Boston’s Top 10 : Day Trips – Historic New England

by



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)


  1. 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).

    • Massachusetts

    • Route 2

    Visitor information

  2. Concord

    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.

    • Massachusetts

    • Route 2

    Visitor information

  3. New 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 information

  4. Salem

    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.

    • Massachusetts

    • Route 1A

    Visitor information

  5. Plymouth

    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 information

  6. Lowell

    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 information

    • 246 Market St

    • 1 978 970 5000

    • Adm to Boott Cotton Mills Museum


    • www.nps.gov/lowe

  7. Old 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

  8. 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 information

  9. Providence

    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 information

  10. Newport

    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 information

    • 23 America’s Cup Ave

    • 1 401 845 9123