Hocus Pocus

In October of 2026 my husband and I visited Salem, Massachusetts on a trip to Boston.  Since it was October, Salem was over-run with tourists.  The streets were crowded.  Sites that we wanted to visit were sold out.  It was a fun time to be there with all of the Halloween excitement in the air, but also hard to find a place to eat because people were waiting in line to even enter the restaurants.  We finally gave up and ate at a couple of food stands in Salem Common.  

Salem was the main filming location for the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus.  We didn't have time to visit all of the movie filming sites, but we did visit several of them.  The Sanderson house was filmed on a sound stage in California, so there isn't an actual home to visit anywhere.  But these sites are easy to visit if you are in Salem:

*    Old Town Hall

*    The Phillips Elementary School

*    The Ropes Mansion

*    The Salem Common

Old Town Hall

The Halloween party that Max and Dani's parents attend in the movie was held at Old Town Hall.  

The google maps location of Old Town Hall is here:  Old Town Hall

Old Town Hall is located in a highly-populated tourist area of Salem.  We walked past it several times as we were shopping.  The address is 32 Derby Square in Salem Massachusetts.  You can watch the scene with Old Town Hall here:  Hocus Pocus at Old Town Hall

My husband and I at Old Town Hall

The Phillips Elementary School

The exterior of the high school from the movie was the former Phillips Elementary School.  It is located at 50 S Washington Square in Salem.  It is right across the street from the Salem Common, which is also in the movie.  One of the high school scenes from the movie is here:  Hocus Pocus high school scene  The interior school scenes were filmed at a school in California. 

The google maps location of the "Jacob Bailey High School" is here:  Phillips School

The Ropes Mansion

Allison's house is the Ropes Mansion, which includes a garden that you can walk through at no charge.  Many people were getting their photos taken on the front porch when we visited in October of 2026.  The garden was crowded was people.  There had recently been a freeze, so the flowers weren't as beautiful as they had reportedly been a week earlier.  The Ropes Mansion is located at 318 Essex Street in Salem.  Here is the Hocus Pocus scene with Allison's house:  Hocus Pocus at the Ropes Mansion

The Ropes Mansion

The google maps location of the Ropes Mansion is here:  Ropes Mansion

The Salem Common

The Salem Common is right across the street from the school, and some of the outdoor scenes were shot on the Salem Common.  It is located at N. Washington Square in Salem.  At the time we visited, there were lots of food carts set up in the common and it was very crowded with people.  In fact, Raising Canes was sponsoring a filming of the carving of the world's heaviest pumpkin.  You can see the finished product here:  World's Heaviest Pumpkin and here:  World's Heaviest Pumpkin  This video gives you an idea of the busy and festive nature in Salem Common during the Halloween season.  When we visited the Common there were signs up saying that filming was taking place because they filmed the process of the jackolantern carving.

Getting to Salem from Boston

We rode the Salem ferry first thing in the morning to reach Salem, and then we rode the train back to Boston in the late afternoon.  You can purchase your ticket for the Salem Ferry here:  Boston's Salem Ferry  You should purchase your ticket the night before, if possible, so that they don't sell out.  It is possible to buy round-trip ferry tickets, but we only purchased one way because we didn't know how long we'd be spending in Salem.  The ferry docks at:  1 Long Wharf in Boston and it arrives at 10 Blaney Street in Salem.  Prices are around $44 per adult.  There were no open seats on the ferry - both inside and outside.  The outside deck seats fill up first.  I was disappointed at first that I didn't get an outside seat, but pretty soon people outside were getting too cold and coming inside to find a place to sit.  Of course, this was October.

Boston's Long Wharf

the City Cruises ticket center

follow the signs for the ferry.  A line develops, so get there early if you want to be able to select your seat.

waiting in line

boarding the ferry

view from inside the ferry before people sat on the exterior seats and blocked my view

Salem port

This is what my ferry ticket looked like

The train for our trip home was a bit more difficult to figure out.  The Salem train station is located at 252 Bridge Street in Salem.  It is within easy walking distance of many of the Salem attractions.

