voodoo, Vampires and Ghosts walk is a 90-minute haunted history tour led by historians and paranormal researchers, with evening departures from the Revere Bell outside the Salem Visitor Center.
See the haunted walk on Viator

Chowder at Turner's Seafood

Turner's Seafood at Lyceum Hall · 43 Church Street, just off Essex Street
A cozy, brick-walled seafood house from a family that has been in the fish business for generations, serving lunch and dinner daily from noon. Order the clam chowder and a lobster roll, or sit at the oyster bar. The building is half the fun: it's the old Salem Lyceum, where Alexander Graham Bell gave a public demonstration of the telephone in 1877, and it stands on land once said to be Bridget Bishop's apple orchard. She was the first person executed in the 1692 trials, and local legend says she still keeps an eye on the place.
Official website

Tarot, the Witch House and Chestnut Street

A tarot reading · Crow Haven Corner, 125 Essex Street
You can't come to the Witch City without one. Crow Haven Corner is known as Salem's oldest witch shop, and its readers offer tarot, palmistry and other readings. In October, book ahead rather than hoping for a walk-in.
Book a reading

The Witch House (Jonathan Corwin House) · 310 ½ Essex Street, at North Street
This steep-gabled 17th-century house was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, one of the magistrates of the 1692 trials, and it's the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to them. Inside, the rooms show how a well-off family lived at the time. In October it's open daily from 10 to 5 (last entry 4:30), tickets are sold online only, released each morning for that day, and there are no photos inside, so take yours outside the house.
Official website

Chestnut Street at golden hour. A few minutes' walk away, this broad, tree-lined street of Federal mansions, built for Salem's sea-captain and merchant families in the early 1800s, is often called one of the most beautiful streets in America. It's the calm, elegant counterpoint to the witch shops, and the light here late in the afternoon is lovely. These are private homes, so admire them from the sidewalk.

A Hocus Pocus moment at the Ropes Mansion

The Ropes Mansion · 318 Essex Street, a short walk from the Witch House
If you grew up watching Hocus Pocus, you'll know it instantly: it's Allison's house. The mansion belongs to the Peabody Essex Museum, which dresses its exterior Hocus Pocus-style for the Halloween season, and its historic garden behind the house is free and open every day from dawn to dusk. The interior tours are seasonal and have closed for this year. Please be respectful: stay on the paths in the garden, don't climb the fence or the gate posts for photos, and keep it quiet for the neighbours.

Max and Dani's house from the movie is a private home on Ocean Avenue, so if you go, admire it from the sidewalk only.

Want the full movie trail? The official Hocus Pocus locations walk with Witch City Walking Tours visits the filming sites, including Old Town Hall, Allison's house and the Broad Street Cemetery, over about two and a half hours. It's roughly three miles and ends near Pioneer Village, away from the start, so plan your way back.
See the Hocus Pocus tour on Viator

Witchy cocktails

Hallowed Ground · 87 Washington Street, below Dire Wolf Tavern
Follow the red light down the alley to this underground cocktail lounge, with an old-school, dimly lit feel and a seasonal menu that leans very Salem in October (yes, there's a Sanderson Sisters). It opens in the evening and is closed on Mondays.
Official website

The Speakeasy Lab at Deacon Giles Distillery · 75 Canal Street, entrance on Gardner Street
A craft distillery whose bar makes every cocktail with its own spirits, in a lounge-like room with the bartenders front and centre. It's a little hidden (that's the point), it doesn't take reservations, and it's closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It's a short ride from downtown, so walk or take a car rather than moving yours.
Official website

Candlelit French at Bernadette

Bernadette · 65 Washington Street, downtown
The perfect ending: a French-inspired bistro from husband-and-wife team Aaron and Shanna Chambers, with natural oak, plush velvet seating and hand-crafted brass lighting. The seasonal menu draws on nearby farms, with classic techniques and a good wine list. It's open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, and we'd book a table well ahead in October (bar seats are first come, first served). Then it's a slow walk back to the car and the drive home.
Reserve a table

If you have more time: the Peabody Essex Museum

Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) · 161 Essex Street, East India Square
A world-class art museum that has been collecting since 1799, with art and culture from around the world across three floors, and Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese house rebuilt inside the museum (it needs a separate timed ticket). Give it at least two hours. It's open 10 to 5 and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so it's the one to swap in for the tarot hour on a rainy day.
Official website

Our tips for a Salem day for two

• Pick your day. Thursday, Friday or Saturday is when everything in this guide is open at once: Hallowed Ground is closed on Mondays, Deacon Giles and the PEM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Bernadette on Sundays and Mondays.
• Expect October crowds. Salem's Haunted Happenings season fills the city, especially on weekends. Arrive early, go midweek if you can, and book anything with a ticket (the Witch House, tours, dinner) ahead.
• Park once. Parking is very limited in September and October, and the city may switch garages to flat October rates. Use a city garage, such as the South Harbor Garage on Congress Street near the wharf or Museum Place on New Liberty Street, and walk everywhere. On October weekends there's free parking at 108 Jefferson Avenue, about five minutes' walk from downtown, but there's no shuttle this year. Or skip the car and take the train from North Station.
• Book dinner ahead. Bernadette's tables go fast in October, so reserve as soon as you know your day.
• Wear walking shoes. Brick sidewalks, cobbles and cemetery paths add up, and the Hocus Pocus trail alone is about three miles. Save the heels for dinner.
• Layer up. The harbor can be chilly and tours run rain or shine. A good coat and a scarf in camel or cream are all you need.
• Be a respectful visitor. Many of the most photographed houses are private homes or museums. Stay on the sidewalk and the garden paths, and never block a doorway.

Our stay: the Marriott Boston Quincy

Our stay was the Marriott Boston Quincy, a comfortable, easy base south of the city with on-site parking (handy with a rental car), an indoor pool and Hull & Mason for dinner when you'd rather not go back out. From there, Salem was a straightforward drive north, and the Red Line at Quincy Adams makes it easy to get into Boston, too.
Book on Expedia(affiliate link) Visit the hotel

More spooky, romantic escapes

Salem has us dreaming of more Halloween-season trips. Our Halloween in London for two wishlist has Victorian catacombs, a ghost walk and haunted taverns, and Transylvania for two is all castles, legends and candlelit cellars. Wherever in the world you're headed next, every trip we've loved is on Where we've been.

Save this for your Salem day

Pin it or screenshot it before you go. We share our trips and behind-the-scenes on Instagram at @suitedfortwo.travel. Come say hi, and tell us which witchy cocktail you ordered.

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Photo credits. Cover: the Ropes Mansion, Salem, photo by Banx Photography via Pexels; cropped and colour-edited. Witch House photo by Jessica Langbein via Unsplash. Peabody Essex Museum photo by Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Old Town Hall by Antony-22 (CC BY-SA 4.0), the Witch Trials Memorial by Christine Zenino (CC BY 2.0), Chestnut Street by Fletcher6 (CC BY-SA 3.0) and the Ropes Mansion garden view by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), all via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and colour-edited (edits shared under the same licence). Cemetery photo and the coffee, chowder, tarot, cocktail, toast and candle stills (frames from videos) via Pexels. The mood photos don't show the venues named.

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