Top 10 places to visit in New England

New England is where the USA was born, a region steeped in legendary tales of the pilgrim fathers and the Revolutionary War with historic sites around every corner – from Boston’s Freedom Trail to the Mayflower landing site in Plymouth.

New England’s landscapes are as famous as its history, offering a spectacular kaleidoscope of colours every autumn, but stunningly beautiful year-round in areas such as Acadia National Park, the White Mountains, New Hampshire Lakes and Vermont’s charming towns of Woodstock and Stowe.

The coastline of New England is the highlight for many visitors, whether watching humpback whales off Cape Cod or relaxing on miles of sandy beaches. And of course, the ocean serves up a feast of lobster, shrimp and fresh fish in New England’s countless top-class seafood restaurants. Here is a guide to the top 10 places to visit on holiday to New England:

Boston

Boston is not only one of America’s most historic cities but it’s most walkable. The best way to explore the city’s eventful past on foot is on the famous Freedom Trail, which visits over a dozen sites including the Massachusetts State House, the site of the Boston Massacre, and the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship. Boston also has some of the finest museums in the USA, the pick of which are the Kennedy Library and Museum, the Museum of African American History, and Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, commemorating the protest that lit the fuse of the Revolutionary War. After a busy day sightseeing, enjoy the city’s excellent, wide-ranging cuisine, especially seafood – from lobster rolls to clam chowder.

Acadia National Park

This national park has some of New England’s most beautiful scenery. Rocky headlands, mountains, lakes, forests, meadows and beaches cover half of Mount Desert Island, the second largest island on the Eastern Seaboard. Acadia National Park can be enjoyed traffic-free on more than 50 miles of hiking and biking trails along the Carriage Roads. A highlight is the pink granite peak of Cadillac Mountain, at 466 metres the highest point in the region and the best place to view the first sunrise in the USA. Acadia is also one of the country’s prime bird-watching destinations with more than 300 species, and there are nesting sites for Atlantic puffins in the islands surrounding vibrant seaside town Bar Harbor.

Cape Cod

Cape Cod is one of North America’s premier destinations for whale-watching and an alluring summer playground with miles of protected beaches. Whale-watching tours are a big draw from April to October in Stellwagen Bank with large populations of humpback and finback whales. Cape Cod has countless beautiful beaches along its 40 miles of protected shoreline and the peninsula is peppered with historic fishing towns that supply North America with clams, oysters and mussels. Don’t miss the whitewashed old town and lighthouses of Chatham, and the 75-metre granite Pilgrim Monument of Provincetown.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island may be the USA’s smallest state but it’s big on extravagance. Newport is famous for its dozen opulent Gilded Age mansions lining Bellevue Avenue and Ocean Drive. Many are open to the public to view them in all their grandeur, including the 70-room Breakers and Marble House, built by the Vanderbilts. A highlight of the island is wandering along the 3.5-mile Newport Cliff Walk to enjoy panoramic ocean views. Rhode Island boasts dozens of beautiful beaches including Narragansett and Easton’s and is also one of the USA’s yachting centres. Even if you don’t sail, don’t miss a boat tour of the island’s many lighthouses.

Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

Cape Cod’s islands have been attracting celebrities and affluent New Englanders for a century. Martha’s Vineyard was the location for the movie Jaws in the 1970’s but fortunately, the beaches are far more tranquil than in far-fetched fiction, attracting sunbathers and surfers alike. Martha has six charming towns worth exploring – from the lighthouses of Edgartown to the gingerbread cottages of Oak Bluffs. A short ferry ride away, Nantucket is quieter and steeped in history with more than 800 pre-Civil War buildings, several art galleries and Nantucket Whaling Museum.

White Mountains

New England’s interior is famous for the tapestry of bright colours on show in Autumn, and New Hampshire’s White Mountains are a particularly beautiful haven year-round for hikers, climbers and skiers. Part of the Appalachians, this huge mountain range covers 87 miles with endless hiking and cycling trails through wonderful scenery, including dozens of waterfalls. One of the region’s highlights is Cog Railway, the second steepest rack railway in the world taking you up to enjoy stunning views from the summit of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the north-eastern USA at 1,916m. The region’s many charming towns include Sugar Hill and North Woodstock near the Lost River Gorge.

Woodstock, Vermont

Vermont is famous for its stunning Fall colours, but it’s a wonderfully scenic state at any time of year. Perhaps Vermont’s most picture-perfect town is Woodstock, not to be confused with its namesake in New York State which hosted the famous 1960’s festival. Woodstock is filled with historic architecture, restaurants with farm-to-table cuisine and several traditional covered bridges, of which there are more than 100 in Vermont. Highlights of the town include the mansion and gardens of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, while nearby Quechee Gorge is the deepest canyon in Vermont with spectacular views of the Ottauquechee River. Just an hour north of Woodstock is Stowe, another stunning New England town at the foot of Vermont’s highest peak Mount Mansfield, offering miles of hiking and ski trails.

New Hampshire Lakes

The Lakes of New Hampshire have attracted New Englanders for centuries for relaxing breaks of bathing and boating. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest, covering 72 square miles with over 250 islands, while Wolfboro claims to be the oldest summer resort in America. Other highlights of the region include The Squam Lakes, made famous by the movie On Golden Pond, and the Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough, a century-old stone mansion with miles of hiking trails on its 5,000-acre estate.

Plymouth

Plymouth is where the story of the United States began in 1620 when the Mayflower pilgrims landed here and held the original Thanksgiving feast the following year. Known as “America’s hometown”, Pilgrim Memorial State Park on the waterfront is the best place to discover the history. Highlights include full-size replica ship Mayflower II and the monument at Plymouth Rock which commemorates the landing. Other historic sites include the 25-metre granite National Monument to the Forefathers, and Plimouth Patuxet Museums, recreations of a 17th century English village, a Wampanoag settlement and reconstructed Plimoth Grist Mill. The town is easily visited on a day trip from Boston or en route to Cape Cod.

Portland and Kennebunkport

Portland is the original capital of Maine and one of the best places to eat in the USA. Set on a peninsula on Casco Bay, Portland is one of the country’s most historic cities with Victorian buildings and a thriving arts scene. Known as “the restaurant city” for hundreds of eateries and a host of celebrity chefs, Portland often tops polls for the best food in the USA. Feast on lobster rolls and oysters, take a cruise around the bay, then enjoy the views from Portland Observatory, America’s last standing maritime signal tower. It’s worth taking a short trip half an hour south to Kennebunkport, a beautiful harbour town with art galleries, historic homes, boutique stores and restaurants. The town was made famous as a summer retreat of the Bush family.

Keen to explore further? Discover Journeyscape’s selection of tailormade Holidays to New England.