10 Best Attractions To Visit In New England
New England's top attractions run the gamut. While some celebrate the region's colonial and seafaring heritage, others play to the strengths of the North Atlantic's rugged landscape. In Maine, a lighthouse sits in a former military fort with several others close by. Connecticut is home to an open-air maritime museum where visitors can step aboard a 19th-century whaleship. An inventor's medieval-looking castle in Massachusetts reflects one man's fascination with radio control and the supernatural. New Hampshire is home to the windiest mountain in the country. Together, these places reveal a lesser-known side of New England that is shaped by strange stories, eccentric personalities, and unexpected details.
Acadia National Park, Maine
Renowned for its dramatic coastline, picture-perfect Bass Harbor Head Light, and fresh Maine lobster, there’s no denying that one of the jewels in Maine’s crown is Acadia National Park. First-time visitors will be awe-struck by its rugged cliffs and spectacular Atlantic Ocean views, while seasoned travelers return again and again to explore the Park Loop Road and drive Cadillac Summit Road to the top of 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain, already knowing that you need a car reservation in advance. From October 7 through March 6, the summit is the first place in the U.S. to see the sunrise.
The best way to take it all in is to get out on the trails. The easy 2.2-mile Ocean Path is the perfect introduction, following the rocky coastline from Sand Beach with a must-see stop at Thunder Hole, where waves rush into a sea cave with a booming sound like thunder, sending seawater spraying over anyone standing too close. The moderate 3.3-mile Jordan Pond Path loops around the pond, giving lucky wildlife watchers a chance to spot beavers and nesting peregrine falcons, or hear loons calling across the water. If you’re feeling more adventurous, tackle the over 450-foot cliff trail, Beehive Trail, where you’ll have to climb steep granite steps and iron rungs to enjoy the view from the top.
Mystic Seaport Museum, Connecticut
Few attractions capture the essence of coastal New England like the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. Sitting along the Mystic River, the museum feels like a bona fide 19th-century maritime village, complete with historic buildings such as the Cooperage and the Fishtown Chapel, on-site demonstrations of the trades of the day, and costumed interpreters who recreate the past.
One of the best parts about exploring this seafaring museum is how easy it is to actually get off the land and onto the water. Start with a hop on board the historic whaleship, the Charles W. Morgan, for a self-guided tour; book a 30-minute river cruise on the oldest wooden, coal-fired steamboat in operation in the U.S., the Sabino; or visit the Boathouse and rent a rowboat, sailboat, or even a pedal boat to explore the Mystic River with your family and friends. Finish up with a short drive to B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill, the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the U.S., for fresh cider and their famous cider donuts.
Mount Washington, New Hampshire
If you like your attractions with a dash of danger on the side, New Hampshire’s Mount Washington delivers. Famous for its extreme and unpredictable weather, the 6,288-foot peak draws more than a quarter-million visitors annually to its summit, where they can visit the Mount Washington Observatory Museum, Sherman Adams Visitor Center, gift shop, and cafeteria. On a clear day, the views stretch across parts of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and Canada.
How you reach the summit is part of the adventure. You can go old-school and hike the 4.2-mile one-way Tuckerman Ravine Trail, tackling steep, rocky terrain while keeping an eye on rapidly changing weather; drive the 7.6-mile Auto Road, stopping at pull-offs where drivers can give overheated brakes a chance to cool; or hop aboard the 3-hour round-trip Mount Washington Cog Railway, which climbs steeply toward the summit of the highest point in the Northeastern U.S.
Ben & Jerry's Factory, Vermont
Of all the attractions in the Green Mountain State, the Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury takes the cake (and ice cream). It’s the only Ben & Jerry’s factory open to the public that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how the company makes its fantastically chunky ice cream. Perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth, the tour kicks off with a fun moo-vie, followed by a tour of the factory floor where they make around 350,000 pints per day. Enjoy spoon-sized samples of ice cream along the way, before hitting up the Scoop Shop out front to buy your own full-sized cone. There’s a fun gift shop on the site, where you can buy tie-dyed souvenirs, a nod to the owners’ bohemian roots. A must-see stop on the tour is the famous Flavor Graveyard, where flavors like Wavy Gravy, Vermonty Python, and Oh Pear rest in peace.
