Access Massachusetts
The clay cliffs of Aquinnah above the sea on Martha's Vineyard, with Gay Head Light on the headland
MASSACHUSETTS · THE COMMONWEALTH

From the brick of Boston to the dunes of the Outer Cape and the hills of the Berkshires, a state you can cross in an afternoon and not finish in a month.

A New England state on the Atlantic, named for the Massachusett people: the Pilgrims' landing of 1620, the first shots of the Revolution, and a coast that runs from Cape Ann to the tip of Cape Cod.

Photo: Alex Wilcox Cheek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The stateI

A small state with a long coastWalk the city, drive the state, take the ferry to the islands.

Between the ocean and the hills

Massachusetts is a New England state on the Atlantic, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Gulf of Maine and the ocean lie to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is the seventh-smallest state by land area, but more than seven million people live here, and Greater Boston, round the capital, is the largest metropolitan area in New England (the cities). The coast runs from the granite of Cape Ann to the arm of Cape Cod; inland come rolling hills, the Connecticut River valley and the Berkshires, where Mount Greylock reaches 3,491 feet. Most visitors land at Logan, in East Boston (getting here), and choose a base for each region (where to stay).

Where the story starts

The Wampanoag, the Nipmuc, the Massachusett and other nations lived here first; the Wampanoag still keep land at Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard and at Mashpee on the Cape. The Pilgrims of the Mayflower founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony settled Boston and Salem in 1630. On April 19, 1775, the Revolutionary War began at Lexington and at the North Bridge in Concord. Begin with the landmarks, then string them into an itinerary or a day on the road (scenic drives).

Roads, boats, weather and the table

Beyond Boston you will want a car: the Massachusetts Turnpike crosses the state for 138 miles, and older routes run town to town (driving). The Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises sail to Nantucket all year, and summer boats add New Bedford and Harwich (ferries and islands). Winters are cold, with snow in every region, summers warm, and the autumn foliage is famous (when to come). The Cape is known for cranberries, oysters, clams and lobster (eating and drinking).

Schematic map of Massachusetts, north up: the mainland from the New York line to the coast, Cape Ann, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the Connecticut River, Mount Greylock, the regions, the homepage drive from Boston to the Berkshires, the six cities, and the eighteen landmarks, numbered as in the indexGREATER BOSTONNORTH SHORESOUTH COASTCAPE CODTHE ISLANDSCENTRALPIONEER VALLEYBERKSHIRESNEW YORKVERMONTNEW HAMPSHIRECONNECTICUTRHODE ISLANDATLANTIC OCEANMASSACHUSETTS BAYNANTUCKET SOUNDConnecticut RiverMount GreylockBostonCambridgeSalemPlymouthProvincetownNorthampton123456789101112131415161718
  1. The Freedom Trail
  2. Boston Common and the Public Garden
  3. Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market
  4. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
  5. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
  6. Harvard Yard
  7. USS Constitution and Bunker Hill
  8. Lexington, Concord and the Old North Bridge
  9. Walden Pond
  10. Cape Ann: Rockport and Gloucester
  11. Plimoth Patuxet and the Mayflower II
  12. New Bedford, the Whaling City
  13. Cape Cod National Seashore
  14. Martha's Vineyard
  15. Nantucket
  16. Old Sturbridge Village
  17. Hancock Shaker Village
  18. The Mount, Edith Wharton's House
Schematic, north up, not to scale: the mainland from the New York line to the coast, Cape Cod and the islands, the Connecticut River and Mount Greylock; the dashed line is the drive below, the squares the six cities; Greater Boston's nine landmarks are set out in the bay, each with a line to its place.

East to westII

A drive across the state

From Boston Common west to the Berkshires: six stops on one road trip, from the Revolution's first miles to the Shaker hills on the New York line.

The drive drawn as a road across the state, east to west: Boston on the coast, Concord and Walden Pond in the low hills, Old Sturbridge Village in the rolling centre, Northampton in the Connecticut River valley, and Hancock Shaker Village in the Berkshires below Mount Greylock1Boston2Concord3Walden Pond4Sturbridge5Northampton6HancockMount GreylockConnecticut RiverAtlanticwesteast
  1. The Massachusetts State House, its gold dome above the portico on Beacon Hill
    The Massachusetts State House, its gold dome above the portico on Beacon HillFcb981, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
    Greater Boston · Downtown to Charlestown

    The red line through the capital

    Start on foot. The Freedom Trail runs two and a half miles past sixteen sites, from Boston Common to the Old North Church in the North End and on to the Bunker Hill Monument. The journalist William Schofield proposed it in 1951.

