Where should I go in New England?

Question

My husband and I are planning our first trip to New England. We hope to spend a week in New England this July. (I know fall would be the best time to go but July is when we can make the trip.) There's so much to see and do. What can we absolutely not miss?

Answer 1

My husband and I have had wonderful vacations to Maine. Granted, we went in September, so it was less crowded, but Maine is still somewhere you shouldn't miss.

My recommendations are

Freeport - there's tons of shopping, including the LL Bean flagship store which is open 24 hours a day

Boothbay Harbor - it's lovely and peaceful and very relaxing

Bar Harbor - great downtown area, lots of little shops and restaurants. Also, there are whale watch cruises that sail out of Bar Harbor that are absolutely amazing. It's an experience you won't forget. You're also in the area of Acadia National Park

Portland is nice, but I wouldn't spend more than a day or two there. There's a really nice downtown area for shopping and stuff and good restaurants.

One of the most interesting things we've done on our trips is a visit to the Maritime Museum in Bath. It's all about the shipbuilding industry and Maine's maritime history and it was absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend it.

Answer 2

The previous responder went into detail about some great Boston suggestions so I won't repeat them here. If plan on spending time in Boston, I would also try to see the Boston Ballet or maybe a show at a club. There are a lot of great culteral events there.

If cities aren't your thing or if you want to spend part of your time out of Boston, there are basically 2 other aspects of New England that you must experience. I think there are two traditional New England experiences - the maritime, beach lifestyle, and the rural mountain lifestyle. For the former, the best places to go would be coastal Maine or Cape Cod. Both will be very busy and expensive in the summer though. If you can deal with that, you really should go. Eat some lobster, look at the sand dunes, play in the ocean. Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard are great places to visit too - they are islands in Cape Cod that you can only reach by ferry (or by one of those tiny airplanes). If you plan on spending any time in Cape Cod, you should include one of those islands in your itnerary.

If beaches aren't your thing, head for the hills. I think Vermont has the prettiest mountains in New England, but even the Berkshires in western Massachesetts are very nice. There are hiking trails everywhere - the Appalachian Trail runs through most New England states and Vermont has a trail called the Long Trail which extends from the Canadian border to Massachusetts. Burlington, VT has a lot of cute shops and restaurants and is very quaint in the New England way.

I don't know where you are from, but you might be surprised at how impatient and maybe even rude people seem if you spend your time in Boston and southern New England. In general, the farther away you get from Boston and New York City, the nicer and friendlier you'll find people to be. (For example, if you're coming from a southern state, Boston might be a little hard for you.)

If you go to Boston, please don't plan on driving. It's hard enough when you know where you're going. The subway system is easy and safe. Also, I've driven in almost every state - as much as I love Boston, the drivers there are among the worst I've ever encountered.

Bring a variety of clothes. There's a saying here (I think from Mark Twain) - if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.

Have fun!

Answer 3

Well I couldn't disagree with the day here and a day there suggestion, especially since most of the places mentioned are just horrid. I try to avoid going to Lowell...I would never spend a vacation day there.

I would consider splitting the trip in 2 as well, maybe half in Boston and the weekday part on the Cape. If you stay on the nicer part of the Cape (my suggestion is always Easham, where the National Seashore beach that is ranked in the top 10 of the world is located), you won't deal with any crowds there. Getting on/off Cape is where you hit traffic, so if you go midweek or well anytime other than Friday, it shouldn't be terrible, especially if you don't go at 5 pm. That part of the Cape takes a little bit longer to get to (maybe an extra half hour) but far less tourists and far more charming and quiet, with still tons of excellent restaurants, and as I said one of the nicest beaches in the world.

And if I was going to take day trips from Boston the ones I would choose, in summer, would be Rockport, Plymouth (if money is an issue you might want to stay there...still some very reasonable prices and it's lovely and right on the ocean. Plymouth Plantation is what I would consider fascinating not a mill town lol). Salem can be fun, and for historic House of the Seven Gables is awesome, but I usually take friends to the other places first.

