Introducing New England

You’re likely to return from New England with an album of images: white-clapboard churches on well-manicured greens; red-brick buildings on leafy college campuses; granite mountains majestically ablaze with fall colors; paint-peeling fishing boats bobbing at their mores. New England is all that, and more.

Besides rural charm, New England is also about urban grit. Industrial and port cities around the region were built on the backs of factory workers, mill girls and sailors. Today towns like Salem, Mystic, Lowell, Providence and Portland are remaking themselves as trendsetters and tourist destinations. No matter what new identity these cities take on, however, they retain their edgy undersides, fuelling innovative art and nonstop nightlife. Which brings us to our next point: New England is at the cutting edge of culture. With the recent opening of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston, the region is now home to two exciting, experimental contemporary art museums. Indie bands rock out in Boston, Portland, Providence and Burlington. The world-renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra takes its show on the road in summer, delighting audiences in the Berkshires. Around the region concert series, film festivals and theater productions make for a cultural calendar that is jam-packed and jaw-dropping.

New England is big on outdoor adventure: you’ll find a sport for every season. Whether you’re hurdling over carriage roads on a mountain bike or swooping down a snowy slope on a snowboard, the rounded peaks of the region’s mountain ranges give everyone a rush. While you’re paddling the luxuriously languid inland lakes or rafting down a rippling river, her waterways awaken your senses. Whether you’re bird-watching or building sand castles, her windswept beaches are beguiling.

New England is history. It’s the Pilgrims who came ashore at Plymouth Rock and the minutemen who fought for American independence. But it’s also contemporary. It’s the farmers and fishermen struggling for survival; students and immigrants, always adapting. New England oozes individuality and diversity; it’s colorful and controversial, free-thinking and forward-looking.