New England Travel: New England's Best Small Towns

| Boston Magazine |

HANCOCK, NH

Because… your great-great-grandparents might have slept here.

 

In the beginning, Hancock was a pit stop for the stagecoach crowd; today, it’s a favored destination for New England vacationers. Both sets of travelers have been warmly welcomed by the Hancock Inn, a bastion of Yankee hospitality since 1789. (B&B-phobes, take note: Centuries of operation haven’t precluded major renovations.)

Save for a general store, a café, and the inn’s dining room, the town itself has no shops or restaurants, a fact that history buffs applaud—along with the fact that every building on Main Street (where Paul Revere’s Bell #236 still rings on the hour) has earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. —Brittany Jasnoff

WHERE TO EAT, STAY, AND PLAY 

New England’s Best Small Towns 

  • Dan

    Don’t miss Great Barrington Bra & Girl (GBBG) at the top of Railroad Street, the area’s only full-service bra shop, and one of the best intimate apparel and accessories shops that you’ll find anywhere!

  • lo

    also- see Brad at Allium-the best bartender in the Berkshires

  • Dan Shaw

    One of the best places to eat in GB is not on Restaurant Row–it’s Cafe Adam http://tinyurl.com/nuqhc5

  • Claudia

    If you are serious about food, this is the place. It’s a couple of miles north of town.

  • fred

    no one in Shelburne Falls drinks Bud… they (we) prefer locally made micro-brews

  • Marti

    Don’t miss Millerton NY, one of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel “10 Coolest Towns in America”. We are just 10 minutes or less to Sharon, CT and about 30 minutes to Great Barrington We’re a little bit Hip and a little bit Homey! To come on over.

  • Chris

    I have lived in Sharon all my life and it’s nice to see Sharon getting such recognition . The article got it right when it added Sharon.

  • Jonathan

    In Harvard, between orchards, you also have to go to the General Store (a gourmet/locavore paradise), get a cappuccino, sit on the Common, and look at the beautiful old houses. Then go to Fruitlands Museum.

  • Eve

    You forgot to mention the magnificent hillsides and valleys (ablaze with color right now) and the ancient pot holes and waterfalls, and my favorite – the very beautiful bridge of flowers.

  • Eve

    I forgot to mention above, I am talking about Shelburne Falls, MA.
    1

  • J

    Couple comments:
    The bad: Putnam might be quaint because of the antiques, but other than that – it’s pretty much a dump. I grew up near there.
    The good: Hancock IS a beautiful town, not to mention the incredibly nice people. It’s also next door to another beautiful town, my other hometown of Harrisville.