The google maps location is here:  Salem Train Station

Download the MBTA app on your phone.  Boston's North Station is the one that departs to Salem and that is the station to select when heading back to Boston after visiting Salem.  It costs $8 per person per trip.  You activate the tickets just before getting on the train.  I was confused when trying to figure out how to activate my ticket and I accidentally ended up purchasing 2 more tickets.  They do check your tickets once you're on the train, so definitely don't attempt to sneak onto the train.  The tickets are affordable, and once you figure out how to navigate the app you've got it made.

Here is the trip planner website:  MBTA  Here is the schedule for Salem to Boston and vice versa:  Newburyport or Rockport and here are the Salem stops:  Salem Stops MBTA  If you're confused about how to use the app, ask someone at the train station.  Someone ended up helping me purchase my tickets the first time and then she helped someone after me.  Everyone there was very friendly.

the entrance to the Salem train station

the train platform is outside

the board at the train platform

inside the train.  The conductor did come and check everybody's tickets

Other sites to see in Salem:

Once off the ferry at Salem Port, we were able to easily walk the city and see everything we wanted to see.

signs throughout town helped it easy to navigate to the most popular sites

one of the most popular sites is the House of Seven Gables, one of the oldest historic homes in the area.  You have to purchase tickets in advance to visit the house.  We didn't even attempt it during our visit in October.  The website to purchase tickets is here:  House of Seven Gables

the House of Seven Gables is at the back of the parking lot

Hawkes House

There were "porta-potty stations" throughout town to accommodate the many tourists in town

Charter Street Cemetery

There are a couple of Salem Witch Trial judges buried in Charter Street Cemetery.  Visiting the cemetery is free, but you do have to reserve your entrance time because they limit the number of people that can be in the cemetery at one time.  The reservation has to be done online and can only be made on the day of your visit beginning at 8 a.m.  The cemetery opens at 10 a.m.  Their website is here:  Charter Street Cemetery  This is not the cemetery that was used in Hocus Pocus.  That was the Old Burial Hill in Marblehead Massachusetts.

this is a map of noteworthy individuals buried in the cemetery

Bartholomew Gedney's tomb (one of the Salem Witch Trial judges)

Simon Bradstreet

grandson of Honorable John Hathorne, a Salem Witch Trials judge

There are a lot of Hathornes/Hawthornes buried in the cemetery

Second Wife of Captain Richard More

Captain Richard More

Christian Wife of Captain Richard More

Nathaniel Andrew

Samuel McIntire, a famous architect and namesake of the McIntire District

Sarah Field

Sarah Sims

Priscilla Hodges

Elizabeth Simmons

Mary Bray

Hannah Ross

William Hathorne

This is Colonel John Hathorne, the famous judge from the Salem Witch Trials

another photo of Colonel John Hathorne's grave

Simon Bradstreet was the first governor of Massachussets

This is the tomb of Bartholomew Gedney, another of the Salem Witch Trial judges

Bartholomew Gedney's tomb

The google maps location of Charter Street Cemetery is here:  The Burying Point  The address if 51 Charter Street.

Exploring more of Salem

The Salem Witch Museum

If you want to visit the Salem Witch Museum, you can purchase tickets the night before your visit at this website:  Salem Witch Museum  Tickets go on sale at 10 p.m. for the next day.  I'd recommend getting on their website right at 10 p.m., especially if you're visiting during October.  Tickets are $19 for adults.  The witch museum has displays as well as reenactments.

Salem Witch Museum

the waiting area to enter the museum

the list of accused Salem Witch Trial victims.  My husband's ancestor Mary Clements Osgood is on this list.  She was jailed for 45 days and then released after her husband convinced them that she wasn't a witch.

shirt in the gift shop that lists all of the accused victims

The google maps of the Salem Witch Museum is here:  Salem Witch Museum

Exploring more of Salem

walking the pedestrian streets of Salem reminded me of walking Las Ramblas in Barcelona

The Witch House at Salem

I tried to visit the Witch House at Salem, which is Jonathan Corwin's house, one of the judges of the Salem Witch Trials.  The official website of the Salem Witch House is here:  Salem Witch House  Tickets go on sale at 8 a.m. on the day of your visit.  I tried to get tickets, and went on the website right at 8 a.m., and it looked like I was going to get 2 tickets at the time I wanted, but by the time I entered the payment page, the tickets were already gone.  I tried several times to get other time slots, but they were completely sold out before 8:15 a.m.  So we had to settle for just seeing the outside of the house.

