Discover Salem: Ultimate Guide Inspired by the Real Housewives of New York City
Did you tune in to watch Leah, Luann, Ramona, Sonja and Eboni travel to Salem? If you missed it, The Real Housewives of New York City spent several days exploring Salem for three episodes of the popular Bravo series.
Here’s your guide to what they did and how you can create your own RHONY Salem experience.
Stay
The Hawthorne Hotel was home base for the Housewives. General Manager Claire pulled out all the stops for the women, and Catering Manager June Jennings cast a spell upon their arrival. (June also does readings at the new Maison Vampyre, Salem’s first vampyre parlour!) The group gathered in Nathaniel’s Restaurant for their welcome champagne, and we saw frequent clips of the beautiful hotel lobby. After their dinner in the second episode, the women gathered (for cocktails, of course) in The Library of the hotel, which is a lower-level function room.
Dine
The RHONY cast stepped across Essex Street to have dinner at Bella Verona. This snug Italian restaurant has been a local favorite for decades. They currently have expanded outdoor dining, which increases their capacity. Indoors or out, we don’t recommend dancing on the tables at Bella Verona!
The séance was held outside of Salem at the 1640 Hart House in Ipswich. This historic restaurant was a perfect setting for the séance, which was organized by Omen Psychic Parlor and Witchcraft Emporium on Essex Street in Salem. You don’t have to be a Real Housewife to participate in an Omen séance, they host them nightly in their Séance parlor in Salem.
The awkward 40-minute drive in the third episode took the Housewives to Newburyport where they dined at The Black Cow.
Explore
On their first night in Salem, the Housewives had a catered dinner at Black Veil Tattoo. A couple of the women did get tattoos to remember their grandmothers. This unique space is located on Boston Street, a short drive from the Hawthorne Hotel.
The women got their Puritan on at Pioneer Village: Salem in 1630. The oldest living history museum in the country, we watched the women explore the Governor’s house and the wooded property. Pioneer Village is a popular location for filming and Hocus Pocus fans may have recognized Thackery Binx’s house in the background!
Visitors don’t usually get to wear Puritan clothes as they explore Pioneer Village. If you want to dress up for a portrait session, take your lipstick over to Witch Pix on Essex Street! The Housewives stopped by Witch Pix during their visit. It didn’t make the final cut, but it made their Instagram!
Shop
We didn’t see our RHONY gals shopping in the episodes, but we noticed gift bags in their hotel rooms from local shops Hex and VampFangs.
We think the RHONY cast would have enjoyed the fashion exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum, shopping at Die with Your Boots On, dining at Sea Level, and soaking in some of Salem’s history at the Salem Witch Museum and on a historic walking tour.
To learn more about the locations RHONY visited outside of Salem, visit NorthofBoston.org.
You can learn more by clicking through this site or our app, but if you’ve visited Salem, you know – there’s always more to do on your next visit!