If you end up staying in Boston and not go down the Cape I would definately suggest a unique day trip there. There is a boat that leaves Boston in the am, takes about 3 hours to get to Ptown, 3 hours there then it heads back. Very fun day! And in town be sure to take the Duck tours, which is a fun and easy way to see all the sights and take a nice little ride on the Charles in an amphibean vehicle.

Wish you said more about what you like to do, and what type of vacation you have in mind. I think I would either choose Boston or more likely either the week down the Cape or in one of the "North" states...Maine, NH, or Vermont. All three have lovely places to head to, relax, and recharge your batteries. And even though Fall IS lovely here, summer can be more fun to go do things. Hope you have a blast!

(Feel free to write me if you want to explain more of what you are looking for...would be glad to help if I could).

Answer 4

I am from Boston, so I am biased, but I would definitely say visit Boston. There are some great things to see and do in the summer. Not sure if you are into history, but there is the freedom walk trail that you can follow. You can visit Paul Revere's house. Aside from that, there is the New England Aquarium, which is fabulous. (I worked there so I am also biased.) There is an IMAX theater there so you can catch a movie as well. There are whale watching trips too. There is tons of shopping to be done on Newbury Street or Quincy Market. I also like to sit and have a picnic on the Boston Common or the public gardens. The summer is my favorite time of year in Boston. You can go on a "duck tour". It is an amphibious vehicle that gives you a tour of Boston from land and the Charles River. I highly recommend it. You can catch one at the Prudential Center. You can also go to the top of the John Hancock building and view the entire city of Boston from 60 stories. There is the museum of fine arts if you enjoy the arts. I would recommend taking public transportation around Boston, as tourists can have a heck of a time finding their way around. Our streets are not on a nice grid pattern and numbered chronologically like in NYC and there is a lot of construction going on. I would get a good book on Boston or do some internet research. You won't be sorry. Enjoy your trip!

Answer 5

Other than probacit's urging of Boston (actually it should be considered Boston/Cambrige, the USA's only example of two
booming and successful, both historic, both dynamic but provincial, but each still quite different from the other, major cities located right next to each other [Minneapolis and St. Paul are 10-15 miles apart]), but I would mention for quite different attractions than most of probacit's, which are largely
entertainment venues, IF YOU ONLY HAVE A WEEK, I would
suggest....
(1) 4 days in Boston; do a day in Portland, ME, a day in Providence, RI and a day doing the two nearby National Historic Parks (other than Downtown Boston Historic N.P., which will probably be practically automatic): Minuteman and Lowell (Trust me! Although Minuteman may be a bit more exciting, you'll likely find Lowell to be more interesting).
(2) 4 days in Boston, 1 day in Providence then rambling on side roads through the classic New England countryside to the Berkshires, returning to Boston via southern VT and southwestern NH. Include a Tanglewood Concert.
(3) Just a couple of days in Boston, then the countryside
ramble in reverse direction to (2) as far as central southern VT, then north from there along eastern slopes of spine of Green Mountains. Take a side trip to Burlington. Internationalize with 2 days in Montreal (a place you may not wish to leave).

Do not - repeat, DO NOT!!! - go to Cape Cod at that time of year: for some reason Adrienne forgets the terrible crowds and long traffic jams and other terrible things that have just destroyed the Cape from mid-June to mid-September. If you absolutely have to have some ocean waves and sand dunes, fit in a day or two for the RI south coast and/or the boat to Block Island (lobster restaurants cheaper on RI south coast, too).

Also, if you plan to rent a car do it ONLY for days you are not in Boston; a horrendous traffic city where you can get anywhere by public transit (you can at less cost than car rental train it to Portland but you need to cab or local bus it from the peripheral Portland Amtrak station to the lovely and charming downtown and waterfront; you can also train it to Providence and to Lowell; but the Lowell station is a mile from the sights and the National Park (which has a visitors' trolley once you get there) and bus service to some of the interests in Providence, like Federal Hill and Brown University, could be more frequent).