The Witch House

More of Salem

statue honoring Bewitched, a 1964 sitcom

The first church in Salem

Hamilton Hall, designed by Samuel McIntire, who is buried in Charter Street Cemetery

the post office

We saw several emergency vehicles while we were walking around Salem, I'm sure due to the high crowds.  This fire truck pulled up, lights on, and a few firefighters went to help inside a building.  We never did find out what was wrong.

Salem Witch Trials Memorial

The Salem Witch Trials Memorial is free to visit and is outside.  It is located here:  Salem Witch Trials Memorial  Their official website is here:  Voices Against Injustice  There has been some mis-information spread about the Salem Witch Trials, so that many people believe that the 24 people who were killed for being "witches" were burned, but actually 19 of them were hanged.  The 20th person was crushed to death.  Four died while waiting in prison. None of them were burned.

each of the accused witches who were killed has a concrete block with their name on it and the date they died.  Bridget Bishop was the first victim.

Sarah Good

Elizabeth Howe

Susannah Martin

Rebecca Nurse

Sarah Wildes

George Burroughs

Martha Carrier

George Jacobs

John Proctor

John Willard

Giles Corey was crushed to death

Martha Corey

Mary Easty

Alice Parker

Mary Parker

Ann Pudeator

Wilmot Redd

Margaret Scott

Samuel Wardwell

inscriptions at the entrance to the memorial

More of Salem

Look!  The Sanderson sisters were there!

Hocus Pocus Memorabilia

Here are some fun items for sale in honor of Hocus Pocus.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.  This is at no additional cost to you.

LEGO Hocus Pocus 

Mary Sanderson Hocus Pocus Costume

Winifred Sanderson Hocus Pocus Costume

Sarah Sanderson Hocus Pocus Costume

Hocus Pocus on dvd

Hocus Pocus on Prime Video

Hocus Pocus Book of Spells

Sanderson House Building Set compatible with Lego

Hocus Pocus on Blu-ray 

Hocus Pocus socks 

Little People Sanderson Sisters 

Hocus Pocus blanket

Nearby Boston

Boston is only a half hour from Salem.  Here are details of other things to see in Boston:

Things to See in Boston

The Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail is the very most important site-seeing attraction in Boston.  Freedom Trail sites include:

* Boston Common

* Robert Gould Shaw Memorial

* Massachusetts State House

* Mary Dryer statue

* Blackstone and Puritans memorial

* Park Street Church

* Granary Burying Ground, including:

    * Franklin Memorial

    * James Otis grave

    * John Hancock grave

    * Judge Sewall grave

    * Paul Revere grave

    * Phillis Wheatley grave

    * Robert Treat Paine grave

    * Samuel Adams grave

* King's Chapel

* King's Chapel Burying Ground

* Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue

* Old Corner Bookstore

* Old South Meeting House

* Old State House

* Boston Massacre memorial

* Sam Adams Statue

* Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market

* Union Oyster House

* Blackstone Block and Haymarket

* Paul Revere House

* North Square

* Rose Kennedy's Birthplace/Thomas Hutchinson's House

* Paul Revere Statue

* Old North Church

* Copp's Hill Burying Ground

* Brink's Robbery and Molasses Flood

* Crossing the Bridge to Charlestown

* Training Grounds

* Bunker Hill Monument

* USS Constitution

* Commandant's House

* USS Cassin Young

This shows the route of the Freedom Trail:  

I downloaded the official Freedom Trail Foundation app from the App Store, which cost $9.95 and was well worth the money!  It has a map in it showing where each of the locations are, and has an audio tour for each of the locations.  I listened to the audio tour as I walked to the next location.  The app worked great for me and I was so glad that I had bought it!  Since I'm so interested in family history, my favorite places along the Freedom Trail were the 3 cemeteries.  Their official website is here:  The Freedom Trail

