My Favorite Places In Salem, Massachusetts

Before I start this post I first want to say thank you for the amount of love I got on last week’s blog post. We ended up getting over 100 reads (which I truly cannot believe) and I was genuinely shocked at the number of people who messaged me saying my post resonated with them

and telling me how much they enjoyed my writing. Just know that if you read my post at all I appreciate your support more than you know.

Anyways, back to this week’s post. Salem, Massachusetts. I’ve been lucky enough to live a 15-minute drive from downtown Salem for my entire life and I can easily say it is my favorite place to go, whether that be with friends, or just by myself. And with it being at the height of tourist season, I feel like it’s only right that I tell you about my absolute favorite places to go in when I spend the day in Salem. Some of the places I’m going to talk about are more underground and others are well known but definitely worth checking out if you’re planning a trip. I also want to put a disclaimer on here and say that although I have lived next to Salem my entire life, I have never once been to a single witch museum in my life which is why they are not going to be mentioned in this piece so if that’s what you’re looking for, I apologize in advance.

However, the one museum in Salem that I will always frequent is the Peabody Essex Museum. This museum isn’t so much a witch history museum as it is an art museum. Although due to the season, they do have a featured exhibit specifically for the witch trials which looks insanely cool. They also have had several other rotating and ongoing exhibits, many of which are interactive and great for photos. My favorite exhibit they have had so far was probably All The Flowers Are For Me by Anila Quayyum Agha. It’s a beautiful lightbox hanging from the center of an empty room that throws shadows on all of the walls (photos at the end of the blog obviously) and I believe it is an ongoing attraction through the end of the year if you are interested in that. You can buy tickets in person there, but for the season of October I would recommend buying tickets online to ensure that you can get in (and that goes for any tour/museum in Salem in October.)

If you’re more into shops rather than museums or tours, I have a laundry list of shops that I love in Salem, but they wouldn’t all fit in this post so I’m only going to give you the best of the best. The most obvious and honestly best place to go for shops is on Essex street. At one point the whole street turns into just a cobblestone road that is blocked off from cars and is filled with shops. Now some of the shops on this street are mainly touristy shops but if you like stuff like that, then they’re a great place to get a cute shirt or sticker! The shops I’m going to mention are more “witchy” than touristy.

The first and most popular shop is called the Coven’s Cottage. This is one of the shops on Essex street that has a line out the door of people who want to get in. You sometimes have to wait up to 15 minutes to get through the door but I promise it is worth it. They also request that you do not take any photos when in the shop so I would keep that in mind when entering. I mainly go in to look at the crystals because all of their stones, tumbled and raw, are a dollar each which is an incredible deal compared to some places in Salem. However, if you are at all into the more spiritual things, this is the place to go. They have everything from bagged herbs to animal bones. I also got my tarot cards from here as well as my incense. A similar shop that I enjoy going into is actually not on Essex street, but it is instead from the Pickering Wharf Marina and it is called Enchanted. This shop has a bunch of crystal options and is also the place I got my pendulum from that I adore. It’s definitely a lot bigger than Coven’s Cottage which means no wait to get in and a lot more crystal options. This also means the crystals are a little more pricey, but they are beautiful and honestly worth it in my opinion.

Another adorable shop is called Wicked Good Books and is also on Essex street. If you’re like me and like to read, then you will definitely appreciate this little bookstore. They have sections such as BookTok books (books that are trending on Tik Tok), horror, Salem-related, and even children’s books. They also have a whole wall of used books that are discounted and have an extremely wide variety. I have actually donated some of my books to this store and the employees who helped me were so kind. My favorite thing I got from them was actually not a book but actually a candle. They have a whole section of book-themed candles that are supposed to smell like your favorite stories. The one I got was called All Was Well from the Harry Potter series. It smells like jasmine and sandalwood and it is honestly my favorite candle I have ever owned.

The last shop I am going to talk about is literally my all-time favorite shop in Salem. It’s called Oak+Moss and it is every plant lover’s dream. There are plants hanging from the ceiling, on the walls, outside under tents, you name a place, there is a plant. They also have little homey products such as plant pots, cookbooks, reusable straws, and similar things with that vibe to them. Now I will say that this place is a bit pricey so for the most part I just go to window shop, but if you’re a plant person it is definitely worth the stop.

