|
|
Peter Pan Bus Lines (800
343 9999) and MBTA commuter rail (617 222 3200) operate to many of these
destinations from South Station
|
|
|
Costumed re-enactors dramatize the 1775 Battle of Lexington and Concord each year on Patriots Day (the third Monday in April)
|
|
Lexington Peaceful,
leafy Lexington Green marks the first encounter of British soldiers
with organized resistance by American revolutionaries. The rebels
fortified their courage with a night of drinking at the adjacent
Buckman Tavern (1 Bedford St). Visitor informationConcord Rebels
put the Redcoats to rout at North Bridge, Concord’s main revolutionary
battle site. This historical town was also the epicenter of American
literature in the mid-19th century. Visitors can tour the homes of
writers Ralph Waldo Emerson (Cambridge Turnpike), Nathaniel Hawthorne
(455 Lexington Rd), and Louisa May Alcott (399 Lexington Rd). Henry
David Thoreau’s woodland haunts at Walden Pond now feature hiking trails
and a swimming beach. Visitor informationNew Bedford During
the 19th century, local sailors and whalers plundered the oceans of the
world, enriching the port of New Bedford. The National Historic
District preserves many of the fine buildings of the whaling era, while
the Whaling Museum (18 Johnny Cake Hill) gives accounts of the
enterprise. Massachusetts Routes I-95 & I-195
Visitor informationSalem A
witch may not have been killed in Salem since 1692, but witchcraft
paraphernalia fills many stores, and several sites such as the Witch
Museum (19 Washington Sq North) tell the tale of this dark episode. The
city is more proud of its China Trade days (1780s–1880s), which are
engagingly recounted on National Park walking tours. Visit the Peabody
Essex Museum (East India Sq) to see the treasures sea captains brought
home. Visitor informationPlymouth The
recreated historic village of Plimoth Plantation (137 Warren Ave) gives
a full immersion in to the lives of the first English settlers in
Massachusetts. At the harbor, tour the Mayflower II (State Pier). On Thanksgiving, the town celebrates its pilgrim heritage with a parade in period dress. Massachusetts Routes 3 & 44
Visitor informationLowell Lowell
was the cradle of the US’s Industrial Revolution, where entrepreneurs
dug power canals and built America’s first textile mills on the
Merrimack River. The sites within the National Historical Park (246 Market St)
tell the parallel stories of a wrenching transformation from
agricultural to industrial lifestyle. A 1920s weave room still thunders
away at Boott Cotton Mills Museum (115 John St). Massachusetts Routes I-93, I-95, & 3
Visitor informationOld Sturbridge Village Interpreters
in period costume go about their daily lives in a typical 1830s New
England village. This large living history museum has more than 40
buildings on 200 acres (83 ha). Get a sense of the era by visiting the
village common, mill district, and the traditional family farm. Massachusetts Routes l-90, 20, & 84
Visitor Center
Old Sturbridge Village
Portsmouth Founded
in 1623 as Strawbery Banke, the historic houses on Marcy Street
document three centuries of city life from early settlement through 20th
century immigration. Picturesque shops, pubs, and restaurants surround
Market Square and line the waterfront, and the surrounding leafy streets
boast fine examples of Federal architecture. New Hampshire Routes 1 or I-95
Visitor informationProvidence Providence
is a great walking city: stroll Benefit Street’s “mile of history” to
see an impressive group of Colonial and Federal houses; or visit
Waterplace Park with its pretty walkways along the Providence River.
Atwells Avenue on Federal Hill is Providence’s Little Italy, bustling
with restaurants and cafés. Rhode Island Routes 1 or I-95
Visitor informationNewport A
playground for the rich since the late 1860s. Many of the elaborate
so-called “cottages” built by 19th-century industrialists are open for
tours, including Breakers (Ochre Point Ave). For natural beauty, hike
the 3.6-mile (5.5 km) Cliff Walk overlooking Narragansett Bay and
Easton’s Beach. Rhode Island Routes I-93, 24, & 114
Visitor information23 America’s Cup Ave 1 401 845 9123
|
