Witch Place YOU Should Visit

Greetings ladies and gentlemen! We recently returned home from a short vacation to one of my wife’s dream destinations, Salem, Massachusetts. I was blown away by this city, the food, stores, and views are all phenomenal.

Salem, Massachusetts

In my ignorance I always envisioned Salem as being a small fishing village with diners and maybe a small market. BOY WAS I WRONG! Salem has a population just over 40k residents with tourist visits in the hundreds of thousands. I think this is the sweet spot, big enough that there are lots of activities, restaurants, and stores, but small enough that we only had to wait ONE time to be seated. We only had to wait for 15 minutes!

The Sights

One of the greatest things about Salem is that almost everything is a short walk away. There are plenty of great hotels to stay at right downtown. Most activities are within 1 mile. Salem is a very historical city, and not just because of the infamous Witch Trials (they actually only lasted about 8 weeks). Salem was one of the first big ports in the 13 colonies, at its peak it had about 40 wharfs, which is basically a dock for big ships. Still today there are three wharfs surrounded by nifty little stores and great restaurants. Pickering Wharf is probably the most mentionable, followed by Central Wharf and Derby Wharf. The Derby family was one of the founding families of Salem so you will see that name a lot around the town. Just a few blocks east of the wharfs is a house that some bookworms may recognize, “The House of the Seven Gables” the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne. After taking a tour around the house and taking in the magnificent garden you can hop across the street to Ye Olde Pepper Companie, the oldest candy shop in America. If you find yourself tired of the city, hop in the car or grab an Uber out to the Salem Willows Park. They have beaches, campgrounds, and a HUGE arcade.

The Food

We chose to eat at Finz Seafood Bar and Grill for the first meal of the trip. I started off with the tuna sashimi, super fresh and I loved the presentation. Then a Caribbean Jerk Swordfish Steak that was beautifully cooked and fresh. The next day for lunch we chose a popular lunch spot “The Lobster Shanty” can you guess what we got? It rhymes with “mobster toll”. Finished off the night with dinner at the Adriatic, a beautiful mediteranean themed restaurant that has a mix of Greek and Italian food. The next day for lunch we stayed close to the hotel and ate chicken enchiladas at the Howling Wolf Taqueira, and how can you pass up a cerveza on vacation?? Stopped at The Ledger for some fine dining, they have a creative and elegant menu. Afterwards, we grabbed a night cap at the Dire Wolf where they make the best Manhattan I’ve ever had. If you are a sea foodie like myself you cannot leave Salem without eating at Turner’s Seafood. The building has a very cool history behind it but the food stands on its own. The next morning was a little drizzly so we ate in at the Flying Saucer, award winning pizza and trust me they’ve earned it! After the rain cleared up on the last day of our trip we had to try Rockafellas, and we were so sad that we waited! If you are traveling with a pooch this is the place to be. All of Salem is pretty dog friendly but Rockafellas stands out from the rest. Not only was our food amazing but they also had a menu for our pup, and the staff treated him and us so well.

THe Shops

No matter what you are into Salem has a shop that fits you! Walk down Essex Street and explore the wide variety of shops from wizardry and wands to crystals and aura readings. I have to start out by saying my absolute favorite shop was Emporium 32, a store that was designed for nostalgic gents such as myself. The store was filled with vintage clothes, knick knacks, and antique style jewelry. I could have stayed there for hours! At a close second is The Village Silversmith, if you like crystals and their properties or you’re just interested in geology this store is amazing. They have hundreds if not thousands of crystals and gems in raw form and sculptures, all sold at a fair price. If you really want the witchy wares head to Crow Haven Corner.

Witching Wanderlust

If you are like the many that visit Salem for the history of the witch trials you have to get a picture with The Witch House. Located right downtown the Witch House is the oldest house with direct ties to the trials. It was the home of the judge the ruled over the trials. Almost right next door is the Ropes Mansion and Garden, which is Allison’s house in the very popular movie Hocus Pocus. The garden is filled with beautiful flowers, landscaping, and even a koi pond. It is free and open to the public which makes it a perfect place to sit and have a coffee in the morning! There are many filming locations from Hocus Pocus in Salem and they are all within a mile of downtown! Main character Max Dennison’s House is located just one mile south of downtown right along the ocean. It is a private residence so be respectful to the homeowners, but they don’t mind if you take pictures from the street. Not far from Max’s house is the Pioneer Village where the opening scene is shot. When you get back to downtown Town Hall is where they shot the iconic dance scene where Bette Midler sang “I Put A Spell On You”. It is pretty easy to find considering it is straight across from the Lobster Shanty! Close by is one of the most historic sites, the Witch Trial Memorial. Here lies the cemetary where victims of the trials were buried. In a small courtyard there are stone benches inscribed with the name of each victim and how they died. On a more light hearted note, in the middle of what I would call the market district is a giant bronze statue of the Bewitched character Samantha riding on a broom through the moon.

My Top 5 Places

Overall if you are going to Salem I would not leave without doing these five things. Emporium 32 is too cool of a store to pass up, even if you’re not into the antique lifestyle you can still pick up some fun knick knacks. How do you go to Salem without getting a crystal? The Village Silversmith has high quality gems and crystals for fair prices, ranging from small bracelets to giant sculptures weighing in over 200lbs. Turner’s Seafood was probably my favorite all around restaurant for cocktails and food. With a reputation like theirs it is hard to go wrong, and all I can tell you is that you won’t leave hungry! If you are traveling with a pooch you have to go to Rockafellas, I wish that we had more time to go back there but the food was unbelievable. Burgers that change the way you think about American Traditional! Last but not least you can’t pass up seeing the filming locations of Hocus Pocus, nothing makes a trip more satisfying than watching a movie and saying “Hey, I stood right there!”