A Guide to The Best New England Cities to Visit
New England is the northeastern part of the US and holds some of the prettiest and quietest cities within all of the United States. Most people like to visit New England during the fall and summer time. There are lots of beautiful beaches to relax at and many fun hikes to climb when the leaves are changing colors. From mountains to beaches, New England is FILLED with LOTS to do.
The states that make up New England are Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and sometimes New York. We will talk about fun cities and things to do in all these states to visit, as well as much more.
In this article you will read about the best New England cities to visit, New England cities to visit in the fall, winter, New England towns to visit in the summer, things to do in New England, New England States, best cities in New England for young adults, New England towns to visit, and more.
This article is all about New England cities to visit.
New England Cities to Visit:
1. Burlington, Vermont
First on our list, is Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is SUCH a fun and corky little city. It has a population of almost 43,000, which is actually Vermont’s biggest city. I’m sure for most people, this is still pretty small, but it’s okay because that is what Vermont is known for, small towns. So, if you’re not a big fan of huge crowds, like NYC, then this is a great place for you. There are TONS of fun things to do here. This is one of the best New England cities to visit in the winter, in my opinion.
One of the things I recommend doing is, going to the MANY different ski/snowboard resorts around Burlington. Burlington is just an hour away from some awesome ski resorts. Some ski mountains that I recommend going to are, Smuggler’s Notch, Mad River Glen, Sugarbush, Jay Peak (an hour and a half away), Stowe, and more. Now, if you’re planning on visiting in the summer, don’t worry there’s still LOADS to do, that you can find here in addition.
Church Street, Burlington
Some other fun things I recommend are, taking a stroll along Church Street, and doing a bar/shopping crawl. Also, I would visit and walk around the University of Vermont because the campus is super pretty. In addition, I recommend kayaking or renting a boat on Lake Champlain, going to a winery (here is a list of some), take a tour of the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory (actually located in Stowe, so you will have to drive about forty five minutes to get to), HIKE the green mountains (here is a link to some hikes) and go to Bromley’s high ropes adventure course and alpine slides in the summer.
{Related Post : The Best Ski Resorts in Vermont & How to Spend a Vermont Summer}
More fun towns to visit in Vermont are, Woodstock and Manchester, Vermont. This is one of the best New England cities to visit in the fall. It is pretty close to Killington, Pico, Okemo, Saskadena Six, and Quechee Falls & State Park. There’s also close by hiking, biking, horse back riding, snowmobiling, ice skating, and more that you can find here.
Manchester is nearby Stratton Ski Area, Magic, and Bromley. They also have a lot of different shopping in the town as well, that you can find here. Some great hikes nearby are Equinox Mountain, Stratton Mountain, Dear Leap Rock, Mount St. Catherine, the Bucklin Trail, and more that you can find here.
2. Lincoln, New Hampshire
Alright, the next New England city I recommend visiting is Lincoln, New Hampshire. Again, if you like the outdoors, then I highly recommend visiting Lincoln, New Hampshire. There are SO many amazing hikes to climb in or near Lincoln. The Franconia Ridge hike is only 10 minutes away from Lincoln. Some other great hikes close by are Mount Tom, Mount Field, Mount Willey, Mount Avalon Trail, Cannon, North + South Kinsman via Kinsman Ridge Trail, Mount Tripyramid, Whiteface, Mount Moosilauke & South Peak Loop, and Mount Osceola & East Osceola. Most of these hikes are apart of the New Hampshire 48 hiking challenge.
Another small town to stay at, also near a lot of hiking trails is, North Conway, NH. Wildcat Ridge Trail (also apart of the New Hampshire 48 Challenge) is only 25 minutes away. Some other close by hiking trails are Mount Willard, Mount Washington, and the Presidential Range (about an hour away). However, the Presidential Range is only 40 minutes from Lincoln, NH. Thus, if you can and you are an avid hiker, and you want to hike the White Mountains, you really want to stay in Lincoln, NH. There’s also a lot of skiing near North Conway, like Bretton Woods and Attitash ski resorts, and more that you can find here. These are the best New England towns to visit in the winter time and summer/fall, along with Burlington, VT.