If I continue rambling about all of my favorite stores, this post will never be finished so I going to give you all a list of my other top-tier shops and you can look up whatever ones you are interested in!

• Emporium 32 (Essex Street)

• The Happy Sunflower (Pickering Wharf)

• Moodys Gifts (Essex Street)

• Roost and Company (Front Street)

• Vampfangs (Essex Street)

As for restaurants, there really are only three that I personally frequent. Dinner-wise, I love Mercy Tavern. Mercy is a tiny restaurant and bar with literally the best pub food I have ever had. The half order of skillet nachos is something that I eat as my meal because it’s just that good. They also have killer burgers with homemade bacon jam (yes you read that right. Bacon. Jam.) and my personal favorite, grilled cheese with avocado and a fried egg on top. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything that you order there and if you enjoy a drink, they also have their own mixed cocktails that change for every season. They also have rotating art from local artists that switched every month which I think is so fun. And every couple of weeks they will have live music which is a favorite with the locals.

If you’re looking for a lunch spot, my recommendation is always going to be the Gulu-Gulu Cafe. This summer, I would go there by myself on my day off and order lunch and read my book for an hour. It was my favorite part of my week. The staff is extremely nice and they have a wide variety on their menu. My two favorites are the Punky Rooster (chicken salad on sourdough) and the Crana-saurus Rex (mixed green salad with cranberries, apples, goat cheese, and walnuts.) They also have really good coffee, both iced and hot. My favorite is the Andes coffee which is just mocha and mint with cream and sugar.

But it’s not just the Gulu-Gulu who has amazing coffee. My personal favorite place to grab a coffee to go has to be Jaho Coffee Roasters. A fun fact about Jaho is that it has only four locations, one in Salem, two in Boston, and one in Japan. My usual order from Jaho is an iced chai latte with almond milk but I also love their zodiac teas when I want to get something lighter (I get Aries obviously.) They also have a really nice vibe with a cute little seating area that’s perfect for bringing your laptop to get some work done. Something about working in a coffee shop just makes me 10x more productive so I will always go there. Another lesser-known coffee shop that I will frequent in Salem is the Wolf Next Door. Their coffee and breakfast sandwiches are good but I personally go for their cocoa steamers which is hot chocolate with a flavor shot of whatever syrup you want (I usually go for hazelnut) and they are SO tasty. The only downside is that they don’t have any indoor seating so you would have to take your food and drink on the go.

And of course, I can’t talk about food in Salem without bringing up Goodnight Fatty. I know the name seems extremely off-putting but this place is a must-do in Salem, Massachusetts. Goodnight Fatty is a cookie shop similar to Crumbl Cookies but better in every possible way. They are only open Friday and Saturday 5 pm-11 pm and Sunday 8 am-10 pm. (They do breakfast on Sundays as well!). They have three exclusive cookie flavors each week and the first cookies of each month always have a vegan option. Their flavors range from cosmic brownie to Hot Cheeto flavored and when I tell you I have never had a bad cookie from them, I promise I’m not lying. They also have ice cream that you can top with different types of cereal, as well as bottomless milk. Goodnight Fatty is a Salem staple and if you can only choose one place to go to from this list, have it be Goodnight Fatty

And that’s honestly the extent of the places I frequent in Salem. As I said, some of these places are definitely more popular than others but they are obviously popular for a reason and in my opinion, deserve the hype they get. I hope if you are at all planning a trip to Salem this year, you found this list helpful! Salem is genuinely my favorite place to go and I’m so happy I was able to share it with you all. And if you don't have a trip planned but still are interesting in seeing Salem this October, the instagram account @purelysalem does an amazing job capturing the beauty of the small town. Also don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @spititout_blog for updates every time I post!

I hope you all have a lovely week!

-Meg

P.S. Here are some photos from Salem! The first two are form my favorite exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum, the next two are my usual orders at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe, and the last one is of me with the Goodnight Fatty truck!