Top 10 places to visit in New England, USA

When we visit the USA for the first time, we usually think of going to New York, Washington DC and perhaps San Francisco or Los Angeles. 

But we often forget New England which includes six wonderful states like Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 

The New England region is historically and culturally rich. It is also known to have many waterways including the waterfront along the Atlantic Ocean, and many lakes and bays. 

If you can arrange for a car, you can visit all these states and enjoy a short vacation.

1. Boston

One of the most famous and vibrant metropolitans in the US is Boston. It is very popular among visitors for having many arts, history, and science museums. There are wonderful art galleries too. If you like shopping, you must visit Newbury Street. 

2. Harvard University Campus and Art Gallery

Harvard University is one of the finest educational institutes in the world. Its campus has many important historical monuments and a few museums. The main attractions include the famous Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum and the Arthur M Sackler Gallery, which has priceless paintings by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Pablo Picasso. 

3. MIT Campus

The famous Brattle Book Shop with its wonderful collection of old books on MIT campus.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus is as green and famous as the Harvard campus. Personally, when I visit it, I always go to the famous Brattle Book Shop for its wonderful collection of old books which are also surprisingly cheap. 

4. The Mark Twain House, Connecticut

For any Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn lover, this red brick house in Hartford, Connecticut is a pilgrim where the legendary writer Mark Twain lived for 18 years and wrote quite a few of his world classics. The neighbouring house is also a museum built after Harriet Beecher Stowe, the rebel writer of Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

5. Yale University Campus and Art Gallery

The beautiful campus of Yale, the third oldest university in the USA.

Yale is another world-famous educational institute which always ranks among the top universities in the world. It is also the third oldest university in the USA and has a wonderful campus. What I also liked was that the art gallery here, which has over 2,00,000 artefacts, has free entry.

6. Walden Pond, Massachusetts

The beauty of Walden Pond inspired author Henry David Thoreau to write his famous book ‘Walden’.

Walden Pond in Massachusetts is just an hour away from Boston by car. The beauty of this place inspired author Henry David Thoreau to write his famous book 'Walden'. You can swim, walk around the famous pond and also visit the replica of Thoreau's single-room cabin.

7. Robert Frost Farm, Derry, New Hampshire

The Robert Frost Farm in Derry, New Hampshire. One of the most loved poets of the last century, he lived here for more than a decade.

One of the most loved poets of the last century, Robert Frost was a somewhat failed farmer who lived over 11 years in a farmhouse near Derry. But it was also here that he wrote some of his most famous prose. It is a very well-organised house museum with a pleasant country walk through surrounding forests. 

8. Frost Stone House, Vermont

The Frost Stone Museum in Vermont. The house once belonged to poet Robert Frost.

This one is another famous house museum which belonged to Robert Frost.  It's a stone house built near the countryside where he lived for 10 years. There is a great organised tour inside the museum. 

The house is just a few minutes from the Old Bennington Cemetery where lies the grave of the poet. The epitaph says one of his lines, 'I had a lover's quarrel with the world'. 

9. Acadia National Park, Maine

If you want to truly witness the beauty of autumn and the leaves changing colours, you must visit the Acadia National Park in Maine. It is situated by the Atlantic Ocean and the driveway is so scenic that it has become a dream for many to drive down this road someday and if possible, all the way to Canadian borders.

10. Rhode Island 

Rhode Island, the smallest state of the USA is known as 'The Ocean State' due to its extensive coastline of 600 kilometres and intimate connection to the sea. This tiny seashore state is famous among visitors for beaches, cliff walks, and gorgeous seafood. It is also known as the sailing capital of the world.  

It also has some important historical spots from the colonial era.