{Related Post : The Best Ski Resorts in New Hampshire & Adirondack 46er Hiking Challenge}
3. Portland, Maine
Next on our list is Portland, Maine. This is our biggest city so far, being just over 66,000 people. Some great places to visit are, the Portland Head Lighthouse, Henry’s Public House, York beach (VERY cold water, not much above 65℉), Acadia National Park (here is a great website, informing you of all the fun things to do here), Peaks Island, Crescent Beach State Park, Allagash Brewing Company, Cliff Island, Eastern Promenade, Commercial and Congress Streets, Portland Flea-For-All, Bayside Bowl, Willard Beach, and East End Beach. Also, I would eat some lobster if you can because that is what Maine is most known for.
Now, if you’re more of an outdoorsy person and want to go to Maine for hiking, camping, etc, then I recommend staying near Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, or Rangeley, Maine. Baxter State Park is about 3 and a half hours north of Portland, and it offer a lot of hiking and camping, as well as Bangor, ME, being about 2 hours away if you don’t want to camp. Bangor is also a good town to stay in if you want to visit Acadia National Park or Ellsworth, Maine.
Another great place to stay is Rangeley, Maine, it is close to Tumbledown Mountain, Saddleback Mountain, and many more great hiking and camping places. These are some of the best New England places to visit in the fall.
{Related Post : Where to Hike in Maine}
4. Boston, Massachusetts
Alright, next on our list is Boston, Massachusetts. There are SO many things to do in Boston, plus SO much history. This is by far, our biggest city on the list, being homed to almost 700,000 people. Here is a list of 21 of the best historic sites, as well as here is a list of the best bars and bar crawls in Boston. A great street to travel to for food, shopping, and drinks in general, is, Newbury Street. Also, some great outlets, and fun stuff, are located here, in Lee, Massachusetts (a much smaller town in MA).
Another fun city to visit in Massachusetts is Salem, which is also the most haunted on our list. Which is why you should visit this city during Halloween or sometime during the fall. This city is almost as big as Burlington, but a little smaller. This town has immense history, from burning countless “witches,” to purifying dozens of towns, Salem has a ton of history.
Some things you can do is go on a Hocus Pocus tour (and see the “Hocus Pocus House,”) explore Essex Street, visit Bakers Island, and see Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Museum. Also, here are more witchy attractions to walk through, as well as, here. In addition, here are some great beaches to find, and lastly, the best streets for bars and shopping is, Chestnut Street.
5. Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Alright, next on our list are two cities that are great beach towns and the best New England towns to visit in the summer. They are Wellfleet and Provincetown, located in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Both of these cities are located near the end of Cape Cod. Wellfleet is a great place if you’re looking for outdoor fun and the beach. Provincetown is great for this too, but it has much more of a nightlife, and downtown area, than Wellfleet does. Here is a link for great things to do at both towns.
6. Westport, Connecticut
Okay, the next city we have on our list is, Westport, Connecticut. Again, Westport is a beach town and a great New England town to visit in summer. Some great beaches to soak up the sun at are, Compo Beach, Sherwood Island State Park, Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk neighborhood, and Southport Beach. Cockenoe Island is a great place for camping, shopping and bar crawling in downtown Westport. In addition, reef.com has LOADS of great beach attire, here is a link to their website.
Another fun town to visit in Connecticut is, Mystic. Yes, it is the town that has the famous Mystic Pizza Shop from the movie, Mystic Pizza with Julia Roberts. Mystic has a lot of fun shops and restaurants to see and eat at, as well as great ice cream shops. West Maine Street on the Marina is the main downtown road for shopping and eating, it is also where Mystic Pizza is located. In addition, in the fall time, they have a great, small, film festival that is a lot of fun to go to if it’s your first ever film festival. It’s on the smaller side, so it’s not intimidating, so you can dip your toes into the film festival scene, to see if you like it.