The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

The actual place where the Boston Tea Party took place no longer exists because it has been filled in with land.  The ships at the museum are replicas of the ships used in the Boston Tea Party.  The tour is $41 and is an hour long, and I do recommend this tour.  People dressed for the time period reenact the meeting that was held at the Old South Meeting House, led by Samuel Adams.  The host gave each visitor a card with their "character" (one of of the participants in the Boston Tea Party) on it.  Once on the boat, guests are allowed to throw "tea" into the harbor.  We toured the ship and then toured the museum.  Videos were shown inside the museum that were actually quite moving.  If you're visiting Boston, I do recommend visiting the Boston Tea Party and going on a tour.  You can't go inside without purchasing a tour, although you can see the ships from the bridge without paying.  The location of the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is here:  Boston Tea Party  If you want to use the subway rather than walking, get off of the red line at South Station and it's only a several-minute walk to the Boston Tea Party.  Their official website is here:  Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Cheers, where everybody knows your name

If you're familiar with the popular television show Cheers from the 80's, you will want to visit the bar where the show took place.  It is only a 10 minute walk from the Boston Common.  On my first trip to Boston, I went to the outside of the bar and even went down the stairs and peeked inside, but opted not to go inside since the "bouncer" at the door asked if I was going to order drinks or lunch.  It was very crowded, both outside and inside.  Lots of people were taking photos.  And most people were going inside to eat.  If I'd had more time, I would have grabbed a bite to eat.  On my third trip to Boston my husband and I did go eat dinner at Cheer's.  It was well worth the time and the food was very good.  I even ordered a Cheers Rootbeer!  My husband ordered water and they brought it to him in a Cheers mug.  They have a gift shop there, which you can enter even if you aren't planning to eat there.  They also have a studio bar set up next to the gift shop that looks just like the one used in the TV show and where you can take photos.  They have large cut-outs of the Cheers actors that you can take photos with.  We were seated for dinner in the back room and they had it as packed as they possibly could - not much space between tables, every table full.  It is worth the visit!  The location of Cheers is here:  Cheers  This is their official website:  Cheers Boston  Here is an episode of Cheers, in case you forgot what the bar looked like in the show:  Cheers Season One

It's right next to the Public Garden and only a 10 minute walk from the Boston Common

my husband and I at Cheers in October of 2026

the Cheers entrance

The replica bar that was created for tourists to take photos.  This is not an operating bar.  Keep in mind that the exterior of Cheers was used for the television show, but not the interior.  That was a sound stage.

inside the gift shop

Norm!

Woody and Diane

The Cheers cast

Cheers menu

Broadway in Boston

While we were in town, Hamilton was playing at the Citizen's Opera House.  We were able to get tickets and we enjoyed seeing the Broadway show.  When we were there we saw that upcoming shows included Les Miserables (our favorite), The Sound of Music, Moulin Rouge, Some Like it Hot, Beauty & the Beast, and The Great Gatsby.  We walked to and from the opera house, only about a half hour each way.  The location of Citizens Opera House is here: Citizens Opera House  We sat on row M of mezzanine left and could see very well.  The rows of seats are a bit close together, which made it uncomfortable for my tall husband.  The show appeared to be sold out, and was quite enjoyable.  Here is the website for Broadway in Boston:  Broadway in Boston  Here is the official website of Citizens Opera House:  Citizens Opera House  You have to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster, but you can select the show and date on the Citizen website and it will redirect you.  

Boston Public Garden

The Boston Public Garden was established in 1837 and is in the heart of Boston, right next door to the Boston Common.  There is a majestic statue of George Washington near the entrance of the garden.  

The Boston Public Garden is located here:  Boston Public Garden

Other sites in the Area:

There are other churches, statues, and places to see that aren't on the Freedom Trail, such as the Central Burying Ground.  I saw the Embrace Statue in the Boston Common, which was placed in 2022.  

Photos from my October 2025 trip:

The Freedom Trail

The Boston Common

Arriving at the Boston Common

The Embrace Statue is not necessarily part of the Freedom Trail, but is in the Boston Common.  It was placed in 2022 and represents Martin Luther King Jr and his wife embracing.

under the statue

The Brewer Fountain on the Boston Common, dedicated in 1868

view from the Boston Common of the Boston State House

Visitor Information about the Freedom Trail.  This is where the trail officially begins.  If you purchase the official app, which I highly recommend, you start the audio tour here.

