Massachusetts Travel Guide
If the USA has a historic heart then it beats as loudly in Massachusetts as anywhere. The state was at the centre of the revolution against the British and was the site of many of the first settlements in the States.
The sea has always been of vital importance to the economy of the region. This is due to trade through its ports and the huge natural resources the sea offered. Off the New England coast the sea heaved with endless shoals of fish and the great whales that were so mercilessly hunted.
Massachusetts was a major refuge for those escaping the Irish Potato Famine during the 19th century and the state has been a magnet for immigrants of all sorts. Throughout its history, from dissenting Puritans and escaped slaves to Italians, Portuguese and French Canadians all have come here seeking a better life.
The State is proud of its cultural heritage. Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emmerson all lived and worked here, as did the artist, Whistler.
For those seeking the fresh air there is no place finer than the coastline of Cape Cod or the island of Martha's Vineyard.
Massachusetts has a very European feel; it almost seems to be a staging post between the Old and New worlds. Even the accents have a slight Anglo-Irish tone sounding somewhere in the background.
Apart from Boston there is the small town of Salem. This is the site of the earliest of Puritan settlements in the Americas and the place where, in 1692, the Witch Trials were held. These infamous proceedings occurred when 19 women and one man were executed having been found guilty of witchcraft. These trials have become a byword for the insanity that can overcome groups of seemingly rational people. These events are remembered in numerous 'Halloween' type souvenir shops and in the main Salem Witch Museum. Salem was also a major seaport as was Marblehead a picturesque place where several buildings date back to the mid 18th century.
Massachusetts has long been a summer retreat for the wealthy. The old fishing/whaling settlements of Nantucket (a place without which there would never have been a dirty limerick!) Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod all have some very expensive summer lodgings. The same is true of the Berkshires, a range of hills in the west of the state that has long been a holiday destination for the well heeled of Boston and New York.
When To Go
It can get cold in the winter. In high summer and the 'fall' prices go up and it can get very busy. If you are here for the foliage you have no choice about when to come but May to mid-July the weather is gorgeous and the summer season hasn't fully started.
In the way that Massachusetts dominates New England so one town dominates Massachusetts.
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