7. Newport, Rhode Island
Alright, almost to the last cities on our list, Newport, Rhode Island. Newport and Middletown, RI are great New England towns to visit in the summer time, because they are beach towns. However, there are a lot of tourist traps here in my opinion. I would stay away from Easton Beach and go to Sachuest (Second) Beach and Third Beach instead. Also, the Newport Cliff Walk is BEAUTIFUL, it does get crowded, so I would walk it EARLY in the morning or on a weekday. But otherwise it really is worth it, in my opinion, the views are really nice. You also get to see the famous different Newport mansions which is also cool to see. Also, Newport has a really cool downtown area, that I again, recommend walking through.
Another great town in Rhode Island is, Providence. It is the capital of Rhode Island and is the biggest city in the state. It is definitely a city city, it is not much of a beach town. However, the beaches are within 45 minutes of Providence. I recommend visiting and walking around the different university campuses such as, RISD, Providence College, Rhode Island College, and Brown University.
Some other fun outdoor activities during the summer to do here are, rent a bike along the East Bay Bike path, visit a state park (here is a list of great state parks within Rhode Island), visit some beaches (here are some great beaches), and of course, do some shopping and bar crawling (here is a list of the best streets within Providence for shopping and eating).
*Bonus* Upstate New York Towns
I say this as a bonus because a lot of people do not consider New York apart of New England, even though it’s apart of the northeast. However, I consider it to be apart of New England, which is why I wanted to put some upstate New York towns to visit in this article.
The first upstate New York town I recommend visiting is, Saratoga Springs. I actually grew up here, so I know a thing or two about this town. I recommend visiting it in the summer time, like July, because there’s more to do. There will be a lot more people there as well. This town is about half the size of Burlington, but still has a lot to do.
I recommend going to the Saratoga Race Track, walking down Broadway and having again, a bar/shopping crawl, taking a day trip to Lake George or Saratoga lake. You can kayak or rent a boat on either of these lakes, also, I would go to a lavender field (here is their location/website). In addition, you could see a play in Congress Park, hike the Lake George 12ster, (here is a link to the peaks), eat at the O’Brien Inn, go to the Saratoga Winery, and the Thirsty Owl.
Keene Valley & Lake Placid, New York
Some other great cities in upstate New York are Keene Valley and Lake Placid. These towns are about fifteen to twenty minutes away from one another, and offer similar activities to do. These are both smaller towns than Saratoga Springs, but offer SO many outdoor activities. First, if you like hiking, GO HERE, both these towns offer SO many INCREDIBLE hikes.
You could do any of the 46er hikes (here is a link to them), and here is a list of some great non 46er hikes (in paragraph 11). Also, you can kayak, canoe, or paddle board on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, also there are SO many little ponds and waterfalls you can go too and swim at as well (here is a link to some). And Shoebox Falls, and another list of great places to swim, can be found, here.
{Related Post : The Best Adirondack Towns}
Woodstock & Beacon, New York
Last on our list is Woodstock and Beacon, New York. These two towns are MUCH closer to New York City than Keene Valley and Lake Placid. They are about half the distance. Woodstock is a little farther and is more of a mountain town, and where you will find some great, smaller ski resorts along with some nice hiking in the Catskill Mountains. It is about two hours north of NYC, while Beacon is about an hour and a half north of the city. Beacon is much more of a fun little downtown city to visit. Both these towns are some of the best New England cities to visit in the fall.
And that wraps up our list of the best cities in New England. I hope you found at least one city that you can add to your travel list, and some fun, new ideas to do, while visiting. Thank you for reading, and comment below your favorite city in New England, thanks!
One Comment
Pingback: