Danustouch
September 9th, 2001, 08:49 PM
Thought those of you looking for a seasonal get away this year, might enjoy this. I'm hoping to head up to Salem...it's not too far from me. If you do too.....maybe we'll meet up! (Yeah....right...not a chance in THAT crowd!).
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Cities scare up fun for Halloween
Admit it -- you're jealous. While kids go careening through your neighborhood in wizard hats and vampire fangs, you're stuck behind the door dispensing candy. Now is the time to plan a more active Halloween holiday out of town at a reasonable price.
This year, just leave a basket of candy on the porch -- and travel!
Salem, Mass.
In this charming New England town, you can immerse yourself in Halloween themes even in advance of the actual Halloween holiday. Salem's bewitching sights year-round include the Witch Trial Memorial (free admission, located on Charter St.), the Salem Witch Village, the Salem Wax Museum of Witches & Seafarers (admission to both is included in the "Salem Hysteria Pass" available for $8.95 at www.salemwaxmuseum.com, or call (800) 298-2929), the Salem Witch Museum ($6, (978) 744-1692), the Witch Dungeon Museum ($6, (978) 741-3570), the Witch History Museum ($6, (978) 741-7770), and the Witch House ($6, 978/744-0180).
The Peabody Essex Museum ($10, 800/745-4054), the country's oldest continually operating museum and one of the largest in New England, has the original papers from the trials among its vast collection.
During the entire month of October, Salem gets into the holiday spirit with a host of events: Enter the House of the Seven Gables to visit the world of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel in Spirits of the Gables ($8, 978/744-0991), sample a variety of beers at the Hawthorne Hotel's Harvest Moon Brew Nights (in the hotel tavern, no cover charge; call 800/729-7829 for more info), shop along the Essex Pedestrian Mall at Bizarre Bazaar, and mark the end of Salem's 21st annual Haunted Happenings Festival with a bunch of all-ages activities Halloween night.
While Salem has a number of bed-and-breakfasts, many are already booked up for the Halloween festivities (and require lengthy stays). For other housing options, refer to the Destination Salem Web site, www.salem.org, of the Salem Office of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, or the comprehensive Salem City Guide, online at www.salemweb.com. Regional accommodations are probably a better bet, but it never hurts to call around. Owners might be able to direct you to friends with open rooms.
Even a better bet is to stay in nearby Boston. Salem is easily accessible from Boston via the commuter rail (30 minutes, $3 one way) or bus (one hour, $2.75 one way; contact MBTA at 617/222-500 0 or online at www.mbta.com). In Beantown, The Buckminster (800/727-2825), at 645 Beacon St., gets rave reviews without frightening bank accounts -- rates for a double on Halloween night start at $109. The Bed and Breakfast Agency of Boston (800/CITY-BNB) can also help you find a suitable B&B for your needs. Basing your holiday in Boston means you're also a short trip away from Spookyworld, in Foxboro, Mass., an October-only horror theme park featuring a 3-D disco, six haunted houses and a "Monster Midway" ($23.50; call its 24-hour hot line, (978) 838-0200, or check out its Web site, w ww.spookyworld.com, for more information).
For more details on Salem's Halloween events, area attractions or lodging, contact Destination Salem at 877/SALEM MA.
New Orleans
As the voodoo capital of the country and home of vampire goddess Anne Rice, New Orleans knows how to scare up some good times. Only in the Big Easy will your stomach turn into the big queasy at Voodo.Fest 2001, an authentic celebration of the mystical practice ending with a Voodoo ritual at dusk (free admission; call 504/914-8970 for details). The city is also the home to a variety of Halloween celebrations, the Ghostly Galavant tour of French Quarter ghosts ($15, 504/523-3939), and the second annual Voodoo Music Festival (Oct. 27), featuring the Stone Temple Pilots, Eminem, Live, Counting Crows, Cypress Hill, 311, Blues Traveler and more (tickets cost $25-$28; for information on the festival, call Ticketmaster at 504/522-5555). The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (504/566-5011; www.neworleanscvb.com) can also help you navigate your schedule.
Rooms are going fast, so unless you happen to have the power of voodoo at your disposal, make reservations soon. For a well-located hotel at decent prices, book at Chateau Hotel (1001 Chartres St., 504/524-9636). The weekend before Halloween a double costs between $145 and $165 per night. During the week, rates drop to as low as $109. You can also try Le Pavillon Hotel (833 Poydras St., 800/535-9095, $159) and Pontchartrain Hotel (2031 St. Charles Ave., 800/777-6193, $119) at reasonable rates only slightly heightened for the holidays. B&B's often require multiple-night stays, but the lower prices are well worth it. Bed & Breakfast Inc. (800/729-4640) books reservations for dozens of properties in the city. One of its offerings, Gentry Quarters, has double rooms in the French Quarter starting at $86 per night.
New York City
Last year, New York's 27th annual Village Halloween Parade (in Greenwich Village) attracted a crowd in excess of a million people. The event has become so huge that prices in the already expensive city skyrocket even more for those final October days. Luckily for visitors, New York is so big and has so many hotels that it's still possible to see the free parade and take part in other New York festivities, like the trick-or-treating at the American Museum of Natural History ($6, 212/769-5200). A double on Halloween night at the clean but basic Park View Hotel (212/369-3340) is a bargain at $85 (plus tax). Larchmont Hotel (212/989-9333), a cute brownstone in Greenwich Village, has rooms with shared bath for $90 a night. Another good choice is Chelsea Lodge (800/373-1116), which has doubles for just $105.
