15 Best Places to Visit in New England in 2023

Made up of six distinctive and distinct states, New England is a area wealthy in historical past, tradition, artwork and structure, outside journey, bustling cities, and quaint coastal cities. Its numerous choices, all discovered in shut proximity to each other, is what units it aside. You can catch a ballgame at historic Fenway Park and, simply over an hour later, sink your toes into the Atlantic whereas savoring a lobster roll on Cape Cod. From towering mountains to windswept seashores to acres of undisturbed nature, listed below are the very best locations to go to in New England!

1. Manchester, Vermont

Nestled in the fascinating Green Mountains of southern Vermont, Manchester made its mark way back as a affluent iron-mining city, and hints of its previous are nonetheless evident in the architectural particulars discovered all through the downtown. Today it’s a playground for outside fans, providing ample house to stroll, hike, bicycle, kayak and, after all, go fly fishing. In reality, right here you’ll discover the American Museum of Fly Fishing, with tons of rods, reels, flies, and artwork that inform the story of how this peaceable Vermont pastime labored its means into America’s coronary heart. 

Mount Equinox, shining all yr however notably spectacular in the autumn, presides over the picturesque city. A path will get you to the height, however you may as well drive to the highest the place you received’t be disillusioned by the quintessential sprawling Vermont view. For an architectural indulgence, go to Hildene, the ancestral dwelling of Robert Lincoln, the one little one of President Abraham Lincoln and his spouse Mary Todd to survive to maturity. The 412-acre property is dwelling to a surprising Georgian revival mansion and 14 historic buildings, together with the house, a surprising formal backyard, and an observatory.

2. Burlington, Vermont

While most affiliate the Green Mountain State with its beautiful pure magnificence, the town of  Burlington charms every person with its pedestrian-friendly downtown peppered filled with mom-and-pop outlets, eateries, and happenings. Church Street Marketplace, an open-air walkable mall, encompasses 4 blocks of issues to see, do, and style. Cafés line the streets, and colourful umbrellas shade tables in {the summertime}. The Unitarian Church on the finish of Church Street boasts a gorgeous white steeple that reaches far into the sky, making for one of many metropolis’s hottest spots for pictures. 

At the very backside of Church Street you’ll discover Burlington Waterfront Park, a surprising expanse that stretches alongside the Lake Champlain shoreline and gives panoramic views, a surprising bike path, and myriad occasions and festivals. The most populous metropolis in Vermont, Burlington is simply south of the US-Canadian border and is a superb vacation spot to go to any season of the yr. 

3. Stowe, Vermont

Dubbed the ski capital of the east, Stowe is greatest recognized for the resort that bears its identify. Stowe Mountain Resort, surrounded by Spruce Peak and Mount Mansfield, the tallest peak in Vermont, has slopes catering to each ability stage. You can climb to Mount Mansfield’s summit by way of the scenic Auto Toll Road. We guarantee you that it’s definitely worth the journey. Stowe is the biggest city in Vermont by land space, and its success was constructed on the agriculture and lumber industries that thrived there in the late seventeenth and early Nineteenth centuries. Today, the city’s 200-year-old business middle is a historic district with tons of quaint outlets, welcoming eating places, and lodging that ranges from quintessential New England mattress and breakfasts to motels and grand European-style lodges. 

Though snowboarding and snowboarding take middle stage in Stowe, the city is equally enchanting exterior of winter. In the hotter months, climbing, dipping into swimming holes, and sky-riding or zip-lining over the valleys of natural world are standard actions, and it could simply be the very best place to go to in New England in the autumn. Mountain biking is one other favourite exercise, particularly on the path community on the 2,500-acre Trapp Family Lodge, based by the Trapp household of The Sound of Music fame and a nod to their native Austria. Just a bit methods north of city is the fascinating Moss Glen Falls, the spotlight of a three-mile path the place water cascades down a jagged, steep rock face with a number of vantage factors for the right ’gram pic. If you aren’t up for a stroll, concern not: the falls are conveniently shut to the trailhead.   

4. The Berkshires, Massachusetts 

This rural expanse of western Massachusetts is understood for being a pure surprise, a star enclave, and a cradle of artwork and tradition. Though Meryl Streep, Yo-Yo Ma, and James Taylor are simply among the glitterati who get pleasure from houses in the Berkshires, its most notable resident may need been famed American illustrator Norman Rockwell. He lived in the sleepy however charming city of Stockbridge, the place as we speak you will discover the world’s largest assortment of his authentic works on the Norman Rockwell Museum. Author Herman Melville additionally wrote Moby Dick in the Berkshires, and girls’s proper activist Susan B. Anthony was born and raised right here. 

