A New Mobile App from Destination Salem Helps Visitors Plan Their Visit to Salem, Massachusetts This Fall and Beyond

By -


 Thinking about planning a trip to visit Salem, Massachusetts this fall and wondering how best to do it without having to spend too much time on the computer searching for things? 


Looking for some fun things to do for the Halloween season but worried about what's open and what's not? Curious at to what restrictions there might be due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic?


If you answered 'yes' to any of the above then you're going to love the new app from the wickedly clever folks of Destination Salem! The recently-released app will provide the latest updates on everything Salem including events, museums and attractions, shops, restaurants, parking, and much more.


Created by Aloompa, the new mobile app will provide visitors and residents with comprehensive information for exploring Salem by featuring news, business listings, educational content, maps, and location-based notifications. 


The new app will provide updates on parking availability, restrooms, and public health guidelines throughout the fall. The app will also be available all year long for the latest information about Salem’s annual festivals to include Salem’s So Sweet, Salem Arts Festival, Salem Heritage Days, and much more.

So what can you use the app for? Well ... 


You can use the app to help you find a great place to stay like the historic and comfortable Hawthorne Hotel located next to the Salem Common. In June of 1970, when the TV series "Bewitched" filmed their 8-part series 'The Salem Saga' in the area, the Hawthorne Hotel wasn't just part of the action but also where the cast and crew stayed! 


Or perhaps you'd like to stay at one of Salem's newest hotels - The Hotel Salem located right in the heart of things on Essex Street on the town's Pedestrian Mall. Want to know more? There's an app for that!


Hungry? How about a tasty bowl of Steve's Seafood Chowder and a craft cocktail at the Tavern in the Hawthorne Hotel on the Common. Allison, the best bartender on the North Shore, will be happy to create a drink that's sure to hit the spot! 


More of a teetotaler? Perhaps a nice Afternoon Tea at the Jolie Tea Company would be just the thing for you! You'll find them both on the new app! 


Due to the ongoing pandemic, it's frighteningly sad that Salem's annual Haunted Happenings won't be the big event like it has been  in the past when the streets were so crowded you could barely walk through sideways but with the new app, you'll still be able to find lots of things to do in Witch City! 


The Friendship of Salem, a replica tall ship that it is owned and operated by the National Park Service, is located on Derby Wharf, a great place to learn about Salem's role as a center of global trade in post-Colonial America. As of this writing, the ship currently stands mast-less in the harbor while undergoing restoration work.


Located across from Derby Wharf, the Salem Custom House is part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. It's where Nathaniel Hawthorne worked as a customs inspector for three years inspiring his writing of 'The Scarlett Letter' and where you'll find this magnificent wooden eagle that was hand carved by local craftsman Joseph True and purchased by the Custom House in 1826 for $50. A fiberglass replica currently stands upon the Custom House today. 


Unfortunately, interior access to all of the buildings is currently unavailable but the outdoor spaces including the grounds, gardens, and wharfs of Salem Maritime will continue to remain accessible 7 days a week and you can have a socially-distanced chat with Park Rangers who will be roving the grounds at Salem Maritime between 8:30AM and 5:00PM.


The House of the Seven Gables will be focusing on open-air experiences in their historic gardens and grounds this year with the price of admission including a link to a virtual tour of the 1668 Turner-Ingersoll Mansion. Their Visitor Center and Museum Shop will be open with restrictions in place.


On the new mobile app you'll find lots of other places of interest to visit including: 


 The Charter Street Cemetery/Old Burying Point which is a popular destination for visitors to Salem. Founded in 1637, it is Salem's oldest cemetery and final resting place for several of the city's notable residents ... though not this guy, this was just a cool stone! 


The Witch Trials Memorial is located directly behind the cemetery and is open to the public from dawn to dusk. Here you'll find memorial benches for the 19 men and women who were executed during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 including Giles Corey who was pressed to death for refusing to confess to witchcraft. 


If you want to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials, the Salem Witch Museum now offers same-day online tickets that you can purchase once you arrive in Salem and eliminating the need to stand in line. Find more info in the app! 


Just FYI, when you're walking past this foreboding looking statue near the Salem Witch Museum, it isn't a witch though many think he is! This 9-foot tall statue is actually of the Puritan Roger Conant who is credited with founding Salem, Danvers and Peabody.


Of course no visit to Salem would be complete without a stop at the Peabody Essex Museum which ranks among the top 20 art museums in America and which recently opened a new 40,000-square foot wing offering visitors the chance to see even more of their wonderful collection. Through April 4, 2021 they have a new exhibition "The Salem Witch Trials of 1692" which is sure to be of interest to anyone who would like to learn more about the tragic events of 1692 that have shaped so much of Salem's history. 


