The 10 best things to do in Salem, MA

This list covers 10 things to do inside the City of Salem: sites tied to the 1692 witch trials, two art museums, a waterfront national park, a movie theater and a city park on the harbor. The list is for day-trippers and for locals with a free afternoon, in any month. The MBTA Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line stops at Salem station, about a half mile from the Peabody Essex Museum.

The picks favor places with a documented link to Salem’s past, and most are open all year. The national park buildings and the murals in the Point neighborhood are free. Paid admission runs from $19 at the Salem Witch Museum to $26 for a mansion tour at The House of the Seven Gables. After October, hours shrink, the seasonal Salem Ferry stops running and some historic houses close until spring.

How we chose

The list is alphabetical, not ranked. Each entry had to be inside the Salem city limits and confirmed as operating in November 2026 through the operator’s own website, a city or National Park Service page, or the city’s tourism office. Preference went to nonprofit, city-run and locally run places, to sites with a direct connection to Salem history, and to places that stay open past October. One house museum on the list is seasonal, and the entry says so.

Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Charter Street Cemetery

Also called the Old Burying Point, this burial ground sits a block south of the Essex Street pedestrian mall and dates to 1637, according to Destination Salem, the city’s tourism office. Slate headstones carved with winged skulls line the paths, and the Salem Witch Trials Memorial is next door on Liberty Street, so one stop covers both. The welcome center works out of the 17th-century Pickman House at the cemetery’s edge, where staff explain who is buried here before visitors walk in. October brings long lines and entry controls, so a November or spring morning is the calmer time to read the stones.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 51 Charter Street, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• Destination Salem gives 1637 as the year the cemetery was established.
• The official welcome center and gift shop are inside the Pickman House, a 17th-century building beside the gate.
• The cemetery has a separate “Visiting in October” page on the welcome center website, a sign of how different the busy season is.

See the full directory listing

Cinema Salem

Downtown Salem’s movie theater is inside the East India Square mall, across the pedestrian walkway from the Peabody Essex Museum. The theater mixes first-run studio films with repertory nights: the November 2026 schedule has a Wednesday classics series with Dark Passage and Double Indemnity, a recurring Weirdo Wednesdays slot, 10 p.m. Friday cult screenings and the Decibels Film Festival of music documentaries. Live events share the calendar, including a vaudeville show on November 29 and a jazz night on December 3. A theater has operated in this space since 1982, according to the Cinema Treasures database. Buy tickets online for anniversary screenings, which the ticketing page flags as selling fast.

Hours: Showtimes change daily. Check current hours before you go.

Address: 1 East India Square Mall, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• Showtimes were on sale from November 13 through December 3, 2026, when this list was checked.
• Cinema Treasures records that the theater closed in March 2020 and reopened on June 4, 2021.
• Most weekday screenings in November 2026 start after 3:30 p.m., which makes the theater a workable evening plan after the museums close at 5 p.m.

Get your listing

The House of the Seven Gables

Sea captain John Turner I and his wife, Elizabeth, built this waterfront mansion in 1668, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s visits to his cousin Susanna Ingersoll here gave his 1851 novel a setting and a title. The museum has been open to the public since April 1910. A Mansion Tour Package costs $26 for adults, $21 for seniors and $18 for children 5 to 12, lasts about 45 minutes and includes a grounds pass. Hawthorne’s birthplace, a house from about 1750, stands on the same campus. Tickets are released a month at a time and are final, and guides ask visitors to check in 15 minutes early.

Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2026.

Address: 115 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• The campus is a national historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, by the museum’s account.
• Five other buildings share the grounds, among them the Retire Becket House from about 1687 and the Hooper-Hathaway House from about 1682.
• Salem residents with proof of address get in free, and an off-season grounds pass without mansion entry costs $7.
• The historic houses are not wheelchair accessible, and a $13 accessibility ticket covers the mansion’s first floor.

See the full directory listing

Peabody Essex Museum

PEM traces its start to 1799, when Salem ship captains and supercargoes formed the East India Marine Society, and the museum now cares for more than 850,000 works. The stop that surprises first-time visitors is Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese house reassembled on the museum grounds. Entry to the house is part of general admission but needs a separate timed ticket, so reserve a slot at the desk on arrival. Admission is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors and $15 for students. Anyone under 16 and all Salem residents get in free. Museum staff warn that parking is extremely tight in September and October.

Hours: Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Address: 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• The museum is open year-round, five days a week, with last re-entry at 4:45 p.m.
• People who work in Salem get free general admission with a business card or employee ID.
• Salem station on the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line is about a half-mile walk away.

See the full directory listing

Phillips House

Historic New England runs this Federal-style mansion on Chestnut Street as a seasonal museum, and the 2026 season ended November 1. Tours ran June 4 through November 1 this year, so plan this one for next summer or fall and confirm the 2027 dates first. The 45-minute guided tour shows how the Phillips family and their household staff lived around 1919, kitchen and staff bedroom included. Out back, the 1820s carriage house holds family carriages and three cars: a 1929 Model A Ford and two Pierce-Arrows from 1924 and 1936. In 2026, tours cost $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students and $10 for children.

