Your Saturday in Salem is your own to create, though we do have several suggestions to help guide you. Nearly all the attractions are located south and west of the Salem Common. Many places are not doing group tickets or far-in-advance ticketing, so we recommend you book your tickets online Friday or even Thursday if you can.

She’s Our Witch

If you’re interested in the Witch Trials and the supernatural history of Salem, your first stop should be the Salem Witch Museum (looks like a castle). The main show is a pretty good presentation of what happened, then a small museum going into more details and a nice gift shop. Plus, your stamped ticket to the Museum gets you discounts to several other establishments in town.

Salem Witch Museum is at 19 ½ Washington Square North.

If that didn’t fill your cauldron, the next place to recommend is the Witch Dungeon Museum (with the stocks out front, great for pics). It’s a more educational presentation. The curators went through all the records and trial transcripts and updated the re-enactments, which are done live. This museum is affiliated with two others, the Witch History Museum and New England Pirate Museum. A discounted combination ticket is available for all three.

Witch Dungeon Museum is at 16 Lynde St.

Arts and Culture

We continue with what many consider the crown jewel of Salem, the Peabody Essex Museum at 161 Essex St. The PEM is a world-class art museum, at the top of Derby Square, next to a parking garage for anyone who might be driving in. It has an extensive collection covering a wide range of time and geography.

If you like large-scale models and dioramas of ships, ooh, there are some beauties on display, don’t spoil it by looking them up on the museum website.

On-theme for the BCB, it has one of the largest and oldest collections of Asian (mostly Chinese) export art. Salem was one of the main ports for Asian-American trade, so the people of this not-so-sleepy town were among the first Americans to ever see many of the paintings, metalwork, statues, masks, wall hangings, fans, vases, etc from China and Japan.

Another exhibit you may like is Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese House, a full two-story house of a well-to-family brought here from China. This is a separately ticketed exhibit and they only allow a handful of people at a time to walk through it.

The museum is popular and requires advance ticket purchase for a set admission time. If you want to add the Chinese House, definitely try to get your tickets by Thursday.

The entire museum takes 4-5 hours to walk through if you like to take your time with each exhibit, so if you are extending your stay, it could make a nice day trip for Friday or Sunday. FYI, you will likely be required to wear a mask during your visit.

A Tour From a Mentalist You Say?

Browncoat Ball 2021 features a Salem Walking Tour with Rory Raven! Rory is not only a historian, but a comedian, magician, and mentalist extraordinaire! Sign up for your tour at registration. Cost is $10.

If you attended Browncoat Ball 2011, you may remember our Friday night party with Rory Raven. Rory is also a licensed tour guide in Salem! Join him on a walk of Salem and learn about the city’s history first-hand.

This 90-minute guided walking tour will take you through the city’s streets and stories to explore the events that shaped Salem, and still cast long shadows today. You’ll hear about witches and Puritans, of course, but also about Nathaniel Hawthorne, the exotic spice trade, a Revolutionary War standoff, and the Great Fire that nearly wiped Salem off the map. We’ll even visit one of the oldest graveyards in the nation! The tour starts at Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square.

Scavenger Hunt

Join us on this afternoon for a “witch hunt” (aka, a Firefly-themed walkable treasure hunt in downtown Salem) and a celebratory garden party–hosted at the home of long-time Browncoats and Salem residents. The first clue will be available at Noon at @bcb_main.

We’ve mapped out sites where successive clues will be hidden–all in downtown Salem and all within walking distance of each other. Solve the puzzles and follow the clues that lead to the secret celebratory garden party. The party will be taking place from 1-3 PM. Visit, and be sure to bookmark jenni929.wixsite.com/salem for more info and clues.

But Wait, There’s More!

• Essex Street Pedestrian Mall: Follow the red cobblestones on the road, starting at the PEM and going all the way to the Salem Farmers Market. Many small shops, from a great chocolatier, to a new age store to a few small museums, all along the way.
• Salem Heritage Trail Tour: Follow the red line on the sidewalk to discover historic sites and destinations. The trail begins at the Salem Visitors Center, 2 New Liberty Street.
• The Salem Trolley: Take a narrated tour of Salem and hop on/off at any of the 14 stops all day long. Face coverings may be required. Get your tickets outside of the Visitors Center at 2 New Liberty Street.
• Salem Witch Trial Memorial: A memorial for the victims of the witch trials. 24 Liberty Street (behind the Peabody Essex Museum).
• The Burying Point: Salem’s historic graveyard. Please be respectful of the grounds. 51 Charter Street.
• The American Burlesque Collection: A museum dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the art of the tease. 211 Bridge Street (part of The Bridge at 211).
• New England Pirate Museum, Salem: Explores the more colorful aspects of Salem’s maritime history. 274 Derby Street.
• Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery Monster Museum: This museum is a tribute to Horror, Sci Fi and Fantasy Films. 217 Essex Street.
• The House of the Seven Gables: The historic home that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel. 115 Derby Street.
• Bewitched Statue: Fond nostalgic memory or horrifying eldritch abomination? You decide! 235 Essex Street.
• Salem Maritime National Historic Site: The first National Historic Site in the United States. Step on board ship and walk down to the lighthouse. 160 Derby Street.
• Salem Willows Park Oceanfront park with arcades and a carousel. Note: This is not in the downtown area; you can take the Salem Trolley to get there. 165 Fort Avenue.

Driving Yourself to Salem

The locals like to joke that the roads in Massachusetts are simply paved-over cow paths. While historians say that it isn’t true, it is the case that this is an old part of the country, built out well before modern highways, and there’s rarely a straight line between one place and another. The use of a GPS map is highly recommended.

If you decide to drive to Salem on your own, you will go north on I-95 to Route 128, and then Route 114 to Salem. There are points at which Route 114 will take rights and lefts – it’s not a straight road. There are directional signs indicating the turns. If you have GPS directions you’ll be fine. We just don’t want you to be surprised.

Parking in Salem

There are a variety of parking options in Salem, including both garages and municipal parking lots. We recommend that you visit Salem.org to familiarize yourself with the options. We also recommend that you get there early to get the best options.

Salem is very walkable! Pretty much any lot/garage that you park in downtown is within walking distance of the major attractions. If you’re going to the House of the Seven Gables, that’s about half a mile walk from the center of downtown, and it has its own parking lot.

There are two major parking garages we recommend:

• Museum Place Garage: This garage is adjacent to the Visitor’s Center and the Essex Street pedestrian walkway. If you’re heading to the Peabody Essex Museum, this is the place to go. However you can walk from there to pretty much all the major attractions.
• South Harbor Garage/Waterfront Garage: They’re next to each other along Derby Street at the intersection with Hawthorne/Congress Streets. This is within walking distance of the downtown area, so you can easily get up to the Visitor’s Center by going north on Hawthorne Street. If your aim is to go to Pickering Wharf, the Maritime National Historic Site, and other places along the shore, this is your best bet.

Map o’ Salem