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New England and Niagara Falls

The best of quintessential New England and Upstate New York

New England and Niagara Falls

14 Nights From €1599 (Per Person)

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Massachusetts|| Maine|| New Hampshire|| Vermont|| New York|| Rhode Island

Photograph of New England and Niagara Falls

The best of quintessential New England and Upstate New York

New England and Niagara Falls

Boston (Massachusetts) - Kennebunkpoort (Maine) - Bar Harbor (Maine)- White Mountains (New Hampshire) - Green Mountains (Vermont) Lake Placid and Saranac Lake (New York) - Niagara Falls (New York) - Finger Lakes (New York) -Berkshires(Massachusetts)- Newport (Rhode Island) - Cape Cod (Massachusetts) - Boston (Massachusetts)

Picture the perfect Currier and Ives painting. A quaint authentic village filled with vintage, impeccably preserved architecture surrounding a lush center green anchored firmly under the gaze of a white-steepled church. Children are laughing and playing and women stop to chat with their neighbors on the street.  It’s quintessential New England, where life may not have changed much for over 200 years.  You’ll see the same picture-postcard landscapes in upstate New York where the rural, serene and beautiful countryside is home to vast productive farms lining crisply groomed scenic roads for mile after mile in between towns right out of the 18th century.  In between these bucolic areas, the White Mountains of New Hampshire surround Mount Washington, the highest peak in the eastern United States and the Green Mountains of Vermont reveal the upper Appalachians at their finest.  Last, but not least on this trip, you’ll visit Niagara Falls.   

We’ve combined the two areas into one trip so that you can enjoy a whole trip filled with highlights.  You can escape to the New York and New England countryside, enjoy the pristine, rugged New England coast and the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, while at the same time enjoying the city lights of Boston, the thrill of Niagara Falls and upstate New York’s most special areas.  Starting and ending the trip in Boston makes the driving distances shorter and more managable, and the pace of the trip most relaxing. 

Combining the culture, heritage, hospitality with the scenic beauty of the smallest, most charming region in America delivers awesome grandeur, memorable adventures and magnificent natural features all wrapped into one.  And remember, New England is not just for fall – the lush green summers with cool days and gentle breezes are made for enjoying while savoring some of the most scenic roads in the nation.  

 


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New England and Niagara Falls

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Boston

Boston is the very seat of American history. Only Virginia is older than the Massachusetts Colony. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated at Plymouth Rock. The first calls for independence rang out from Boston and the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord. The two and one half miles of the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston are likely the most historic blocks in the United States. You can see the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s home and Faneuil Hall, the revolutionaries meeting place that is now filled with restaurants and shops. Walk the trail to get the best perspective of this important piece of Americania. 
                                                     
Day 2: Explore Boston
The list of other most visited places in Boston includes the Boston Common, a public meeting place since 1630, the Boston Museum of Science, Cheers, of television fame, and the Boston Museum of Arts with its world-renowned collection of 450,000 items. The New England Aquarium offers special whale watching trips until October. Also consider visiting the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library or take the City View Trolley Tour to get an overview of all the historic parts of the city.

Day 3: New Hampshire’s White Mountains
On your way between Bar Harbor and the White Mountains, take some time to explore Maine’s Rangeley Lakes region, a Norman Rockwell picture postcard area still hailing from the era when well-to-do “flatlanders,” (as the locals call anyone from south of New Hampshire), arrived to establish “camps,” or elaborate summer houses in the region.  Today, there’s not so much as a stop light to slow you down. Smaller nearby Oquossoc (Native American for “landing place”) is for folks who really like the quiet.

Day 4: Explore the White Mountains Area
In the White Mountains, cold clear rushing streams reflect the bright green of summer or the blazing colors of the fall that set the hillsides on fire and towering granite cliffs and soaring mountains often hug both sides of the road. Discover the history of the White Mountain Trail and beauty of the Kancamagus Highway National Scenic Byway and of course, plan to travel to the summit of Mt. Washington, whether by car, cog railway or guided tour. Many charming villages along the way still look as they did when writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and painter Thomas Cole lived here in the 18th century. The pace of life in many places hasn’t changed much either.

Day 5: Vermont’s Green Mountains
It would be hard not to be on a scenic road as you travel from the White Mountains to the Green Mountains today. The lush foliage, white steepled churches, winding roads, and quaint New England towns of the Green Mountains can feel as old as time.  Nearly 75 years have passed since the von Trapp family settled in Stowe.  The “hills are still alive with the sound of music.” Mountains here have interesting names like Camels Hump and Crouching Lion.  Divided sharply into east and west sections by the lofty hills, early settlers chose their representatives to balance the government from both sides, a phenomenon now known as “mountain rule.” New England independence at its finest!