Although there’s no place like Massachusetts in the autumn, the Berkshires are notably welcoming in the summer season. Tanglewood, an open-air amphitheater, has been the outside summer season dwelling of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Throughout the season, music aficionados unfold out picnic blankets and revel in concert events below the celebrities. Encompassing a part of the Taconic Mountain vary, the Berkshires boast numerous acres for leisure actions, together with snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and climbing, making it the right weekend getaway in New England.

5. Nantucket, Massachusetts

One merely can not spotlight the very best locations to go to in New England with out together with Nantucket. Situated 30 miles out to sea, the Gray Lady’s charms are irresistible, with century-old cobblestone streets, unforgettable vistas, and cedar-shingle houses that haven’t modified a lot for the reason that period in which the island was thought-about the whaling capital of the world. 

Located on the easternmost level of the island, the picturesque Sankaty Head Light, a lighthouse constructed in 1850, stands majestically above the ocean, and its daring purple and white stripes will be seen from far and large. The close by village of ’Sconset boasts attractive ocean views, a windswept seashore, and the beloved ’Sconset Bluff Walk. This slim path weaves by the village and gives front-row views of saltbox cottages lined with blooming seashore roses and anchored by numerous blue hydrangeas. The space has been referred to as probably the most stunning place in Nantucket (and there’s some stiff competitors!)

Related Article: 12 Most Beautiful Islands in New England

Downtown doesn’t look a lot completely different than it did 100 years in the past, with its extra-wide streetscape, mom-and-pop outlets, and acquainted monument in the sq., a repurposed consuming fountain that’s been there since 1885. While greatest recognized for its summer season splendor,  Nantucket shines brightly all through the vacation season with embellished timber round each nook and the Christmas Stroll – a festive celebration held the primary weekend of December. There’s actually no query why Nantucket is likely one of the most treasured cities in New England.

6. Boston, Massachusetts

The greatest recognized New England metropolis, Boston means quite a lot of various things to quite a lot of completely different individuals. The crossroads of American historical past, dwelling of enthusiastic sports activities matchups, a bastion of upper training and cultural treasures, Boston is a sturdy, forward-thinking metropolis that additionally celebrates its previous. For baseball followers, historic and legendary Fenway Park, constructed in 1912, is such a landmark. There are excursions day by day, 12 months a yr, rain or shine, and a go to there is likely one of the most iconic issues to do in New England. The metropolis’s beloved 2.5-mile Freedom Trail connects 16 nationally important historic websites, together with the Paul Revere House, the USS Constitution (higher often called Old Ironsides), the positioning of the Boston Massacre, and picture-perfect Boston Common – America’s oldest public park, relationship again to 1634 and that includes 44 manicured acres that welcome round three million guests annually.

Boston is dwelling to 45 schools and universities accounting for greater than 150,000 college students scattered all through the numerous numerous neighborhoods that make up the town. Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Quincy Market, positioned in the guts of the town, is the place you’ll discover the Food Colonnade, dwelling to greater than 30 distributors touting myriad cultural flavors – however save your clam chowder sampling for close by Union Oyster House, Boston’s oldest restaurant. The metropolis’s Seaport District is a thriving, full of life neighborhood with eating places, outlets, and the favored Lawn on D, an open air-space devoted to neighborhood occasions and household enjoyable.

7. Kennebunkport, Maine

When conjuring up the idyllic photos of coastal Maine, Kennebunkport needs to be prime of thoughts for its craggy rocky shoreline, charming downtown, and recent catch served up throughout city. Its palpable attraction would possibly simply make Kennebunkport the most effective trip spots in New England. Once a shipbuilding middle, Kennebunkport has a fascinating waterfront that’s the heartbeat of the city. The village vibe downtown is centered round Dock Square, which is peppered with loads of outlets and pleasant eateries. For an off-the-cuff chunk, the Clam Shack, one of many state’s oldest working fish markets, is a Kennebunkport icon greatest recognized for buttery lobster rolls piled excessive with savory claw meat. 

One of the very best methods to see Kennebunkport, a great place for a getaway weekend in New England, is by water, and you are able to do so on a paddleboard tour, sailboat tour, or perhaps a lobster boat tour. If you need to keep on dry floor, take a scenic drive on the aptly named Ocean Avenue out to Walker’s Point, greatest often called the house of the Bush household compound. You can take a snapshot, however the Secret Service received’t allow you to linger for lengthy! This is, in any case, nonetheless a household dwelling, however you may discover the First Families Kennebunkport Museum to study extra in regards to the Bush household historical past in the realm. Nearby Cape Porpoise, an equally quaint and quiet working fishing village on the southern coast, simply captures hearts and is the very best vantage level to see the picturesque Goat Island Lighthouse, constructed in 1834.

