Plymouth, Massachusetts

Landing site of America's first wave of European immigrants, Plymouth lives today as a surprisingly diverse tourist destination. Iconic Plymouth Rock and a reproduction of the Mayflower draw the biggest crowds. Highly respected living history museum Plimoth Plantation creates a time warp where visitors converse with pilgrim settlers and native peoples about the issues of their days, and other museums variously document life in the early settlement. Numerous whale watching tours and deep sea fishing boats depart regularly from the town pier, and seafood such as lobster and fried clams are abundant in restaurants or to bring home. The area ...

Landing site of America's first wave of European immigrants, Plymouth lives today as a surprisingly diverse tourist destination. Iconic Plymouth Rock and a reproduction of the Mayflower draw the biggest crowds. Highly respected living history museum Plimoth Plantation creates a time warp where visitors converse with pilgrim settlers and native peoples about the issues of their days, and other museums variously document life in the early settlement. Numerous whale watching tours and deep sea fishing boats depart regularly from the town pier, and seafood such as lobster and fried clams are abundant in restaurants or to bring home. The area is prime cranberry country, and attractions like Ocean Spray's surprisingly informative Cranberry World and the Edaville Railroad celebrate this official berry of Thanksgiving. Harvest is early in the fall, when picturesque fields are flooded for gathering.

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.