Day 6: Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, New York
Leaving Vermont, you’ll be traveling into New York’s Adirondack Mountains today, where  faces full of character, lush woods and rivers, fresh water shorelines, and serene quiet all welcome you.  Wild and civilized by turns throughout history, the Adirondacks have witnessed the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812.  Tourism began when doctors from the large surrounding cities sent their patients to recover in the fresh air at Saranac Lake, the pioneer upstate New York health resort.  World awareness of the Adirondacks increased dramatically when the Winter Olympics were held at Lake Placid in 1980. With myriad lakes, mountains, and spectacular views, if you choose, you can hike, paddle or drive around the area and still be back in time for dinner.    

Day 7:  Niagara Falls, New York
On the way to Niagara Falls, you’ll be traveling through Adirondack Park, which is larger than Yellowstone, the Everglades, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Parks combined.  The Adirondack Museum, located in Blue Mountain Lake, is worth a visit.  The original 1876 Blue Mountain House is surrounded by more than 30 other authentic buildings, each featuring a different aspect of Adirondack culture and art.  Later in the drive, you’ll pass through Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, all of which represent the best in upstate New York traditions. Plan to arrive in time to see Niagara Falls illuminated this evening.

Day 8:  Explore Niagara Falls
The thunder and roar of six million cubic feet of water falling over Niagara Falls every minute has thrilled visitors since 1820.  Sam Patch, the “Yankee Leaper,” began the long tradition of daredevils going over the Falls in 1829.  Visitors have enjoyed an up-close and personal experience of the Falls from the Maid of the Mist since 1846.  Join the millions of travelers every year who are awed by the sights and sounds of magnificent Niagara Falls. 

Day 9:  Finger Lakes, NY

Take one last look at Niagara Falls before departing for the Finger Lakes.  Plan to visit Watkins Glen State Park on your way.  Upon reaching Corning, take a drive through the intricately detailed Victorians built by the local lumber barons that line the streets of the Corning historic district.  If you don’t have time to visit anything else today, don’t pass up the Corning Museum of Glass where you can explore glass from all perspectives through works of art, stained glass, demonstrations, glass innovations and even make your own.        

Day 10: The Berkshires
Traveling to Massachusetts, you’ll find the Berkshires home to Normal Rockwell picture perfect scenery. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown has an outstanding collection of French Impressionist paintings while the beautifully restored Hancock Shaker Village is the premier collection of Shaker buildings.  Artifacts, furniture, craft and household items are exhibited in 20 historic buildings. The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge still looks like it did in Rockwell’s most famous painting. Make tine to take dinner there, for a true New England experience. 

Day 11: Newport, Rhode Island
You have several options traveling between The Berkshires and Newport. You can experience New England pioneer lifestyle up close and personal at Old Sturbridge Village. Mystic, Connecticut has an authentic 19th century seafaring village of more than 30 England trade shops and businesses moved from around New England. An alternate route through the Blackstone River Valley in Rhode Island takes you through the heritage of America’s first industrial area.  Water-powered spinning mills used new technology that was spirited from England in 1797. Samuel Slater’s original mill where the first new machines were installed has been impressively restored to pristine working condition.

Day 12: Explore Newport
Opulence reigned in Newport during the Gilded Age. Bellevue Avenue was home to the “summer cottages” of the rich and famous from New York and Philadelphia, the same Vanderbilt’s, Astor’s and other prominent families who spent part of their summers on Mt. Desert Island. You can pack your day in Newport as full as you would like. The Breakers and Rosecliff are spectacular mansions. Take the Cliffwalk which follows the coastline and the cliffs. A 10 mile scenic driving tour begins at The Elms. And, there’s great shopping and browsing and a Newport Winery.

Day 13: Cape Cod
Distances are short in New England, so the whole drive to Cape Cod today is only 80 miles. That should leave time to swing through Providence, Rhode Island where Benefit Street is considered to be the best preserved historic mile in America.  Fall River, Massachusetts was known during the Industrial Revolution as the “Textile Capital of the World,” while New Bedford was once the whaling capital of New England.  There should be time to visit all three along the way  

Day 14: Explore Cape Cod
The scenic drive on fabulous Cape Cod stretches all the way from the beginning of peninsula to Provincetown at the very end. Beautiful white beaches line the Cape Cod National Seashore. Take a ferry to historic Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, or sign up for a whale watching cruise.

Day 15: Cape Cod to Boston
On the way back to Boston today, you can experience frontier New England at Plymouth Plantation, where a living history museum features life in 1627 – just seven years after the colonists landed at Plymouth Rock. 

 

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