8. Keene, New Hampshire

While it doesn’t all the time seize prime headlines, Keene is a darling metropolis in southwestern New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region, sleepily perched on the Ashuelot River. While the spoils of outside adventures are throughout, the town’s heartbeat is its village-like middle usually bustling with households, {couples}, and tons of scholars since each Keene State College and Antioch University New England are inside the metropolis limits. In brief, Keene by no means fails to attraction.

The Cheshire Rail Trail is likely one of the space’s most beloved points of interest, and Keene is an ideal break in the path’s 42 scenic miles. You can stroll, run, or experience the path, which incorporates a stone arch bridge over the Ashuelot River in close by Gilsum. Families love each Stonewall Farm and its cows, horses, and goats, in addition to the Cheshire Children’s Museum, that includes interactive reveals, themed playrooms, and a chosen toddler-friendly space. And whereas the Hannah Grimes Marketplace seems a bit like an abnormal storefront, on the within it’s a treasure trove filled with greater than 200 native artisans and distributors promoting foodstuffs and funky merchandise. 

9. White Mountains, New Hampshire

The White Mountains is a variety protecting a couple of quarter of the state of New Hampshire (plus a bit little bit of western Maine) and encompassing a 750,000-acre nationwide forest. The spotlight is stately Mount Washington, the northeast’s highest peak. Take vacationing in New England to new heights as you climb the famed Mount Washington Auto Road, a steep 7.6-mile drive nicknamed the Road to the Sky, which has been an attraction since 1861. 

New Hampshire State Parks confirms that on a transparent day, views from the mountain’s 6,288-foot summit prolong so far as 130 miles and take in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Quebec, and even the Atlantic Ocean.

Myriad standard cities dot the White Mountain area, together with Laconia, North Conway, Lincoln, and numerous extra. Each shares a visceral magnificence and many to do for adventurers, however all of them have their very own distinct small-town character. One of the very best methods to take all of it in is by way of the legendary Kancamagus Highway, a 34-mile National Scenic Byway filled with jaw-dropping pure surprise and wildlife. 

10. Newport, Rhode Island

An absolute must-visit in New England, Newport captures the hearts of tourists with its miles of craggy New England shoreline, Gilded Age mansion museums, windswept seashores to stroll any time of yr, and the nation’s largest intact assortment of colonial period buildings – a favourite of artwork and structure lovers from far and large. Despite all its grandeur, Newport’s most visited place is Cliff Walk, a free, 3.5 mile path that traces the sting of the Atlantic Ocean and gives views of the manicured landscapes of the famed Newport mansions. There’s no surprise why it’s some of the standard points of interest in New England! 

If you favor to take in Mother Nature’s splendor by automotive, don’t miss Ocean Drive (or just “the Drive,” because the locals say). Part of a historic district, this miles-long highway runs alongside the southernmost fringe of Aquidneck Island and is dwelling to Brenton Point State Park, which gives 89 idyllic acres to picnic, calm down, discover, and fly a kite in the regular ocean breeze. 

With its lauded maritime historical past, a go to to Newport should embody a visit by the glistening waters of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay. Whether on a sailboat or energy cruiser, your greatest vantage level to see Fort Adams, Rose Island Lighthouse, Hammersmith Farm (the place John and Jacqueline Kennedy had their wedding ceremony reception), and different grand historic houses is aboard a seaworthy vessel. 

11. Providence, Rhode Island

The Creative Capital, as Providence is known as, is understood for its vibrant cultural scene, its prowess as a middle for manufacturing and business throughout the 1800s, its sturdy educational neighborhood, and an enviable meals scene. Home to Johnson & Wales University – one of many prime ranked culinary schools in the world – Providence is rife with hungry culinary expertise keen to please and craft artistic, memorable dishes, whether or not informal avenue eats or refined palate pleasers. 

One of the town’s most beloved ongoing occasions is WaterFire, an set up of greater than 100 bonfires that burn shiny in caldrons put in above the floor of three rivers that run by the town. The occasion unfolds a number of occasions all year long at dusk, and almost a million individuals expertise it yearly. Many attendees are college students, as Providence is dwelling to Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, and 5 different establishments of upper studying. 

Venture exterior the downtown space to the Roger Williams Park Zoo, dwelling to greater than 150 animals from all over the world in pure settings. Be certain to get pleasure from particular experiences like feeding a giraffe or sea lion!

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12. Mystic, Connecticut

Before it was made well-known by the wildly standard 1988 movie Mystic Pizza, Mystic was well-known for its marine commerce legacy. A shipbuilding middle for hundreds of years and greatest recognized for constructing picket clipper ships, this waterfront village on scenic Mystic River is likely one of the most charming and visited locations in Connecticut. The Mystic Seaport Museum is a tremendous place to begin your exploration. It’s the nation’s main maritime museum and residential to a whole lot of shipbuilding instruments, figureheads, interactive reveals, and the recreation of a Nineteenth-century seafaring village with commerce outlets and companies from the 1800s that have been transported to the museum from areas round New England. 