Hours: Closed for the season as of November 1, 2026. During the 2026 season, tours ran Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., from June 4 to September 23, and Thursday through Monday from September 24 to November 1.

Address: 34 Chestnut Street, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• The front four rooms came from a house built around 1800 in South Danvers and were moved to Chestnut Street by ox sled in 1820 and 1821.
• Anna and Stephen Willard Phillips remodeled the interior in the Colonial Revival style in 1911.
• The house became a museum in 1973, and Historic New England acquired the property in 2006.
• EBT and WIC cardholders paid $2 for up to four guests in 2026.

Get your listing

Punto Urban Art Museum

More than 75 large murals cover apartment walls within about four blocks of the Point neighborhood, which residents call El Punto, a short walk south of downtown. North Shore Community Development Coalition runs the open-air museum as a social justice public art program, with work by roughly 30 international artists and 25 local ones. Walking the streets is free, according to Destination Salem. For context on the painters and the neighborhood, book a guided tour: staff and trained Mural Ambassadors lead 75-minute walks past 15 to 20 murals for a fee. The murals are on occupied homes, so keep to the sidewalks and go in daylight for the best view of the colors.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: North Shore CDC office, 96 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970. The murals are on the surrounding blocks of the Point neighborhood.

Why they made the list

• The museum is outdoors and can be seen in any season without a ticket.
• North Shore CDC, a nonprofit community development group, operates the program from an office on Lafayette Street.
• Guided tours are scheduled through the Educational Mural Tours page on the museum website.

See the full directory listing

Salem Maritime National Historical Park

Nine acres of wharves, warehouses and merchant houses along Derby Street make up this park, which the National Park Service says was established in 1938 as the first National Historic Site in the United States. Every building and program is free. Derby Wharf and the grounds never close, so a walk out to the end of the wharf works at sunrise or after dinner. The Custom House and the Narbonne House keep limited seasonal schedules, and rangers post changes on the park’s hours page. Start at the Salem Armory Regional Visitor Center downtown for the park film, or download the self-guided audio tour called The Business of Slavery.

Hours: Derby Wharf and the grounds are open 24 hours a day, all year. The Salem Armory Regional Visitor Center is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., through November 14, 2026, then Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from November 15 to April 30. All buildings close on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Address: 160 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• The park counts twelve historic structures on the Salem waterfront, plus the downtown visitor center.
• Children can earn a Junior Ranger badge, and dog owners can sign up a pet as a B.A.R.K. Ranger.
• The Narbonne House was listed as open Wednesday through Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., on the park page updated November 3, 2026.

See the full directory listing

Salem Witch Museum

Thirteen life-size stage sets, lit and narrated in turn, tell the story of the 1692 witch trials in the main presentation at this museum facing Salem Common. A second, docent-led exhibit called Witches: Evolving Perceptions follows how the image of the witch changed, from European witch hunts to the modern stereotype. Tickets are $19 for adults, $17.50 for visitors 62 and older and $16 for children 6 to 14. The museum recommends at least an hour. Outside October, tickets are sold at the door, though buying online the same day secures a time. In October, sales are online only and open at 10 p.m. the night before.

Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with presentations every half hour from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, and for several weeks in January for maintenance.

Address: 19 1/2 Washington Square North, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• The museum stays open through the winter apart from three holidays and a January maintenance break.
• Hours are extended in July, August and October, the museum says.
• Reservations cannot be changed or refunded for visitors who arrive late.

See the full directory listing

Winter Island Park

A causeway at the end of Winter Island Road leads to this city park at the mouth of Salem Harbor, about two miles from downtown. The earthworks of Fort Pickering, first built in 1643 by Historic Salem Inc.’s account, are still here, and a short path ends at a white lighthouse from 1871. A 1934 seaplane hangar is left from the island’s years as a Coast Guard air station. In summer the park has a public beach with a lifeguard, a camp store and a pavilion, and RV and tent camping runs from mid-May through the end of October. Off-season, come for the harbor walk and dress for wind.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 50 Winter Island Road, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• Fort Pickering was rebuilt during the American Revolution and stayed fortified through the Civil War.
• Camping season is mid-May through the end of October, according to Destination Salem.
• The park office answers questions about fees and access at 978-745-9430.

Get your listing

The Witch House

Judge Jonathan Corwin bought this dark, steep-gabled house in 1675 and lived here for more than 40 years. Corwin sat on the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which sent 19 people to the gallows in 1692, and the City of Salem, which runs the museum, describes the building as the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to the trials. Rooms are furnished to show 17th-century family life, and the visit is self-guided with staff posted through the house, Destination Salem reports. Advance tickets are required and are sold online through the museum website. Last entry is at 4:45 p.m.

Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from March 15 through November 30, according to the City of Salem. Call 978-744-8815 for winter hours.

Address: 310 1/2 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970

Why they made the list

• Corwin was 24 when he bought the house, and he is buried nearby in the Broad Street Cemetery.
• Small groups are admitted at timed intervals, which keeps the rooms from crowding.
• The house is a short walk west of the Essex Street pedestrian mall, next to the Ropes Mansion garden.

See the full directory listing

See a place we missed or a detail that has changed? Send us a correction.