Exploring New England for Pennies...or very nearly so.

June 28, 2011 7:01 AM

Not a lot of money, but quite a bit of time. Where can the husband and I go for fairly cheap in New England?

MeFi user Shepherd and I live in Sherbrooke, Quebec, but since his week of vacation starts this coming Monday, we'd like to get out of town, but nearby, seeing as how our vacation is fairly minimal.

Making a roadtrip to see Neil Gaiman in Portsmouth, NH showed me that that city is pretty neat, but we're up for exploring within a four to five hour drive of us. New England is full of neat places and things to do, I'm sure, but we don't know where to begin! We're thinking maybe an overnight stay or two. We're fond of historical sites, good microbrews, excellent food, and walking (not hiking; he's a hiker, I am but an avid urban walker).

Hit us with your best shot!

posted by Kitteh to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

We're fond of historical sites, good microbrews, excellent food, and walking (not hiking; he's a hiker, I am but an avid urban walker).

Portland, ME.
posted by jerseygirl at 7:33 AM on June 28, 2011

Yes, Portland is really nice! Great food, and I also heartily recommend taking a ferry ride.
posted by mlle valentine at 7:37 AM on June 28, 2011

+1 to Portland. It's a great, very walkable small city. They have an active culinary scene (try the Belgian frites at Duck Fat), lots of cute shops and galleries, and the ocean.
posted by maxim0512 at 7:38 AM on June 28, 2011

Another Portland lover here. Great city, lots to do nearby.

Bar Harbor/Acadia is great - it has both the majestic national park, with great hiking (even easy flat hiking for urban-walking types) and cycling, and a nifty town with microbrews and good food.

You would probably enjoy a lot of locations in Vermont.

Northampton, MA is a wonderfully arty-crunchy little town in the midst of the Pioneer Valley, surrounded by woods and beautiful, gentle mountains. There's plenty of camping in that area.

You'd probably love a weekend on Martha's Vineyard, and especially in the shoulder season there are plenty of cheap places to stay. There's even a hostel, very affordable and very nice.
posted by Miko at 7:54 AM on June 28, 2011

PS I used to live in Portsmouth and these were all my favorite getaways, so they have a similar vibe in many ways!
posted by Miko at 7:54 AM on June 28, 2011

I was about to nth Portland, but realized that Woodstock VT is about half the distance for you, and is charming as all get-out if you're looking for a quintessential New England experience. Check out the gorge and glassblowing in nearby Quechee, stroll through the Dartmouth College campus (and check out their concerts/lectures/exhibits while you're there), rent a canoe on the Connecticut River, check out the Long Trail Brewing Company, etc..

Have a wonderful time.
posted by mauvest at 8:21 AM on June 28, 2011

mauvest came in and recommended most of what I was going to say. I'm a native Vermonster and recently entertained out of town friends for a week in my home state - the Woodstock/Quechee area certainly played a big role.

Other Vermonty things that are fun: Manchester, VT has a lot of outlet stores if you want to buy stuff for cheap - if you're not up for shopping, it's a generally pretty town and there's also Hildene - which is a historic mansion built by Robert Todd Lincoln and has lovely gardens. Grafton, VT is also a beautiful little town and home to Grafton Village Cheddar, which is nothing short of amazing. The factory may or may not be open for tours, I don't know how that works since the storefront moved to a little boutique (complete with restaurant!).

If either of you are meat eaters, Curtis' BBQ in Putney, VT is nothing short of amazing. Putney in and of itself is a really cute hippie town and then there's this guy running a BBQ joint out of two converted school buses. Pretty awesome.
posted by sonika at 8:40 AM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

We're fond of historical sites, good microbrews, excellent food, and walking (not hiking; he's a hiker, I am but an avid urban walker).

Uh, yeah, Portland Me is your place.

- Historical Sites -

Victoria Mansion
Longfellow House
Tate House
Portland Head Light Lighthouse
Portland Observatory
Greater Portland Landmarks Walking Tours

- Good Microbrews -

Gritty McDuffs
Seadog Brewing Company
Shipyard Brewing (tours available)
A longer list of Portland Microbreweries
The Great Lost Bear (A restaurant, named one of the top "beer bars" in the country by Gourmet Magazine and Forbes. Every Thursday night is Craft Beer night.)

- Excellent Food -
Hugo's
Five Fifty-Five
Street & Company
Duck Fat
Fore Street
Caiola's
Two Fat Cats
Becky's Diner (not five star, but excellent in it's own way)
Silly's
Portland Lobster Company
J's Oyster Bar
Public Market House

I could go on but I won't. It might be possible to eat at a different fabulous restaurant in Portland every day for a year.

- Urban Walking -
Portland Trails maintains a network of 30 trails, covering over 50 walking miles, networked throughout the city.

- Additional Resources -
Buy Local Portland has a thriving "Buy Local" scene. This website will help.

The Inn at St John A lovely and quirky place to stay.

Portland Seadogs AA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox

Old Orchard Beach: OOB was know for decades as "Quebec's Atlantic City" and still has a sizable number of francophone summer visitors from Quebec. It's a beautiful beach, and the town has a couple of good sized amusement parks, as well as some cheesy tourist stuff.
posted by anastasiav at 8:47 AM on June 28, 2011 [4 favorites]

You could also consider Burlington, VT. It's on Lake Champlain and there's a beautiful bike path on the waterfront that is flat and goes for miles. It's less "quaint" than Vergennes or Putney, overall -- it's the largest "city" in VT at around 40K -- but it is a great place to walk outside, especially in the summer, and it strikes a nice balance between beautiful scenery and stuff to do. Check out Seven Days for events. It's not quite the culinary mecca you'd hope, but there are a couple of excellent brunch places (Magnolia and Penny Cluse) and a venerable microbrew institution (Vermont Pub & Brew) which are well worth visiting.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:17 AM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

2nding Burlington! Do not miss the Shelburne Museum, which is a couple of miles south of the city and the most diverse and interesting museum I've ever been to. They have an Adam Kalkin house! A complete riverboat! A ravishing collection of quilts! And about a zillion other weird, disconnected, immaculately curated things! Also, the cafe gets its food from organic local farms. I still think about the chicken sandwich I had there seven years ago.
posted by apparently at 12:35 PM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Two other trips well within your distance requirements: Newport, R.I., and one where you visit Plimouth Plantation/Rock and the Mayflower II and maybe stay somewhere like Nantasket Beach.
posted by troywestfield at 8:17 AM on June 29, 2011

I wouldn't stay in Nantasket. Find a quiet inn or B&B in either Scituate or Cohasset or even Plymouth. Nantasket has a real tendency to be a Jersey Shore wannabe, especially in the evenings.

Fore Street in Portsmouth is amazing. A-MAZE-ING. Two Fat Cats was great too. We didn't find any place that we didn't really enjoy to be honest.
posted by jerseygirl at 8:23 AM on June 29, 2011

Fore Street in Portsmouth

I think you mean Portland, right?
posted by Miko at 11:24 AM on June 29, 2011