Downtown Mystic is made up of quaint buildings and not using a highrise in sight. The Mystic River Bascule Bridge, constructed in 1922, is open to each foot site visitors and autos and permits boat site visitors to journey by as properly. This space is filled with vintage outlets, eating places and, sure, the unique Mystic Pizza, which is price a attempt! The Mystic Aquarium is nothing wanting spectacular and is one in all solely two aquariums in the nation with Steller sea lions; it additionally has the one beluga whales in New England. Informative and fascinating indoor and outside reveals promote training and conservation, nevertheless it’s the lovely animals just like the African penguins, seals, and sea lions that steal the present. 

13. Washington, Connecticut 

Also often called Washington Depot, this rural a part of Connecticut is simply 38 sq. miles and residential to simply 4,000 full-time residents – and they’re in on one thing particular. With the city being kind of between New York City and Boston, it’s no surprise that individuals flock right here from busy close by metropolitan areas. Encompassing 5 villages, Washington is admired for its quiet simplicity, farmers market, farm-to-table eating places, and exquisite inns, together with the Mayflower Inn & Spa. This beautiful nation retreat, nestled on 58 acres, was the inspiration for the favored tv collection Gilmore Girls, and the encompassing city seems identical to a Hollywood set of picture-perfect milieus.

Natural magnificence surrounds Washington, which was named for George Washington; he traveled by the realm a number of occasions throughout wartime earlier than changing into the nation’s first president. Nowhere is that magnificence extra on show than at Hollister House Garden, the place you’ll discover an 18th-century dwelling located on a sloping terraced web site with romantic English-inspired manicured nation gardens. It is a feast for the eyes! For a extra nature-based expertise, Kent Falls State Park is a visceral wonderland with a collection of waterfalls which can be good for selfies.

14. Acadia National Park, Maine

One would possibly say Acadia National Park embodies all that Maine is understood for, besides lobster rolls. Its craggy shoreline, glistening waters, lush acres, enchanting wildlife – Look out for moose! – and rocky headlands are all the things individuals envision when Vacationland, Maine’s moniker, is a subject of dialog. One of the highest 10 most visited nationwide parks in the US, this huge expanse of magnificence includes 47,000 fascinating acres and is known as the crown jewel of the North Atlantic coast. 

Thousands of individuals come to Acadia to camp, hike, fish, and spot animals in their pure habitat, however day-trippers can expertise the 27-mile Park Loop Road on Mount Desert Island by automotive. The drive begins in equally charming Bar Harbor and goes by mountains, lakes, shoreline, and forests, main you to perceive why Maine is dubbed the Pine Tree State. Pull off at any of the quite a few statement factors alongside the highway to soak all of it in. 

15. Cape Cod, Massachusetts 

There’s a cause why the Kennedy household compound is on Cape Cod: its pure magnificence and Rockwellian attraction are plain. In reality, President Kennedy created the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961, defending 43,607 acres that not solely embody the pristine sandy seashores of the Atlantic Ocean however marshes, ponds, and uplands as properly. While taking your time to discover the Cape Cod National Seashore on foot is right, off-roaders will love the part of the seashore that rents off-road autos.

Wellfleet, positioned midway between the tip and elbow of Cape Cod, is dwelling to a surprising unspoiled seashore. But beware! Sharks are prevalent in these waters, notably at Newcomb Hollow Beach. The city can also be world well-known for its oysters and is dwelling to greater than 100 growers. 

Hyannis Port, synonymous with the Kennedy household, is the place you’ll discover the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, the most effective locations to go to on Cape Cod. The Cape Cod Maritime Museum, additionally positioned right here, tells the fascinating historical past of the area and has cool boat-building reveals on show. 

Head up to the northernmost tip of Cape Cod to expertise Provincetown, dwelling to 40 miles of seashores, tons of artwork galleries, eclectic outlets, superior eating places, and a festive scene in the summer season. For nearly a century, LGBTQ vacationers have made Provincetown a summer season vacation spot, and it’s a place that can seize your coronary heart. It can also be the very best place for whale watching on the Cape. 

Related Article: 15 Best Airbnbs in Cape Cod, MA

New England is really a one-of-a-kind place, which is why these six states welcome vacationers from all over the world all yr spherical. Though synonymous with fall foliage, New England is extraordinary in each season, and its points of interest, festivals and occasions, cultural and historic landmarks, and pure magnificence by no means fail to present a palpable feeling of locations you may’t wait to go to time and again.