This red brick trail continues through to the other end of the Freedom Trail.  If you were to ever get lost, you could simply follow the brick trail back to the Boston Common.  The trail is 2 1/2 miles long.

The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial

the back of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial

stairs leading out of the common, up to the memorial

Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, commemorating the Massachusetts 54th regiment, the first all-black regiment in the Civil War.

The Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House

The Mary Dryer Statue

The Mary Dyer statue is beside the Massachusetts State House

Mary Dyer was a Quaker who was executed for her beliefs

Blackstone and Puritans Memorial

The memorial commemorates the city's founding 

Park Street Church

Park Street Church was important in the battle for civil rights - women's rights, abolition of slavery, etc.

The Granary Burying Ground

Benjamin Franklin's parents' burial place

The Franklin parents' headstone

Hannah Franklin, wife of Samuel Franklin

Tomb of Increase Sumner, fifth governor of Massachusetts

John Foster Williams, first master of US Revenue Cutter

Peter Faneuil, American merchant

Archibald family

Thomas Cushing6

James Bowdoin

M. Nathaniel Shannon

John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence

There was always a crowd of people around the Hancock grave

James Otis

One of John Hancock's slaves is buried with the rest of the family in the family plot

5 Hancock family graves

grave of John Decoster, age 26

It says:  "Stop here my friend, and cast an eye.  Take heed, as you are now so once was I.  As I am now so you must be.  Prepare for death and follow me."

Paul Revere's grave

Paul Revere's original headstone

Robert Treat Paine, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence

Samuel Adams

Joseph Shed, member of the Boston Tea Party

Victims of the Boston Massacre 

King's Chapel

King's Chapel was the first Church of England in Boston

Memorial to Enslaved Persons

After the British evacuated, King's Chapel took on the meaning of the King of Heaven rather than the King of England, and it became the nation's first Unitarian church.  

Boston Latin School Site

The Benjamin Franklin statue

The Boston Latin School was the first public school in America.  Benjamin Franklin went there for a short time.  Others who attended the school were John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine.

On the base of the statue are scene from Benjamin Franklin's life

Me with Ben

Josiah Quincy statue - he was a politician in Boston

The Democratic Donkey - lots of people were sitting on him and posing for photos

King's Chapel Burial Ground

Boston's first burying place

the Charleston Carver

This is a vent for the subway

Elizabeth Pain's headstone.  She was the inspiration for Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter."  Hawthorne used to wander in the graveyard, and apparently what looks like an A on this headstone was the inspiration for the A for adultery in the book.

Governor John Winthrop

William Dawes rode with Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride

Mary Chilton came over on the Mayflower and was the first woman to step off the ship.

Old South Meeting House

The Boston Tea Party was planned in this meeting house

The Old South Meetinghouse

The Irish Famine Memorial is across the street from the Old South Meeting House

The Old Corner Bookstore

This used to be the center of town.  It is the oldest commercial building in Boston, constructed in 1718

The Old State House

The Colonial Governors held office here

The Boston Massacre site

From this balcony the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time to Bostonians on July 18, 1776

Faneuil Hall and Samuel Adams Statue and Quincy Market

Samuel Adams statue

The shore line is carved into the rock surrounding the Samuel Adams statue

There's shopping inside Faneuil Hall

The basement of Faneuil Hall

This was posted in the ladies restroom

Still following the Freedom Trail

Quincy Market

Union Oyster House

America's oldest restaurant

Blackstone Block and Haymarket

a market street from Colonial times

This dead rat lay in the middle of the sidewalk, he was still there an hour or so later when I walked by again

Paul Revere's House

Built in 1680, Paul Revere bought this house in 1770

North Square

The oldest neighborhood in Boston - it is a triangular park rather than a square

Rose Kennedy's Birthplace and Thomas Hutchinson's House

Governor Thomas Hutchinson's home

The Paul Revere Statue

Paul Revere Mall

Old North Church

One of the most famous churches in the country, Old North Church opened in 1723.  On the evening of April 18, 1975 two lanterns were placed in the steeple of the church by Robert Newman to warn that the British would be coming by sea.  Since that time, many famous people have come to worship in this church.

