Directions
Getting here
14 Mercy Lane, Salem, Massachusetts 01970. A short walk from the waterfront, nine minutes from the train, and about forty minutes from the airport on a good day.
Our address
- Address
- The Crane & Lantern House, 14 Mercy Lane, Salem, MA 01970
- Phone
- (978) 555-0148
- Check-in
- 3:00–8:00 pm (later arrivals by arrangement, with a lockbox)
- Check-out
- 11:00 am
- Front door
- The green door under the lantern. If it's after 8 pm, use the side door by the garden gate.
Please don't trust your GPS on the last turn. Mercy Lane is real; your phone just doesn't believe it. Some map apps send you down the alley behind the carriage house, which is one-way and very narrow. Follow the directions below for the final block and look for the lantern.
By train (our favorite)
The easiest way to reach us from Boston is the commuter rail. Trains on the Newburyport/Rockport line leave from North Station in Boston and reach Salem station in about 30 minutes. Trains run roughly every hour on weekdays, a little less often on weekends; check the current schedule before you travel, and in October look for extra weekend service.
From Salem station it's about a nine-minute walk to our door:
- Leave the station by the main exit and walk toward downtown, following signs for the waterfront.
- Cross at the lights and continue straight for three blocks, past the pedestrian streets on your left.
- At the small triangular green with the iron bench, bear right onto the lane that slopes toward the harbor.
- Mercy Lane is the second lane on your left, cobbled at the corner. We're halfway down on the right, the white house with the widow's walk.
Pulling a heavy suitcase over brick? Call the front desk from the station and, if someone's free, we'll walk up and meet you with the luggage cart. (Not in October on weekends, we're afraid. That's when Samuel's knees go on strike.) Taxis and rideshares wait at the station too; it's a three-minute drive.
By ferry (May–October)
From late spring through October, a seasonal high-speed ferry runs between Long Wharf in Boston (by the aquarium) and the Salem waterfront. The crossing takes about an hour and is a lovely way to arrive, with the harbor islands on one side and the open sea on the other. Sailings are limited and schedules change every year, so check the operator's timetable and buy tickets in advance, especially on summer and October weekends.
From the Salem ferry landing, it's about a fifteen-minute walk to Mercy Lane along the water, or a five-minute taxi ride. Walk inland from the dock, keep the harbor on your right, and turn up Mercy Lane after the old brick warehouses.
By car
From Boston (about 16 miles): take the main highway north toward the North Shore and follow signs for Salem. Without traffic it takes 30 to 45 minutes. At rush hour, on summer Fridays and on October weekends, allow considerably longer.
From the north (New Hampshire and Maine): take the interstate south and follow the state route signs east into Salem. Allow about 30 minutes from the interstate.
From the west: follow the ring road around Boston north to the exits for Salem and the North Shore, then follow the signs for downtown and the waterfront.
The last block: once you're downtown, head toward the waterfront. Mercy Lane runs off the harbor road between the old warehouses and the little triangular green. Turn in at the cobbled corner (slowly; it's narrower than it looks) and pull up in front of the house. We'll show you where to park.
From the airport
Boston Logan International Airport is about 40 minutes by car outside rush hour. A taxi or rideshare is the simplest option. If you'd rather not, take the airport shuttle or subway into downtown Boston, connect to North Station, and catch the commuter rail to Salem; it takes about an hour and a half altogether and is very straightforward with light luggage. We're happy to recommend a local car service; just ask when you book.
Flying into Manchester, New Hampshire, is also possible, about an hour's drive north.
Parking
We have ten on-site parking spaces for inn guests, in the lot beside the carriage house. They are free and first come, first served. With nine rooms and ten spaces, there's almost always room, but on busy weekends a space can't be guaranteed. Please park only in the marked spaces; the gravel strip by the pickleball courts is a fire lane, and the city is unsentimental about it.
If our lot is full, there are public lots and a parking garage downtown, about five to ten minutes' walk away. Street parking nearby is mostly metered or resident-only and is strictly enforced. Read every sign twice.
In October our lot becomes valet only, at $25 per night. Pull up at the front door and leave your keys with us; we'll park your car in our lot or, on the busiest weekends, in a reserved lot nearby, and bring it back with 30 minutes' notice. Downtown parking in October is extremely limited, some streets close to traffic, and the city encourages visitors to arrive by train. We do too. See our October guide.
You'll find our lot, the valet drop-off and the nearest public garages on our parking map.
Electric vehicles: we don't have a charger on site yet. There are public chargers in the downtown garage.
Accessible parking: one space by the side ramp is reserved for guests with a disability placard and for the Apothecary, our accessible room. Please let us know if you'll need it. More on our accessibility page.
Getting around once you're here
You won't need a car. Almost everything in Salem is within a twenty-minute walk: the waterfront, the museums, the historic districts, the burying grounds and the downtown pedestrian streets. We lend six bicycles free to guests (ask at the desk), and taxis and rideshares are easy to find except on October weekends, when walking is faster anyway. For more, see Around Salem.