Boston and Salem Halloween trip

Since my favorite season is right around the corner, I figured I would share one of my fall trips with you guys. If you love Halloween as much as I do, Boston and Salem are the perfect places to visit to get in the festive spirit. Both destinations have a lot of fascinating history, and the fall foliage is beautiful to see. Since we don’t experience a real fall here in San Diego, I love to travel somewhere that does. I have now visited both places twice and loved them each time! But I will say, If you plan on going in October, I would suggest avoiding Halloween weekend because it is extremely busy there. Last year we visited on Halloween Weekend and had a wonderful time, but it can be hard to get reservations and navigate in the crowd.

Boston

What to do in Boston-

• Visit Harvard

• Fanueil hall marketplace- Shopping center with many stores and restaurants comprising three historic market buildings and a promenade.

• Day trip to Martha’s Vineyard.

• Eat at Union Oyster House- Located on the freedom trail, it has been open since 1826 and is amongst the oldest operating restaurants in the U.S.

• Go see the Paul Revere House.

• Granary Burial Ground- Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and MORE.

• Warren Tavern- One of the oldest tavern’s visited by many famous individuals including George Washington and Paul Revere.

Places to Eat in Boston-

• Union Oyster House

• Yvonne’s

• Row 34

• Carmelina’s

• Giacomo’s Boston North End

• Mike’s Pastries

Salem

Salem is a quaint town that’s about an hour away from Boston. You can drive, take a train ride, or ferry over. Most known for their history of witch trials that occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. I love that they really embrace the “witchy” history here. There are several tours you can book that go over all this history and show you around the town. One of my favorite movies was also filmed here, Hocus Pocus!!

Places to See-

• House of Seven Gables- Best known today as the setting of world-renowned American author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel.

• Chestnut St.- Historic district with amazing photo ops.

• Old Cemetery Burying Point- Burial ground of judges involved in the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and Revolutionary War victims.

• Salem Witch Trials Memorial- Salem’s simple yet dramatic memorial to the 20 victims of the witch trials of 1692.

• Giles Corey Cemetery- One of the most notable examples of an accused (and executed) man during the witch trials is Giles Corey.

• Nightmare Gallery- Museum in the Downtown Boston area, offering exhibits on horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films, plus a seasonal haunted house.

• Visit the Hocus Pocus filming locations, we rented a car and drove there ourselves or there are plenty of tours in Salem that will show you around.

• Salem witch Museum- there are several museums and haunted happenings, link here.

Food Spots in Salem-

• Gulu Gulu

• Turner’s Seafood- A must!

• Ugly Mug Diner- For brunch

• Witches Brew Cafe

• Life Alive 

• Hotel Salem- Rooftop for drinks

• Goodnight Fatties Cookies

Itinerary-

• We stayed in Boston at the Four Seasons for 3 nights, mostly eating and exploring the town (this actually wasn’t planned but because we got snowed in we had to stay an additional night)

• Rented a car to drive to Salem, this took about an hour. You can also take the ferry or the train if you aren’t staying the night there.

• Stayed in Salem for one night at the Hawthorn, Last year it was required to stay in Salem in order to attend Halloween festivities due to covid. The Hawthorn is a very old historical building with a lot of spooky history.

• Had an early dinner at the Hawthorne, then explored the town before leaving the next day.