Old North Church is where Paul Revere put the 2 lanterns to warn that the British were coming by sea

Inside Old North Church

This bust of George Washington is apparently very close to how he really looked

Copp's Hill Burying Gronnd

Robert Newman is the man who hung the lanterns in the Old North Church.  He was the church's sexton.  He was also a Mason.

Brink's Robbery and Molasses Flood

view of Old North Church from down the road. In the days of the Revolutionary War there weren't tall buildings blocking the view of the church steeple from Charlestown.

Bunker Hill Monument

On the day I visited the Bunker Hill Monument in October of 2025, the federal government was in a shut-down, so the monument was closed.  Otherwise I could have climbed the steps to the top to look out at the view.  To visit the monument itself, you can come any time.  It's visible from far away.  In fact, I saw it right after I came out of the Community College subway stop.  The monument commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first real battle of the Revolutionary War.  The monument is actually on Breed's Hill, which is higher than Bunker Hill.  So plans changed and they used this hill instead to build their fort and where the battle took place.  

view of the monument as I'm walking towards it

The far end of the Freedom Trail

When we came back to Boston in July of 2026, we arrived at Bunker Hill just as it opened, and we were the first people to climb to the top.  All 294 steps of it!  My calves could feel it for the next couple days after that!  But the view was worth it.

the very last step

view from the top of Bunker Hill Monument

my husband and I at the top of the monument

my husband and I at the marker for the Freedom Trail located at Bunker Hill

Training Grounds

Charlestown Park called "The Training Grounds."  Local militias would train at the training ground.

USS Constitution

The most celebrated ship in American history.  During the War of 1812 this ship was hit with British cannonballs but it was indestructible.  Because of this it is known as Old Ironsides.  Because of the government shutdown, the ship was closed for tours on the day I visited in October of 2025.

The dry dock where ship repairs were done

Commandant's House

This was a home for the officers of the navy and their families.

USS Cassin Young

The USS Cassin Young is a US Navy Destroyer commissioned in 1943.  During World War II this ship was in service in the South Pacific at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.  It is the 20th Century counterpart to the USS Constitution.

view of Boston from the USS Constitution and USS Cassin Young

Crossing the Bridge to Charlestown

Charlestown and Boston are either sides of the Charles River.  It was here that Paul Revere rowed across the Charles River to warn of the British invasion.

Boston Tea Party

Touring the Boston Tea Party boats is well worth the $41.  It was a highlight of my trip.  I loved the actors dressed in period costume acting out the pre-Tea-Party meeting, pretending to throw tea into the harbor, and the moving movie that was shown in the museum afterwards.  

Our tour guide welcoming us onto the tour from the balcony

This is the character they gave me - each person on the tour was assigned a character

This meeting room represented the Old South Meeting House and the man at the podium represented Samuel Adams

Below deck

These represent some of the tea that was thrown into the harbor

We all got to throw some "tea" in the harbor

There's a gift shop inside the museum

Broadway in Boston at Citizen Opera House

Citizens Opera House is ahead

This is their fancy bathrooms

Cheers, where everybody knows your name

Cheers is only a few minutes away from the public garden

There was a large crowd around it, and a large crowd inside as well

This is as far as I got because the host wondered if I wanted to order drinks or lunch.  I figure they get plenty of people just wanting to take photos every day.  So I didn't go inside.

my husband and I at Cheers in October of 2026

the Cheers entrance

The replica bar that was created for tourists to take photos.  This is not an operating bar.  Keep in mind that the exterior of Cheers was used for the television show, but not the interior.  That was a sound stage.

inside the gift shop

Norm!

Woody and Diane

The Cheers cast

Cheers menu

Boston Public Garden

The Public Garden is right next to the Boston Common.

George Washington

Central Burying Grounds

Boston Marathon

My husband would love to run in the Boston Marathon one day.  He was excited to find these on Boylston Street.

Harvard University

We wanted to walk around Harvard University while we were in Boston our second time, but we could not find any place to park! On my third visit to Boston, I took the subway to Harvard Square, popping me out right at Harvard campus.  This is by far the easiest and most convenient way to visit Harvard.

the subway, heading back to the heart of Boston

Elsewhere around Boston

The Community College subway exit that I took to reach the Bunker Hill Monument

Bunker Hill Community College

Charlestown was charming!  Everyone had decorated for Halloween in such nice ways.