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem has so many attractions that it would be a wicked shame to visit just one. The Massachusetts city is best known for the 1692 witch trials, but its historic streets, museums, maritime heritage, and literary landmarks make the entire town one of New England's best attractions. Sure, start with one of the most-visited attractions, the Witch Museum, then visit the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, which pays tribute to the 20 victims. But Salem isn’t just about witches and black cats. There’s colonial history to discover at the recreated living-history museum (the first living-history museum in the U.S.), Pioneer Village. For literary lovers, there’s the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne, part of the House of Seven Gables and the Salem Athenaeum.
The Flume Gorge, New Hampshire
A natural gorge in Franconia Notch State Park, Flume Gorge is an 800-foot-long granite chasm formed after glaciers retreated and shaped by thousands of years of erosion. It was discovered by a 93-year-old woman, “Aunt” Jess Guernsey, by chance while on a fishing expedition in 1808. The 2-mile Flume Trail follows packed-gravel and boardwalk sections past waterfalls cascading down the 70- to 90-foot granite walls, with plenty of stairs and some uphill walking thrown in for fun. Reservations are recommended at this popular attraction.
For an unexpected photo op, head about 1.3 miles from the gorge to a historical marker near the Indian Head Resort, installed by the state of New Hampshire in 2011 to commemorate the “Betty and Barney Hill Incident,” the first widely publicized alleged alien-abduction case in the United States. It’s a quirky roadside attraction to pair with the accidental discovery of this spectacular natural wonder.
New England Aquarium, Massachusetts
Even without buying a ticket to the New England Aquarium on the Central Wharf in Boston, you can stop by the front plaza to watch Atlantic harbor seals swimming and playing in their outdoor exhibit. Of course, the star of this family-friendly attraction is the four-story, 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank inside. Resembling a Caribbean coral reef, the habitat is like a veritable work of art, with more than 3,000 sculpted and hand-painted coral pieces surrounding colorful reef fish, barracuda, cownose rays, and everyone's favorite, Myrtle the green sea turtle.
If you want to level up your aquarium visit, add on a whale-watch tour that sails to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Onboard naturalists are on hand to answer questions as you head into waters frequented by humpback, fin, minke, and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Portland Head Light, Maine
If you have to choose only one lighthouse to visit in Maine from over 60 lighthouses that dot the coastline, the Portland Head Light is the quintessential New England one to visit. What makes Maine’s oldest operating lighthouse so stunning is its location, perched at the tip of the 90-acre Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, where you can hike, fly a kite, or bring a basket of sandwiches to enjoy at the picnic tables. While you can only climb the stairs of the Portland Head Light once a year (this year on September 12, 2026) on “Maine Open Lighthouse Day,” you can visit the museum and gift shop housed inside the former Keepers’ Quarters.
A fantastic perk of visiting Portland Head Light is that several other lighthouses are all within a 20-minute drive, so make a day of it by adding nearby Ram Island Ledge Light, Two Lights, Portland Breakwater Lighthouse (Bug Light), and Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse to your itinerary.
The Breakers, Rhode Island
Few places capture the sheer opulence and wealth that defined America’s Gilded Age quite like the over-the-top Breakers mansion in Newport. Built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the 70-room Breakers is the grandest of Newport's famous “summer cottages,” offering a glimpse into the astonishing wealth of the late 19th century. There are enough curated tours for everyone on the visit to find something that strikes their fancy, from self-guided audio tours and kids' tours to guided tours of the house's underground rooms and the Vanderbilt family's private bedrooms and bathrooms.
Turn a visit to the Newport Mansions into a memorable two-for-one attraction by wandering along one of New England’s most spectacular coastal walks, the Newport Cliff Walk, after the house tour. The walk is 3.5 miles one way, with Gilded Age mansions on one side and panoramic views of the Atlantic on the other, leaving you with only one choice: which way to look.
Hammond Castle, Massachusetts
One of those you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it attractions on the Gloucester coastline, Hammond Castle is an eccentric medieval-style fantasy built by inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. Known as the “Father of Radio Control,” Hammond held more than 400 U.S. patents during his lifetime, including a “wireless dog” he controlled remotely and the “Natalia,” a small torpedo-style boat designed to carry up to 4,000 pounds of explosives and also controlled by remote. Get a closer look at the beloved inventor’s personality by booking a guided “Spiritualism Tour by Candlelight,” which explores the castle’s Gothic-inspired architecture, Hammond’s fascination with the supernatural, and his attempts to communicate with spirits.
The Unexpected Side Of New England’s Attractions
New England certainly isn’t short on famous attractions, but some of the most memorable are the ones that offer something unexpected. Whether it’s an unusual piece of history, an eccentric character, a spectacular natural feature, or a surprising story hiding in plain sight, these attractions prove there’s often more to a place than meets the eye.
