The Berkshires
Designed by the renowned architect Stanford White in 1885, this 44-room Gilded Age 'cottage' was the summer retreat of Joseph Hodges Choate, a former US…
Must-see attractions in Massachusetts
Boston
The city’s second-oldest cemetery – dating from 1660 – is the final resting place for an estimated 10,000 souls. It is named for William Copp, who…
Massachusetts
Visit Gloucester's working waterfront and see the ongoing restoration of wooden boats, watch the operation of a marine railway that hauls ships out of the…
WHOI Ocean Science Exhibit Center
Cape Cod
You'll gain insights into the work of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution at this museum, where interactive exhibits include a full-size model of the…
Boston
The interactive, educational exhibits at the delightful Boston Children’s Museum keep kids entertained for hours. Highlights include a bubble exhibit,…
The Berkshires
Since 1879 every single American bill has been printed on paper made by the Crane Company, based in the small mill town of Dalton. The Crane Museum of…
Pioneer Valley
The world can always do with a little more peace. A group of monks, nuns and volunteers are doing their part in an unexpected spot in the woods near the…
The Berkshires
Most out-of-towners head to Mt Greylock, and leave October Mountain State Forest to the locals. This 16,500-acre state park is the largest tract of green…
Mary Baker Eddy Library & Mapparium
Back Bay
The Mary Baker Eddy Library houses one of Boston’s hidden treasures. The intriguing Mapparium is a room-sized, stained-glass globe that visitors walk…
Boston
Where once there was a hulking overhead highway, now winds a 27-acre strip of landscaped gardens, fountain-lined greens and public art installations. The…
Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge
Cape Cod
Take Morris Island Rd beyond the Chatham lighthouse to reach this 7600-acre wildlife refuge, spreading from Morris Island to encompass the shifting sands…
Massachusetts
Every American is familiar with The Spirit of ’76, the patriotic painting (c 1876) by Archibald M Willard, depicting three American Revolution figures –…
Kenmore Square & Fenway
This majestic building has been the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1900, when it was built by McKim, Mead & White (of Boston Public Library…
Cape Cod
Of the more than 3000 shipwrecks off the Cape's coast, the Whydah is one of the best documented and is the subject of this family-friendly museum…
Boston
This stern, Federal brick building was the first of three houses designed by Charles Bulfinch for Mr Harrison Gray Otis at the end of the 18th century…
Pioneer Valley
Stones trapped swirling in the roiling Deerfield River have been grinding into the rock bed at this location ever since the ice age. The result: 50 near…
Cape Cod
A local favorite that's missed by most visitors, this wooden-plank boardwalk extends a scenic 1350ft across an expansive marsh to Town Neck Beach. The…
Boston
Named after Boston’s first settler, this tiny warren of streets dates to the 17th and 18th centuries. Established in 1826, Union Oyster House is Boston’s…
Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
Cambridge
Science-lovers and history buffs can geek out at this small but fascinating museum. Located inside the Harvard Science Center, it showcases a selection of…
Cambridge
Only the mischief-makers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) would come up with the kind of quirky stuff that's on display here. An exhibit on…
Martha's Vineyard
Also known as the Gay Head Cliffs, these clay cliffs, overlooking a 5-mile-long beach, were formed by glaciers 100 million years ago. Rising 150ft from…
South Shore
John and Abigail Adams and John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams are all interred in the basement of the handsome granite United First Parish Church, in…
Cape Cod
Part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, this wide, dune-backed beach has limited facilities, but there are lifeguards in summer. If you happen to be there…
Boston's Western Suburbs
One mile east of the Battle Green, this historic tavern is named for the 18th-century proprietor, William Munroe, who was also an orderly sergeant in the…
Cape Cod
Directly below Chatham Light is Lighthouse Beach, an endless expanse of sea and sandbars that offers some of the finest beach strolling on Cape Cod…
Pioneer Valley
The main street of Historic Deerfield Village escaped the ravages of time and now presents a noble prospect: a dozen houses dating from the 1700s and…
Cape Cod
This boutique vineyard, the first on the Outer Cape, is worth a stop. In recent times it has added a boutique distillery, South Hollow Spirits, producing…
Massachusetts
Thompson Island was settled as early as 1626 by a Scotsman, David Thompson, who set up a trading post to do business with the Neponset Indians. Today this…
John F Kennedy National Historic Site
Streetcar Suburbs
Four of the nine Kennedy children were born and raised in this modest house, including Jack, who was born in the master bedroom in 1917. Matriarch Rose…
Northfield Mountain Recreation & Environmental Center
Pioneer Valley
Stretching 7 miles along the Connecticut River, this attractive recreation area is maintained by the hydroelectric company that dammed the river (as per…
Martha's Vineyard
Mass Audubon's Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, 3 miles northwest of Edgartown center, is a birder's paradise, with miles of trails skirting fields, marshes…
Massachusetts
The lavish home of interior designer Henry Davis Sleeper is known as Beauport, or the Sleeper-McCann mansion. Sleeper scoured New England for houses that…
Pioneer Valley
The 20 galleries of this art deco–style building are filled with lesser paintings of the great European masters and better works of lesser masters. The…
Cape Cod
Part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, Marconi is a narrow Atlantic beach backed by sea cliffs and undulating dunes. Facilities include changing rooms,…
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Cape Cod
Birders flock to Mass Audubon's 940-acre sanctuary, where 5 miles of trails cross tidal creeks, salt marshes and beaches. The most popular is the Goose…
South Shore
In 1636, local leaders constructed a gristmill on Town Brook so that the growing community could grind corn and produce cornmeal. Today, the replica mill…
Cape Cod
In the mid- to late afternoon, head to Chatham Fish Pier, 1 mile north of Chatham Light, to watch the fishing fleet unload its daily catch.This is a prime…
Boston's Western Suburbs
Also known as the 'Home of Authors,' this gracious Colonial mansion was home to three writers of note during the 19th century. Louisa May Alcott,…
Martha's Vineyard
Built in 1844 with a state-of-the-art Fresnel lens, this red-brick structure on the Gay Head Cliffs is arguably the most scenic lighthouse on the Vineyard…
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
Cambridge
The centerpiece of the Peabody is the impressive Hall of the North American Indian, which traces how these peoples responded to the arrival of Europeans…
