Sign up for Scenic Six
Navigate the endless possibilities of New England travel with Boston.com.
3 Mass. museums are No. 1 in the nation, according to USA Today readers
Museums in New Hampshire and Connecticut stood out as well.
Massachusetts museums have impressed the nation.
USA Today named the top museums in America on Wednesday, part of its 2025 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and three of the No. 1 museums are located in Massachusetts.
Concord Museum in Concord is the nation’s best small town museum, Battleship Cove in Fall River is the nation’s best museum ship, and Plimoth Patuxet Museums in Plymouth is (collectively) the nation’s top open-air museum, according to USA Today readers.
There were other regional winners as well: the USS Constitution in Boston’s Charlestown Navy Yard ranked No. 9 on the best museum ships list and Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Conn. and Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, N.H. ranked No. 2 and No. 9, respectively, on the best open-air museums list.
Advertisement:
Concord played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War and the museum’s collection, “parts of which are centuries old, includes paintings, tools and instruments, furniture, maps, and clothing,” wrote USA Today.
Visitors can view the world’s largest collection of historic naval ships at Battleship Cove, wrote the publication, and tour the battleship USS Massachusetts, destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., submarine USS Lionfish, and more.
At Plimoth Patuxet Museums, visitors can explore the Mayflower II, a full-scale replica of the 1620 ship, recreations of English and Native American villages, and more.
For the 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards lists, USA Today travel experts select 20 nominees in topics from food to lodging, destinations to things to do. Then the publication asks readers to cast votes to determine the top 10.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com