6 New England towns to visit in November
From touring beautifully decorated Gilded Age mansions to feasting at one of the top Thanksgiving celebrations in the land, there’s plenty to do across New England in November. Ahead, discover six places worth visiting throughout the month.
Dine on discounted meals in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Here’s your chance to try a new Seacoast restaurant or return to an old favorite, all while saving money on your bill. More than 40 restaurants and breweries will whip up discounted three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menus for Restaurant Week Portsmouth & The Seacoast, a 10-day culinary event taking place Nov. 2-11. Many of the restaurants are in Portsmouth, but Granite State restaurants in Hampton, Dover, Rye, New Castle, Durham, Newington, and Exeter, as well as spots in Kittery and York, Maine, will also participate. Start imagining seared Maine salmon at Portsmouth’s Row 34, linguini and clams at New Castle’s Salt, and coffee-rubbed grilled flat iron steak at Epoch Restaurant in Exeter now. Lunch will be $16.95 per person, and dinner will be $29.95 per person.
Shop Maine products in Bangor at the Maine Harvest Festival
If you’re passionate about Maine-made products, then this is the trip for you. At the Maine Harvest Festival you can browse more than 35,000 square feet of Maine goodies — jams, maple products, handcrafted chocolates, organic dairy products and vegetables, craft beer, wine and spirits, baked goods, seafood, jewelry, pottery, and luxury alpaca wear — over two days, Nov. 11-12. Organizers expect more than 7,000 shoppers, who can also partake in educational seminars and watch finalists face off in a “two-crusted” apple pie contest.
Celebrate Thanksgiving in Plymouth, ‘America’s hometown’
Make a pilgrimage to Plymouth this Thanksgiving season, where the holiday originated and where Plymouth Rock resides. A three-day celebration Nov. 17-19 will include a concert series, food festival, harvest market, and a historic village set up in Brewster Gardens and manned by living historians depicting scenes from centuries past. America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade, a highlight, is always full of colorful floats and military marching units, and offers a chronological look at America’s heritage from the 17th to the 21st centuries.
The Breakers mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, decorated for the holidays in 2015.
Stroll through elaborately decorated mansions in Newport, Rhode Island
Get in the holiday spirit by touring three of Newport’s spectacular Gilded Age mansions — The Breakers, The Elms, and Marble House — when they’re all dressed up for the holidays. Visit a Gilded Age streetscape inside the ballroom at The Elms, complete with sleighs, mannequins dressed in period costumes, trees, and a topiary horse. At The Breakers, there will be a 15-foot tall poinsettia tree and model trains operated by volunteers from the Little Rhody Division of the National Model Railroad Association. At Marble House, view fireplace mantels decorated by regional garden clubs. Don’t forget to peek inside the kitchen of each spot, where you’ll see a gingerbread model of the mansion created by a local pastry chef. The gorgeousness begins Nov. 18.
Hit the slopes after a Thanksgiving Day feast in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Spend Thanksgiving at the picturesque Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, a 115-year-old property with stunning mountain views. The resort will be teeming with holiday-themed events during its five-day Thanksgiving celebration from Nov. 22-26: a turkey trot, flag football games, a Whoopie Pie social where guests can assemble Whoopie Pies and eat them, a Thanksgiving Day eve pajama party, a tree lighting ceremony, a visit from Santa, and, of course, a Thanksgiving Day feast. Bonus: All who take part in the Thanksgiving buffet will receive a complimentary lift ticket to ski and ride at Bretton Woods on Thanksgiving Day.
Go on a Vermont craft tour in Putney
We’re not sure which is more enjoyable: driving through Vermont’s countryside or buying holiday gifts directly from the artisans who make them. You can do both during the 39th Annual Putney Craft Tour, billed as the oldest continuous craft tour in the country. The free tour will take place Nov. 24-26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Participants can meet the blacksmiths, glass blowers, potters, jewelers, weavers, painters, custom bike makers, and artisan cheese makers at 24 working studios within a 12-mile radius of Putney and Saxtons River Village and shop their wares. Some artists will also give demonstrations. Begin your adventure at the Gleanery Restaurant at 133 Main St. in Putney, where you can snag a map of the participating studios and view an exhibit featuring the work of all 24 artists before plotting your route.