  2. The North Bridge beyond a green meadow along the Concord River
    The North Bridge beyond a green meadow along the Concord RiverVitaleBaby at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
    Greater Boston · Concord

    The bridge at Concord

    Then take the car west to Lexington and Concord. At the North Bridge on April 19, 1775, about 400 minutemen and militia met roughly 90 British regulars. Emerson later called it the shot heard round the world. The wooden bridge there now was built in 1956.

  3. Walden Pond seen through the leaves of the shore woods
    Walden Pond seen through the leaves of the shore woodsErik Granlund, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    Greater Boston · Concord

    The pond in the woods

    In the same town lies Walden Pond, a kettle hole the glaciers left 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Henry David Thoreau lived two years in a cabin on its shore and wrote Walden, published in 1854. The pond sits inside a state reservation of 335 acres.

  4. The weathered Fenno House among green trees at Old Sturbridge Village
    The weathered Fenno House among green trees at Old Sturbridge VillageEthan Long, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
    Central · Sturbridge

    A village kept in the 1830s

    Southwest along the Turnpike, Old Sturbridge Village recreates rural New England from the 1790s to the 1830s. It has 59 antique buildings, three water-powered mills and a working farm on more than 200 acres.

  5. A great elm spreading over Old South Street in Northampton
    A great elm spreading over Old South Street in NorthamptonMarty Aligata, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    Pioneer Valley

    The river valley

    West again, the road crosses the Connecticut River, the longest river in New England. In the valley stands Northampton, the county seat of Hampshire County, where Smith College was founded for women in 1871.

  6. The Round Stone Barn and its cupola across the village lawn
    The Round Stone Barn and its cupola across the village lawnJohn Phelan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
    The Berkshires · Pittsfield

    The Shaker hills

    End in the Berkshires at Hancock Shaker Village, a Shaker community from 1790 until 1960, where the Round Stone Barn has stood since 1826. To the north rises Mount Greylock, the highest point in the state.

Before you goIII

Three things to know first

United States · a CommonwealthMore than seven million peopleCapital: BostonPlymouth Colony 1620Highest point: Mount Greylock, 3,491 feet

Ten parts and a journalIV

The parts of this guide

  1. The LandmarksEighteen places, one page eachThe LandmarksFrom the Freedom Trail to the Mount: what each one is, what you see there, and where it stands in the state.
  2. The CitiesSix compact city guidesThe CitiesBoston, Cambridge, Salem, Plymouth, Provincetown and Northampton: how each is laid out, what to see and how long to give it.
  3. Getting HereOne big airport and the end of the lineGetting HereLogan in East Boston, the largest airport in New England, and South Station, where Amtrak's Acela and Northeast Regional trains end.
  4. DrivingA car beyond Boston, your feet inside itDrivingThe Massachusetts Turnpike across the state, the old routes through the towns, and why Boston itself is best walked.
  5. Ferries & IslandsThe boats to the Vineyard and NantucketFerries & IslandsWhich harbor serves which island, the year-round boats and the summer ones, and what to do with a car.
  6. Scenic DrivesThe day trips, by roadScenic DrivesThe Mohawk Trail over the Hoosac Range, the old road along the bay side of Cape Cod, the loop round Cape Ann and the back roads of the Berkshires.
  7. When to ComeFour real seasonsWhen to ComeCold winters with real snow, warm summers on the beaches, the famous autumn in the hills, and the hurricane season on the coast.
  8. Eating & DrinkingWhat the coast puts on the tableEating & DrinkingClams, oysters and lobster from the Cape, cranberries from the bogs, and where each is eaten.
  9. Where to StayA base for each regionWhere to StayBoston and Cambridge, a North Shore harbor, a Cape town, an island, the valley and the Berkshires, each for a night or a week.
  10. ItinerariesThree days, five, a weekItinerariesRoad trips by the length of your stay: Boston on foot, then out to the Cape, the islands or the hills.
  11. The JournalQuestions answered at lengthThe JournalVisitor questions about Massachusetts, answered in full, with new pieces as they are written.

From Boston outwardV

All eighteen landmarks

Six citiesCompact guides to the six places most visits are built around, from the capital to the tip of the Cape.

