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A December Day in Salem, After the Halloween Crowds

Holiday tours at the Seven Gables, a market at Old Town Hall, museums, a wharf walk and how to get there by commuter rail, with 2026 dates.

Boston Neighbor staffPublished 6 min read
The bandstand on Salem Common in snow under a blue winter sky
Photo: Fletcher6 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Salem in October is a traffic jam with a witch hat on. Salem in December is a different town: the same brick streets and harbor, with room to walk, a holiday schedule of its own and a commuter train that drops you in the middle of it. Below: the train, the closing days that trip people up, the December dates, and one workable day.

Getting there by commuter rail

Salem is on the MBTA Commuter Rail’s Newburyport/Rockport Line, which leaves Boston’s North Station. Trains stop in Salem roughly hourly through much of the day; weekend service differs from weekdays, so check the schedule page for your date.

Commuter Rail one-way fares range from $2.40 to $13.25 depending on distance, and the MBTA sells a Weekend Pass for $10 (CharlieTicket, cash or the mTicket app), which covers a day trip if you go on a Saturday or Sunday. Buy on the mTicket app to avoid a cash-on-board fee. Conductors check tickets after you board.

Driving instead? The Peabody Essex Museum’s directions list the Museum Place garage on New Liberty Street, the MBTA Commuter Rail Garage at 252 Bridge Street, the South Harbor Garage at 10 Congress Street and a municipal lot on St. Peter Street, plus limited two-hour meters around Salem Common. The museum notes that parking is extremely limited in September and October, which is one reason December is easier.

Know the closing days before you plan

The major sights keep different schedules.

  • Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), 161 Essex Street, is open 10 am to 5 pm Thursday through Monday and closed Tuesday and Wednesday (also Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day). Admission is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors 65 and over and $15 for students with ID. Youth under 16 and Salem residents are free.
  • Salem Witch Museum, 19½ Washington Square North, is open 10 am to 5 pm year-round. Adults are $19, seniors 62 and over $17.50 and children 6 to 14 $16.
  • Salem Maritime National Historical Park is free for all buildings and programs. From November 15 through April 30 the Salem Armory regional visitor center and the Waite & Peirce park store are open Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The Custom House is closed for the season. Derby Wharf and the park grounds are open around the clock. The buildings are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Holiday dates for December

Salem Main Streets and Creative Collective run Holiday Happenings, which this year started with Santa’s arrival and the downtown tree lighting on Friday, November 27. The program continues through December 31. The pieces that matter in December:

  • Holiday Window Contest. More than 30 downtown businesses decorate their windows. Walking the route is free.
  • Wassail Weekend. This is a weekend of shop specials, tastings and music across downtown. It comes after Small Business Saturday; the date will be on Salem Main Streets.
  • Christmas at The Gables. The House of the Seven Gables is offering special Christmas tours on November 28 and 29 and December 5 and 6, 2026. Tours run 2:30 to 3:30 pm and 3:30 to 4:30 pm, except December 6, which has only the 2:30 pm tour. Tickets for the holiday tours are listed on the Gables events page.
  • Salem Holiday Market. On Sunday, December 20, 11 am to 4 pm, New England Open Markets runs a market across two floors of Old Town Hall with more than 60 makers, artists and collectors. Admission is $5 at the door.
Old Town Hall and the brick pedestrian mall in downtown Salem
Photo: Antony-22 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

A sample day

Morning: train in and walk Derby Wharf. Take a mid-morning train and head for the harbor. On Wednesday through Sunday the Armory visitor center is the National Park Service’s first stop. Derby Wharf and its grounds are open 24 hours, so the harbor walk works on any day.

Midday: pick one museum. On a Thursday through Sunday, PEM is the big indoor choice, with the Witch Museum as a shorter stop. On Saturday, December 5 you can end the afternoon with a Gables Christmas tour at 2:30 or 3:30 pm.

Lunch and shopping: the downtown core. The Salem Holiday Happenings directory sorts participating shops and restaurants by category and by what is open, so you can pick lunch before you arrive.

Late afternoon: market or museum. If your date is December 20, Old Town Hall’s holiday market runs until 4 pm. Otherwise, walk the Salem Common loop.

Evening: train home. Pick your last train home before you go in; departures are roughly hourly, so a 4:30 pm museum close leaves room for dinner.

Derby Wharf Light Station at the end of Derby Wharf in Salem harbor
Photo: Rizka / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Salem Common’s Santa arrival and tree lighting on Friday, November 27 is one of the dated evenings in Holiday Lights Around Boston, 2026.

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Sources

Details such as dates, hours and prices come from the sources above and can change. Check with the organizer before you go.

How we report: every date, price and address comes from a linked source.

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