Massachusetts' North Shore

The coast between Boston and the New Hampshire border offers beautiful natural settings to unwind. The convoluted coastline hides beaches for every taste, and long miles of nature preserves and recreation lands are especially known for waterfowl. It's a boaters' paradise, with dozens of town docks ready for arrivals by water. Clam shacks and lobster pounds dot the roads of rugged Cape Ann, home to the active fishing port of Gloucester and a variety of museums, from stately and historic homes to maritime history. Artists' havens Rockport, Marblehead, and Newburyport tell of dramatic ocean views and make for leisurely shopping. Salem and ...

The coast between Boston and the New Hampshire border offers beautiful natural settings to unwind. The convoluted coastline hides beaches for every taste, and long miles of nature preserves and recreation lands are especially known for waterfowl. It's a boaters' paradise, with dozens of town docks ready for arrivals by water. Clam shacks and lobster pounds dot the roads of rugged Cape Ann, home to the active fishing port of Gloucester and a variety of museums, from stately and historic homes to maritime history. Artists' havens Rockport, Marblehead, and Newburyport tell of dramatic ocean views and make for leisurely shopping. Salem and vicinity are famed for the notorious 17th-century witch trials and Nathaniel Hawthorne, but the glory days of sea trade is often a surprise to outsiders, who find a wealth of colonial and Federal era stately homes in the area. Old industrial cities like Lowell and Lynn harken back to a different golden age, with old mill buildings now housing museums.

About the Expert

Juliette Rogers is coauthor of the guidebooks Eating New England: A Food Lovers Guide to Eating Locally, Secret Providence and Newport, and two Thomas Cook guides on France.