The subway system was inexpensive and easy to use.

Old South Church

John Singleton Copley

Church of the Covenant

Tony DeMarco, Champion boxer

Places to Stay in Boston

When we visited Boston the first time, my husband had a work conference at the Hynes Convention Center so we stayed in the Sheraton Boston Hotel, which is next door to the convention center and connected by an indoor bridge so that we could go back and forth between the two.  The location of the hotel is here:  Sheraton Boston Hotel  Our third trip to Boston was for the same reason, so we stayed in this same hotel again.   

The hotel is pretty pricey, at about $350 per night.  I did look for Airbnb's near the temple, but didn't find any.  It made sense for us, since James would be in meetings next door, and it was only about a 30 minute walk from the hotel to the Freedom Trail, where I would be spending quite a bit of time while he was in his meetings.  It's close to subway stations and lots of places to eat or shop.  There are 29 floors in the hotel, and we were on floor 12 the first time and floor 19 the second time.  The rooms were comparatively small, but very clean.  The elevators run very fast, only slowing when they are stopping at specific floors.  If you get off on the second floor rather than the lobby, you can walk across the bridge to the Prudential building and eat at the various restaurants or shop in the many shops there.  If we came back to Boston, I would stay here again.  The added cost is worth it.  And it's only about a 20 minute trip from the airport.

view from our window on the 12th floor on the rainy day we arrived

Our room at the Boston Sheraton Hotel

The Hynes Convention Center where my husband's conference was held

The hotel entrance

nighttime view out our window on the 12th floor

The view from our hotel room in October 2026

When we haven't stayed in the Boston Sheraton Hotel, we stayed near the airport at the Hampton Inn Boston Logan Airport, which was also a nice hotel and pretty close to the airport.  The staff there is very nice.  They did charge us for parking each night.

Getting Around Boston

While we were in Boston the first time, we did some walking, took the subway, and used uber.  To reach our hotel from the airport, we used the uber app, which took about 40 minutes including waiting for the uber driver to arrive.  For some reason, there was a huge influx of people using the uber app from the airport that day, and it made our uber driver quite grumpy.  In fact, he kept swearing while we were riding in the car because the drive was taking much longer than he had planned.  On our third trip to Boston we again used uber from the airport and this time had a much smoother experience and friendlier driver.

We also used uber to reach the temple, which is what I highly recommend.  You can use a combination of subway and bus routes to reach the temple, but there is no direct route and I would not recommend trying to figure that out when you can just hire an uber.

When I was walking the Freedom Trail, one day I just walked.  The next day I did a combination of walking and riding the subway.  Overall, walking is better.  It is a lot more direct and you get to enjoy Boston while you're walking.  However, it is 2 1/2 miles total, so if you start on one end and walk back, that would be 5 miles of walking in addition to any walking you do inside each stop.  I would have walked the entire trail if it weren't for my cell phone running out of battery.  I even brought along my portable charger, and charged my phone part-way through the day, and my phone died again.  My recommendation to you would be to take an uber or subway to the farthest edge of the Freedom Trail from your hotel, and then walk in the other direction back to your hotel.  That is what I wish I had done.  I would have taken the subway on the orange line to the Community College Station, and started at the Bunker Hill Monument, then walked through the Freedom Trail and back to my hotel, which is about a mile from one end of the Freedom Trail.

To reach the Boston Tea Party, you can either walk from the Freedom Trail (it is not part of the Freedom Trail) or you can take the red line to South Station and it's only a several-minute walk from there.  That is what I did, although I had to switch lines in order to make it to South Station.

