I have fond memories of family trips to Vermont to ski the slopes of Stowe and Killington, but I do not remember ever having visited New Hampshire. So, on a road trip to the Northeast, my wife and I decided to drop in on some friends that now live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We are glad we did because it is a delightful harbor village with an abundance of historic buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.
A tour of Portsmouth is naturally going to begin in the downtown historic district, which is anchored by Market Square. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and comprises dozens of listed buildings and five historic landmarks. The Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce provides a tour of historic Portsmouth for a fee. We opted for the self-guided walking tour option afforded by a $5.00 booklet, which we bought at the Chamber Visitor Center.
The tour includes a combination of historical and contemporary buildings and will take about 60-90 minutes, depending on whether you mix in retail shopping and/or sampling of local fare – in which we definitely indulged. A great option for a quick lunch and a craft brew was Row 34 at Portwalk Place and Hanover Street. I was also taken by the varied selection of craft brews available at the Thirsty Moose Tap House on Congress Street.
For our second day in Portsmouth, we wanted to be on the water and researched several prospects. It was too early in the season for a Portsmouth Harbor Cruise, so we looked further afield and came across a very intriguing lobstering cruise with Finestkind Cruises out of Ogunquit. This would be only a 30-minute drive out of Portsmouth and allow us to poke around a nice harborside village, visit a classic light house and have a lobster roll for lunch.
We could not have been more delighted with this choice! The weather was perfect for a drive up the coast and the lobstering excursion on the water was even better than we had hoped. The tour comprised an actual lobstering vessel and captain, who motored us around the harbor while collecting lobsters from traps. A young tour guide was our narrator and kept us entertained with information on the lobster trade in Maine, as well as fun facts about the lobster life cycle.
From there we ventured back down the coast to check out one of Maine’s most photographed lighthouses – the Cape Neddick Nubble Lighthouse. The lighthouse stands majestically atop a small rocky islet on the Atlantic Ocean and is worth a visit, although you must view it from afar at Sohier Park – the lighthouse grounds are not open to the public. What we enjoyed most about this visit was a lunch of local beer and lobster rolls at Fox’s Lobster House. The views from the second floor of the restaurant are dramatic.
A note of caution as it relates to Portsmouth is that it receives a ton of tourist traffic during the summer season, which is why there are 36,000 restaurant seats for a resident population of 22,000! It is also very expensive to park in downtown Portsmouth, so find a space in one of the free municipal lots on the periphery and walk into downtown. Also, be aware that some of these lots have restrictions on how long you can leave your car.
Note: I am not being compensated for my mention of the various business in this post. I am simply a happy customer!
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