Our little guide to Salem
Salem is a fun, diverse, and wonderful place to visit. However, it can be a bit confusing, hard to navigate, and sometimes even overwhelming.
Below we have compiled a small list of information that we think will help you on your visit to our beautiful city. We look forward to seeing you!
Parking
Trains
Coaches
Memorials
Weather
October
October is our busiest season, think the mall on black Friday times 10,000. On any given Saturday or Sunday we have over 100,000 visitors to our little seaside city. Restaurants will be full, hotels will be booked, parking will be nonexistent. It's busy, but it's FUN. The vibe is amazing and the people are wonderful. Just PLEASE, plan weeks or months ahead of time, and remember driving and parking will be difficult at best. GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME to get to Salem before your tour or event. Check out salem.org ffor the most up to date information. We can't wait to see you.
Parking
Parking can be tough in a city this small. If you decide to drive, please give yourself plenty of time to find parking. Traffic can be exceptionally bad so add hours to your commute no matter what your GPS is telling you.
- We have metered parking throughout the majority of downtown. They take quarters, dimes and nickels. The meters are in operation every day of the week. NO FREE PARKING on Sundays. There is a four-hour limit and you can pay using the PASSPORT phone app. Download the app on your iPhone or android.
- We have several parking lots.
Klop Ally (14 New Derby Street - closest to our tour office but small)
Church Street Parking
Sewall Street Parking
Universal Steel Lot (297 Bridge Street)
- We have three (3) parking garages.
Waterfront Garage (10 Congress Street)
Museum Place Garage (1 New Liberty Street)
MBTA Commuter Garage (252 Bridge Street)
In October, Salem has weekend shuttles running to satellite parking at Salem High School and Salem State University. Click Here
ADDITIONAL INFO FROM THE CITY
https://www.salem.com/parking/pages/parking-rates-locations-hours
https://www.salem.com/parking/pages/october-parking-transportation
Trains
Salem is a suburb of Boston, we are on the Boston commuter rail line. We are located on the Newburyport/Rockport line and you can click here to find all the time tables. The trains leave from and go to North Station. Also, they do run additional trains in October so be sure to double check the schedule.
Coaches and Buses
If you are coming into Salem as part of a large tour group with a school or tour company, check out https://www.salem.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Motor_Coach_Map_2018.pdf to find our drop off locations: short (1 and 2 hour), and long term (all day) parking locations.
Weather
Our tours run rain or shine, and sometimes in the snow as well. This is New England, we are not known for tropical weather. We have had blizzards in October and April, and 70 degree days in February. Please double check the weather before you visit, you may need a rain jacket, snow gloves, and sunscreen.
Memorials
Salem has two memorials dedicated to the 20 innocent victims of the Witchcraft Trials.
A bench style memorial is located downtown next to the Old Burying Point Cemetery. This memorial was built in 1992 on the 300th anniversary of the Trials and the location is appropriate as none of those executed were allowed to be buried.
An engraved landing wall is located at Proctors Ledge. In 2015 The Gallows Hill research project determined that this was the most likely site of the hangings. The memorial was dedicated in 2017 and contains the names of the 19 innocent people who were executed by hanging.