The subway in Boston is very easy to use, especially since you can just tap your credit card to enter - you don't have to purchase a Charlie card, although you can if you'd prefer to.  I didn't stop to buy one, I just tapped my credit card on the reader and the gate opened.  It is a little over $4 to ride as far as you'd like to go as long as you don't exit the subway.  There are signs posted everywhere explaining the different routes.  I mainly rode on the green, orange, and red lines.  If you'd like to walk around Harvard University, which I did on my third trip to Boston, the subway is a very easy way to go because there is the Harvard Square stop, which puts you right at Harvard campus.  You can read more about public transport on this website:  MBTA

On our second trip to Boston we rented a car through Turo because we drove across the state to Natural Bridge State Park see the only white marble natural bridge in North America, also known as "New England's Natural Bridge."  We were staying at a hotel near the airport so having the car was not a problem, although we did have to pay for parking at the hotel each night.  It was nice to be able to come and go as we wished, and to have our own ride to the temple.  If we'd been trying to do the Freedom Trail on that trip, parking would have been a problem.  If you're staying right in Boston, I'd recommend using other transportation rather than renting a car.

On our third trip to Boston we visited Salem, Massachusetts.  It was during October, so we knew that crowds would be heavy in Salem and that transportation might be complicated.  We ended up riding the Salem Ferry to reach Salem and then riding the train back to Boston.  You should purchase your Salem Ferry ticket in advance, especially if you're visiting in October, because the ferry does fill up.  It was fun to ride the ferry and see the view from the water, although we were seated inside and there were people sitting on the benches outside our window, so at times our view was blocked.  If you want an outside seat (which is very cold in October), you have to arrive at the wharf and get in line very early.  Here is the website to purchase the ferry tickets:  Salem Ferry  It picks you up in Boston at 1 Long Wharf, and it drops you off in Salem at 10 Blaney Street.  Once you're in Salem you can pretty much walk anywhere you'd like to go.  We rode back from Salem on the train, which connects to Boston at North Station.  I downloaded the MBTA mTicket app on my phone and purchased tickets using the app.  You could purchase your train ticket in advance and then wait to activate your ticket until whenever you get on the train.  I accidentally bought 2 sets of tickets because I couldn't figure out at first how to activate the ones I'd already bought.  Open the app, select buy tickets.  Select Salem as your origin station.  Then I selected North Station as my destination station.  I went under the "Multiple" tab and chose 2 one way tickets, one for me and one for my husband.  The tickets are good for 90 days, so you could even purchase them before your trip and just wait to activate them until you're getting on the train.

What to Eat in Boston

There are plenty of fast food options that you would find anywhere in the country. Some close to our hotel included Raising Cane's, Chick Fil A, Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle, Smashburger, Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack, Eataly, and others.  During my walk on the Freedom Trail, I ended up in an Italian part of town -- lots of Italian restaurants and geletarias, etc.  I highly recommend this area of town!  I ate at an Italian restaurant called Bencotto on Hanover Street.  It was very good!  Here is the location of Bencotto: Bencotto  It is quite close to Old North Church and the Freedom Trail.

I had a margherita pizza again

street view of Bencotto

We ate dinner at a restaurant near our hotel, Union Park Pizza.  It was very good, especially their ranch dressing!  It is located at 244 Newbury Street in Boston.  Its google maps location is here:  Union Park Pizza

We also ate at a place in Chinatown called Dumpling Cafe.  It was all right, although a bit spicy for me.  But the menu had a large list of options.  It is located very close to the Citizens Opera House, where we were going to a Broadway production of Hamilton that night.  It is located here:  Dumpling Cafe

On our next visit to Boston, we ate at a good place called Legal Seafood. There are a few different locations in the Boston area.  It was really good.  Here is their official website:  Legal Sea Foods

On our third trip to Boston we made sure to eat dinner at Cheers, the bar that the 80's television sitcom is based off of.  The food was very good and it was fun to look through the gift shop and take photos in their replica bar that they created for tourists.  They are located here:  Cheers

Their address is 84 Beacon Street in Boston

We also ate at Atlantic Fish Company, which was located here:  Atlantic Fish Company

The address is 761 Boylston Street in Boston

Their official website is here:  Atlantic Fish Co  I do not like any type of fish, but my husband loves it.  Luckily there was non-fish food on the menu that I ordered and loved.  

We ate outside

The food was delicious

We also ate at Dillon's on Boylston Street.  Our uber driver recommended it, so we figured why not give it a try?  It is located here: Dillon's  Their official website is here:  Dillon's Boston

The address is 955 Boylston Street

My margherita pizza was excellent

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