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Cities scare up fun for Halloween
Admit it -- you're jealous. While kids go careening through your neighborhood in wizard hats and vampire fangs, you're stuck behind the door dispensing candy. Now is the time to plan a more active Halloween holiday out of town at a reasonable price.
This year, just leave a basket of candy on the porch -- and travel!
Salem, Mass.
In this charming New England town, you can immerse yourself in Halloween themes even in advance of the actual Halloween holiday. Salem's bewitching sights year-round include the Witch Trial Memorial (free admission, located on Charter St.), the Salem Witch Village, the Salem Wax Museum of Witches & Seafarers (admission to both is included in the "Salem Hysteria Pass" available for $8.95 at www.salemwaxmuseum.com, or call (800) 298-2929), the Salem Witch Museum ($6, (978) 744-1692), the Witch Dungeon Museum ($6, (978) 741-3570), the Witch History Museum ($6, (978) 741-7770), and the Witch House ($6, 978/744-0180).
The Peabody Essex Museum ($10, 800/745-4054), the country's oldest continually operating museum and one of the largest in New England, has the original papers from the trials among its vast collection.
During the entire month of October, Salem gets into the holiday spirit with a host of events: Enter the House of the Seven Gables to visit the world of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel in Spirits of the Gables ($8, 978/744-0991), sample a variety of beers at the Hawthorne Hotel's Harvest Moon Brew Nights (in the hotel tavern, no cover charge; call 800/729-7829 for more info), shop along the Essex Pedestrian Mall at Bizarre Bazaar, and mark the end of Salem's 21st annual Haunted Happenings Festival with a bunch of all-ages activities Halloween night.
While Salem has a number of bed-and-breakfasts, many are already booked up for the Halloween festivities (and require lengthy stays). For other housing options, refer to the Destination Salem Web site, www.salem.org, of the Salem Office of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, or the comprehensive Salem City Guide, online at www.salemweb.com. Regional accommodations are probably a better bet, but it never hurts to call around. Owners might be able to direct you to friends with open rooms.
Even a better bet is to stay in nearby Boston. Salem is easily accessible from Boston via the commuter rail (30 minutes, $3 one way) or bus (one hour, $2.75 one way; contact MBTA at 617/222-500 0 or online at www.mbta.com). In Beantown, The Buckminster (800/727-2825), at 645 Beacon St., gets rave reviews without frightening bank accounts -- rates for a double on Halloween night start at $109. The Bed and Breakfast Agency of Boston (800/CITY-BNB) can also help you find a suitable B&B for your needs. Basing your holiday in Boston means you're also a short trip away from Spookyworld, in Foxboro, Mass., an October-only horror theme park featuring a 3-D disco, six haunted houses and a "Monster Midway" ($23.50; call its 24-hour hot line, (978) 838-0200, or check out its Web site, w ww.spookyworld.com, for more information).
For more details on Salem's Halloween events, area attractions or lodging, contact Destination Salem at 877/SALEM MA.
New Orleans
As the voodoo capital of the country and home of vampire goddess Anne Rice, New Orleans knows how to scare up some good times. Only in the Big Easy will your stomach turn into the big queasy at Voodo.Fest 2001, an authentic celebration of the mystical practice ending with a Voodoo ritual at dusk (free admission; call 504/914-8970 for details). The city is also the home to a variety of Halloween celebrations, the Ghostly Galavant tour of French Quarter ghosts ($15, 504/523-3939), and the second annual Voodoo Music Festival (Oct. 27), featuring the Stone Temple Pilots, Eminem, Live, Counting Crows, Cypress Hill, 311, Blues Traveler and more (tickets cost $25-$28; for information on the festival, call Ticketmaster at 504/522-5555). The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (504/566-5011; www.neworleanscvb.com) can also help you navigate your schedule.
Rooms are going fast, so unless you happen to have the power of voodoo at your disposal, make reservations soon. For a well-located hotel at decent prices, book at Chateau Hotel (1001 Chartres St., 504/524-9636). The weekend before Halloween a double costs between $145 and $165 per night. During the week, rates drop to as low as $109. You can also try Le Pavillon Hotel (833 Poydras St., 800/535-9095, $159) and Pontchartrain Hotel (2031 St. Charles Ave., 800/777-6193, $119) at reasonable rates only slightly heightened for the holidays. B&B's often require multiple-night stays, but the lower prices are well worth it. Bed & Breakfast Inc. (800/729-4640) books reservations for dozens of properties in the city. One of its offerings, Gentry Quarters, has double rooms in the French Quarter starting at $86 per night.
New York City
Last year, New York's 27th annual Village Halloween Parade (in Greenwich Village) attracted a crowd in excess of a million people. The event has become so huge that prices in the already expensive city skyrocket even more for those final October days. Luckily for visitors, New York is so big and has so many hotels that it's still possible to see the free parade and take part in other New York festivities, like the trick-or-treating at the American Museum of Natural History ($6, 212/769-5200). A double on Halloween night at the clean but basic Park View Hotel (212/369-3340) is a bargain at $85 (plus tax). Larchmont Hotel (212/989-9333), a cute brownstone in Greenwich Village, has rooms with shared bath for $90 a night. Another good choice is Chelsea Lodge (800/373-1116), which has doubles for just $105.