People and Culture Itinerary
PEOPLE & CULTURE: 14-Day Itinerary
Here’s how to fill a New England vacation with art, literature, music, and history of all kinds, from indigenous to industrial. Oh, and there’s lots of great eats along the way, too!
DAYS 1 & 2: LEXINGTON & CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS
Learn more about visiting Massachusetts
Lodging ideas: Archer Hotel (Burlington), Colonial Inn (Concord), The Groton Inn (Groton), Inn at Hastings Park (Lexington), Residence Inn (Westford), The Verve Hotel (Boston)
Book a ride with Helicopter Tour Boston for an unforgettable overview of Boston, where Paul Revere began his famous midnight ride in 1775. Then dive into Revolutionary War history at the Lexington Battle Green and Minute Man National Historical Park, where the famous “shot heard round the world” was fired at Concord’s North Bridge.
Concord is also a place for literary pilgrimages. Highlights include Henry David Thoreau’s birthplace, Thoreau Farm, and Walden Pond; Louisa May Alcott’s home, Orchard House; and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the final resting place of Thoreau, Alcott, Emerson, and Hawthorne, among others.
Refined refueling awaits at Lexington’s Inn at Hastings Park, renowned for elegant high teas, and if you have time to spare, detour to Hudson’s American Heritage Museum to learn about the nation’s military conflicts, from the Revolutionary War to today.
DAYS 3–5: NEW HAMPSHIRE
Learn more about visiting New Hampshire
Lodging ideas: Hanover Inn (Hanover), Hotel Concord (Concord), Inn at Mill Falls (Meredith), The NASWA Resort (Laconia), Wolfeboro Inn (Wolfeboro)
In New Hampshire’s capital, touring the 1819 gold-domed State House is a must—as is browsing downtown’s many shops and cafés. Stop into the League of NH Craftsmen Gallery to peruse local artisans’ work, from jewelry and ceramics to woodworking.
On the way to the Lakes Region is Canterbury Shaker Village, whose 29 historic buildings tell the stories of more than two centuries of Shaker life. A half hour later, you’ll be on the doorstep of Lake Winnipesaukee. Survey the state’s biggest lake from the Sophie C. mailboat (the nation’s oldest floating post office) or from the mountaintop estate Castle in the Clouds.
On day two, head to the Upper Valley for art-centric adventures. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park preserves the summer home of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens along with several of his works, while Dartmouth College boasts one of the nation’s best university art museums, the Hood Museum of Art (don’t miss the “hidden gem” in Baker Library: José Clemente Orozco’s sprawling mural The Epic of American Civilization.)
DAYS 5 & 6: VERMONT
Learn more about visiting Vermont
Lodging ideas: The Landmark Trust properties (Kipling’s Naulakha, Amos Brown House, etc.—all in Dummerston), Rabbit Hill Inn (Lower Waterford)
Start your day in St. Johnsbury by marveling at Albert Bierstadt’s wall-sized painting The Domes of the Yosemite at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, founded in 1871. The nearby Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium combines a fascinating Victorian-era natural history collection with Vermont’s only public planetarium. Then it’s off to Dog Mountain, a 150-acre park for pups and people that brims with founder Stephen Huneck’s colorful folk art.
Follow the Connecticut River south to bustling Brattleboro for a mix of culture and agriculture: After checking out the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, head to Retreat Farm, which connects people with the land through interpretive walks and farm tours. Or visit Scott Farm Orchard, which raises 130 varieties of heirloom apples on land first cultivated in 1791, and behold the artful stone installations of its Stone Wall Park.
DAYS 7 & 8: CONNECTICUT
Learn more about visiting Connecticut
Lodging ideas: Doubletree by Hilton (Hartford Downtown), New Haven Hotel (New Haven), Hotel Marcel (New Haven)
In Hartford, literary fans can enjoy a double feature: Explore the Mark Twain House & Museum, which preserves the 25-room Victorian mansion that was once home to the famous American writer, then stop into the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center to learn more about the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Both Twain and Stowe likely frequented Bushnell Park, established in 1850; its carousel has been delighting visitors since 1914. Fanning out from the park are streets filled with restaurants, shops, and attractions like the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
From Hartford, motor south to New Haven, home of the Ivy League’s Yale University. Take a tour of the campus and visit Yale’s world-class art and natural history museums, then take a break to enjoy New Haven–style pizza at one of the “holy trinity”: Modern Apizza, Frank Pepe’s, and Sally’s.
On your way out of the Nutmeg State, take an eye-opening detour to the world’s largest Native American museum, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, which spotlights the history and culture of indigenous peoples in the Northeast.
DAYS 9 & 10: NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
Learn more about visiting Rhode Island
Lodging ideas: Admiral Fitzroy Inn, Gardiner House, Rose Island Lighthouse
Step inside the “summer cottages” of Gilded Age tycoons at the Newport Mansions, a collection that includes opulent estates like The Breakers and Marble House as well as the oldest topiary garden in the U.S. Some of the world’s most expensive and extreme examples of automotive engineering, meanwhile, are found at the Audrain Auto Museum and Portsmouth’s Newport Car Museum.
Take a scenic cruise on the Jamestown Newport Ferry; among its stops is the Rose Island Lighthouse, which is part museum, part inn (reserve in advance, and you can actually sleep in the 1870 keeper’s house). And don’t leave Newport without drinks and dinner at the nation’s oldest continuously operating restaurant, White Horse Tavern, which debuted over a century before the Revolutionary War.
DAYS 11 & 12: MASSACHUSETTS
Learn more about visiting Massachusetts
Lodging ideas: Beechwood Hotel (Worcester), Hotel Northampton (Northampton), Inn on Boltwood (Amherst)
Embrace outdoor art at Lincoln’s deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, with 60 artworks scattered over 30 acres. More alfresco culture awaits in Worcester in the form of 100-plus street-art murals downtown. Alternatively, you can see nature’s masterpieces in bloom at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill.
On day two, learn about the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution at Worcester’s Blackstone River Valley Heritage Center, gateway for Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. Or detour west to the Pioneer Valley, home to the fabled “Five Colleges.” The schools anchor lively, walkable towns such as Amherst, where you can take in a show at The Drake or visit the Emily Dickinson Museum.
Have time to spare on your way out of the Bay State? Check out the acclaimed Groton Music Center, or head to Lowell for a self-guided walking tour of sites related to Beat author Jack Kerouac.
DAYS 13 & 14: PORTLAND, MAINE
Learn more about visiting Maine
Lodging ideas: AWOL (Kennebunkport), Cape Arundel Inn & Resort (Kennebunkport), Cliff House (Cape Neddick), Harraseeket Inn (Freeport), Hilton Garden Inn (Portland Downtown Waterfront), Sebasco Harbor Resort (Phippsburg)
Work up an appetite amid Casco Bay views on Portland’s Eastern Promenade, then immerse yourself in the local culinary scene on a seafood lovers’ tour led by Maine Day Ventures or NaviTour. As the day winds down, head to Fort Williams Park to view Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse.
A short drive from Portland is charming Kennebunkport, where you can lunch riverside at The Boathouse, set sail on the Schooner Eleanor, and enjoy farm-to-table fine dining at Earth at Hidden Pond. Farther south is Ogunquit, whose Marginal Way cliff walk leads to Perkins Cove, a fishing village packed with seafood restaurants, shops, and galleries.
Itinerary created in partnership with Yankee Publishing. DATTCO Coach & Tour is Discover New England’s transportation partner.