  1. BostonGreater BostonBostonThe capital, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630; 675,647 people at the 2020 census.
  2. CambridgeGreater BostonCambridgeDirectly across the Charles River from Boston, founded in December 1630, home to Harvard and MIT.
  3. SalemNorth ShoreSalemA seaport settled in 1626, known for the witch trials of 1692, with its Maritime site and the Peabody Essex Museum.
  4. PlymouthSouth ShorePlymouthAmerica's Hometown, where the Mayflower Pilgrims founded their colony in 1620, about 40 miles south of Boston.
  5. ProvincetownCape CodProvincetownAt the tip of Cape Cod: 3,664 people all year, as many as 60,000 in summer.
  6. NorthamptonPioneer ValleyNorthamptonThe county seat of Hampshire County, in the Pioneer Valley, where Smith College was founded in 1871.

Greater BostonThe capital, Cambridge and the Revolution's first miles

  1. The Freedom TrailGreater Boston · Downtown to Charlestown1The Freedom TrailA path of two and a half miles past sixteen sites, from Boston Common to the Old North Church and the Bunker Hill Monument.
  2. Boston Common and the Public GardenGreater Boston · Beacon Hill2Boston Common and the Public GardenThe oldest city park in the United States, fifty acres, with the Public Garden, the first public botanical garden in America, beside it.
  3. Faneuil Hall and Quincy MarketGreater Boston · Downtown3Faneuil Hall and Quincy MarketJohn Smibert's market and meeting hall of 1742, the Cradle of Liberty, beside Alexander Parris's three market buildings of 1826.
  4. The Museum of Fine Arts, BostonGreater Boston · the Fenway4The Museum of Fine Arts, BostonFounded in 1870 and on the Fenway since 1909, with more than 450,000 works of art.
  5. The Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumGreater Boston · the Fenway5The Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumOne collector's house of art, opened in 1903, with a wing by Renzo Piano completed in 2012.
  6. Harvard YardGreater Boston · Cambridge6Harvard YardThe oldest part of Harvard, grown around a parcel bought in 1637, behind a fence with twenty-seven gates.
  7. USS Constitution and Bunker HillGreater Boston · Charlestown7USS Constitution and Bunker HillOld Ironsides, launched in 1797 and the oldest naval vessel still afloat, below the 221-foot granite obelisk of Bunker Hill.
  8. Lexington, Concord and the Old North BridgeGreater Boston · Concord8Lexington, Concord and the Old North BridgeLexington, Lincoln and Concord, where the Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775, and the North Bridge rebuilt in 1956.
  9. Walden PondGreater Boston · Concord9Walden PondA kettle hole left by the glaciers, where Henry David Thoreau lived two years in a cabin on the shore.

The North ShoreGranite, fishing harbors and painters

  1. Cape Ann: Rockport and GloucesterNorth Shore · Rockport and Gloucester10Cape Ann: Rockport and GloucesterA rocky peninsula of fishing harbors, and on Bradley Wharf the red shack called the most often-painted building in America.

The South Shore and South CoastThe Pilgrims' harbor and the whaling city

  1. Plimoth Patuxet and the Mayflower IISouth Shore · Plymouth11Plimoth Patuxet and the Mayflower IIA living history museum founded in 1947, with an English Village of 1627, a Wampanoag Homesite and the Mayflower II.
  2. New Bedford, the Whaling CitySouth Coast · New Bedford12New Bedford, the Whaling CityThe world's preeminent whaling port of the nineteenth century, remembered across thirteen city blocks.

Cape Cod and the IslandsDunes, lighthouses and the ferries

  1. Cape Cod National SeashoreCape Cod · the Outer Cape13Cape Cod National SeashoreNearly forty miles of Atlantic shore from Chatham to Provincetown, set aside on August 7, 1961.
  2. Martha's VineyardThe Islands · Dukes County14Martha's VineyardNoepe in Wampanoag: an island of about 96 square miles south of Cape Cod, with the clay cliffs of Aquinnah.
  3. NantucketThe Islands · Nantucket15NantucketAn island about thirty miles south of Cape Cod and the southeasternmost town in Massachusetts.

Central MassachusettsRolling, rocky hills

  1. Old Sturbridge VillageCentral · Sturbridge16Old Sturbridge VillageNew England's largest living museum: 59 antique buildings, three water-powered mills and a working farm.

The BerkshiresThe hill country of the far west

  1. Hancock Shaker VillageThe Berkshires · Pittsfield17Hancock Shaker VillageA Shaker village from 1790 to 1960, the third of nineteen, with its Round Stone Barn of 1826.
  2. The Mount, Edith Wharton's HouseThe Berkshires · Lenox18The Mount, Edith Wharton's HouseEdith Wharton's country house of 1902, which she designed with its grounds and called her first real home.