With the new mobile app from Destination Salem, planning a trip to Salem need not be at all scary! You'll have everything you need at your fingertips, including a detailed map to help navigate the city and the most up-to-date list of events, shops, and restaurants that are open. You'll even be able to receive real-time messages via the app should anything change related to the city's COVID-19 guidelines. 

 The Destination Salem app is available for iOS and Android and can be found on the App Store as well as online at: http://onelink.to/kez9qm. 
Location: Salem, MA, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for wandering by and leaving a comment today!

Popular posts from this blog

Triple-Sheeting Defined

By -
Image
In a recent post on the beautiful  Inn Victoria in Chester, Vermont, I mentioned "triple-sheeting" and a commenter asked, "What's triple sheeting? Is that the same as being 3 sheets to the wind??" Uhm, no, Sarah, it isn't! Though I can certainly appreciate the humor in your comment! Triple-sheeting, a style of bed-making that uses multiple layers of sheets, blankets, and duvets or bedspread-like covers, is something that a lot of upscale hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts are starting to do as it's not only an easy way to change the design of the room should that be desired but it's also a lot more hygienic for guests. If you stop and think about it, chances are really good that the bedspreads and/or duvets that are used in guest accommodations don't get washed very often and they most definitely don't get washed in between every guest.  Think about how often you wash your own bedspread and the light probably goes on, right?  Uh-huh .
Read more

The Tale of Indian Leap at Yantic Falls in Norwich

By -
Image
Long before English settlers purchased the 9-mile square of land upon which the City of Norwich, Connecticut sits, the land was owned and occupied by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians. They made their homes near the Great Falls of the City of Kings and were led by the great sachem, Uncas. One of the more popular and famous stories of Chief Uncas involves The Battle of the Great Plain that took place on September 17th, 1643 between the Mohegan Tribe and the Narragansett Tribe from neighboring Rhode Island, some of which took place near what is now known as "Indian Leap". As the story goes, Miantonomo, Sachem of the Narragansetts, led 900 of his warriors in what was to be a surprise attack on the Mohegans at Shetucket, the Mohegan capital near the City of Kings. The night before the battle, Mohegan scouts in the area observed the advancing enemy and carried the intelligence back to Uncas who formed a plan. Uncas knew he didn't have enough warriors to battle Mianton
Read more

A Virtual Visit to Salem's House of the Seven Gables - Part Two, The Turner-Ingersoll Mansion

By -
Image
"Halfway down a by-street of one of our New England towns stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables, facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst. The street is Pyncheon Street; the house is the old Pyncheon House; and an elm-tree, of wide circumference, rooted before the door, is familiar to every town-born child by the title of the Pyncheon Elm." - Chapter One, The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1851   House of the Seven Gables, circa 1915 Photo credit Whether he meant it to or not, the dwelling that took on the life of the "rusty wooden house" in Hawthorne's second novel, and which became popularly known as The House of the Seven Gables , began its story in 1668 as the house of a prominent Salem resident before almost 240 years later taking on the role of a social reform-based settlement house and museum.  John Turner, the son of an English-born shoemaker and hat merchant of
Read more

The Hawthorne Hotel's "Haunted" Room #325 - The Set-Up

By -
Image
Alright, I daresay that I've kept you waiting more than long enough for a post on our recent stay at Salem's absolutely fantastic Hawthorne Hotel and I guess it's past time for the "reveal" as they call it on Ghost Hunters and the like.  First, though, I have to set the scene, right? For those of you who've been around the blog for awhile and have kept up with my wordy ramblings, I'm not going to post the whole history of the Hawthorne again but if you'd like a refresher or are new, please feel free to click over here  where you'll find history and pictures galore.  It was that post which led us to our recent stay at the Hawthorne so that we could find out firsthand if rooms #325 and #612 were, in fact, haunted. Our first night had us staying in Room #325 where stories told of the sounds of a child crying, invisible hands touching guests, and the bathroom lights and plumbing turning on seemingly of their own accord. As a matter of fact, when
Read more

The Omni Mount Washington Resort: Historically Comfortable Elegance in New Hampshire's White Mountains

By -
Image
I remember it very well - the very first time I laid eyes on the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods , New Hampshire and told myself that someday I was going to stay there. It was August 20th, 1991 and I was on my honeymoon with my now-ex husband; we had spent the day at the Mount Washington Cog Railway and had decided to return to our Franconia inn via the Kancamagus Highway to take in the scenic views. To get there we had to travel down Route 302 and as I looked to the left I saw it - the grandest of the White Mountain's grand hotels. Like something out of a fairy tale, the huge white castle-like structure with its bright red roof sat at the base of Mount Washington and spoke of bygone days when families would arrive via train to spend long, leisurely summers enjoying the spectacular beauty of the White Mountain region. It reminded me of one of my favorite romantic movies - "Somewhere In Time" - and one of the scariest - "The Shining" - and I k
Read more