Area Day Trips? Suggestions, please? (Boston, Worcester: how much, theater, live)

[lorilou]

We are looking for quaint towns to visit for short day trips over the winter break next week. Beyond the obvious, can anyone recommend walkable towns with cute/interesting shops to visit in MA?

[2KidsforMe]

Have you been to Portsmouth, NH? I love the downtown. Lots of great old buildings, shops and places to eat. I like Newport RI, Newburyport, MA and Rockport MA for day trips as well. Salem can be a fun day too.

[Lowerdeck]

Though it's in Connecticut (but a half hour south of Worcester), Putnam has a pretty decent downtown area, with a bunch of antique and independent shops. But, it's pretty small also.

Portsmouth and Newport are good selections. Portland ME is nice too, if you're willing to take the hike up that far.

I wonder how much of an argument can be made for Lowell, New Bedford, and Nashua NH.

[lrfox]

lorilou, it's probably too late to suggest this, but I'm going to throw in New Bedford, Massachusetts as a good day trip.

I'd make your base for the day, the New Bedford Whaling District National Historic Park. It's a preserved 13 block section of Downtown New Bedford where you'll find parking, an information center, all sorts of shops and restaurants as well as galleries. All of the streets here are cobblestone and the architecture is gorgeous. Herman Melville lived here and wrote "Moby Dick" while on a New Bedford Whaling Ship. Many of the landmarks described in that book are still in the city and open to the public. Check the link for more info.

You can't miss the Whaling Museum. This gem is the centerpiece of the National Historic Park and the largest of its kind in the world. Inside are skeletons from various species of whales, and actual scrimshaw and other local art from the Whaling District. There's also a 1/2 scale model of a whaling ship that you can board and explore.

Down the Street (5 minute walk along cobbled streets) is the New Bedford Art Museum which always has some good collections.

The Ocean Explorium is less than a year old and still growing. It has been featured in many publications as one of the best new attractions in the region. Absolutely worth checking out. If you have kids, they'll enjoy it. It's right next to the National Historic park and about a 2 minute walk from the Whaling Museum.

If you want a show or some music, check out the Zeiterion Theatre to see what's playing during your visit. It's a beautiful historic theater right downtown.

New Bedford also has a very nice little zoo (Buttonwood Park Zoo) that's worth checking out if you have kids. It's only 1.5 miles from Downtown so it's easy to drive and park there.

Make sure you walk down by the water and check out the fishing boats and the Schooner Ernestina (http://www.ernestina.org/history.html - broken link). New Bedford has the highest grossing fishing fleet in the country and there are so many boats that they have to park 3 or more at a single slip. The sight of all the boats is quite entertaining.

If you're looking to eat, New Bedford is famous for two things. Portuguese food and Seafood. The best Portuguese food in town (or at least, best known) is Antonio's about 1 mile North of Downtown. Martha Stewart frequents Antionio's whenever she's in the Northeast and says it's the best Portuguese food in the U.S. It's excellent and portions are affordable and huge. The Waterfront Grille offers excellent, fresh seafood (try the scallops, they're what New Bedford does best) at affordable prices. The restaurant is also (as the name implies) right on the water so you get a view of the fishing fleet. Cork is a great tapas and small plates place (excellent wine list) in the historic district.

Other great restaurants to try are the Fresca Grill, Ginger Grill, Spicy Lime, No Problemo (great burritos), and a downtown staple, Freestone's.

If you have extra time, a drive down to Fort Taber is always worth it. They have a Military History Museum there that's a lot of fun. It's a big park located right on the water with views of Buzzard's Bay, The Elizabethan Islands and Martha's Vineyard.

[holden125]

New Bedford's worth a look, it's often overlooked.

Aren't you in Franklin? Stonington and Mystic, CT are not that far. Newport, as was suggested.

If you don't want to go as far as Portsmouth or Portland, there are towns north of Boston like Marblehead, Gloucester, Rockport, Newburyport.

Northampton or Amherst, Deerfield to the west. Springfield has the basketball Hall of Fame and the Dr. Suess memorial near a quadrangle with some nice museums.

So many nice places in New England!

[Raven1976]

I love Salem!