1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (15 page)

From the Charles River it’s a short walk to Harvard Square.

The neighborhood’s other longtime culinary favorite, UpStairs on the Square, occupies a former university social club where an innovative use of color and accessories breaks up the formality of the wood paneling. The bar and downstairs dining room are welcoming and casual, with a menu to match; the formal dining room on the top level serves special-occasion food with a subtle twist that complements the exquisite space.

The student population long ago ensured a vibrant music scene in Cambridge. See who’s performing at the Club Passim, one of the best folk and acoustic music venues anywhere. A fixture of Harvard Square since it opened in 1958 as Club 47, the subterranean coffeehouse is a friendly place with a no-frills, music-first atmosphere. The club has booked legendary musicians such as Joan Baez and Bonnie Raitt (both as teenagers), Tom Rush, Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith, Peter Wolf, and Bob Dylan, and that’s just scratching the surface.

The Square is especially festive on warm weekends. Crowds pour in, growing even larger during frequent street fairs (two of the biggest are Mayfair and Oktoberfest) and peaking in October for the Head of the Charles. The rowing regatta is the high point of the preppy social calendar, attracting thousands of competitors to the river to race along the curving course as supporters scream themselves hoarse in a state of near-frenzy.

W
HERE:
3 miles northwest of Boston.
Visitor info:
Tel 800-862-5678 or 617-441-2884;
www.cambridge-usa.org.
H
ARVARD
U
NIVERSITY:
www.harvard.edu.
H
ARVARD
A
RT
M
USEUMS
(Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler Museums): Tel 617-495-9400;
www.artmuseums.harvard.edu.
C
HARLES
H
OTEL:
Tel 800-882-1818 or 617-864-1200;
www.charleshotel.com.
Cost:
from $229.
L
EGAL
S
EA
F
OODS:
Tel 617-491-9400;
www.legalseafoods.com
.
Cost:
dinner $35.
U
PSTAIRS ON THE
S
QUARE:
Tel 617-864-1933;
www.upstairsonthesquare.com.
Cost:
dinner from $30.
C
LUB
P
ASSIM:
Tel 617-492-7679;
www.clubpassim.org.
B
EST TIMES:
early May for Mayfair; early June when the Harvard campus is spruced up for graduation; early Oct for Oktoberfest; 3rd weekend in Oct for the Head of the Charles (
www.hocr.org
).

The North Shore’s “Other Cape” Captivates

Massachusetts

Who hasn’t heard of Cape Cod? But Massachusetts’s “Other Cape,” the small rocky coast of Cape Ann that juts out into the Atlantic just north of Boston, creates an equally dramatic shoreline that has also inspired
artists for generations. Cape Ann was a center of commercial fishing that began not long after the first group of European settlers declared Gloucester the best fishing grounds in the New World upon their arrival in 1623. Descendants of Portuguese sailors who manned the early fleets are still in strong evidence today: The best-known celebration in a summer schedule full of weekend festivals is St. Peter’s Fiesta, an enormous street fair that includes the blessing of the fleet.

Gloucester is still a seafaring town (as illustrated in Sebastian Junger’s 1991 account of
The Perfect Storm;
the later movie version was filmed here), but the fishing industry has faded greatly. Whale-watching cruises have gained enormous popularity in its wake. Cape Ann’s self-anointed role as “Whale-Watching Capital of the World” is due to the proximity of Stellwagen Bank, a shelf beneath the Atlantic running from Gloucester to Provincetown (see next page). Protected as a National Marine Sanctuary, it is a rich feeding ground for migrating finbacks, humpbacks, and other whales and marine life that happily dwell here between spring and fall. A half-day on the open sea on a Yankee Whale Watch cruise affords an unforgettable opportunity, with naturalists who narrate the voyage and pretty much guarantee multiple sightings.

Gloucester’s gruff and ramshackle character takes a lyrical turn just outside town at Rocky Neck Art Colony, the nation’s oldest working colony. The tiny nearby town of Rockport, sitting at the tip of the peninsula, also has a vibrant artist community that has included Winslow Homer, Fitz Hugh Lane, and Childe Hassam; today the town overflows with gift shops and B&Bs but still retains its charm, especially if visited outside its summer peak. The lovely Emerson Inn by the Sea sits north of downtown’s bustle right on the rocky coast, named for the famous philosopher and onetime guest. The gracious inn was built in 1846 and moved to this location in 1912, with a columned back veranda that overlooks a well-groomed lawn leading down to the sea, past a small heated saltwater pool.

Woodman’s fried clams are well worth the wait.

For centuries nearby Essex supplied ships to Gloucester and countless other ports far and wide, a legacy proudly preserved in the small but impressive Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Model ships, tools, photographs, dioramas, and videos tell its story from 1668, when the first shipyard opened, to the mid-19th century, when as many as 15 manufacturers produced 50 or more vessels a year.

But there’s still more. Cape Ann’s far-reaching renown today is arguably as the hallowed birthplace of the fried clam. In 1916, Chubby Woodman, of Woodman’s restaurant in Essex, was the first to dunk a tasty bivalve into sizzling oil, and the rest is history. Today, Woodman family members preside over the busy restaurant (they serve, on average, 2,000 people on a summer day) noted for clam chowder, steamed lobsters, lobster rolls, onion rings, and other sea-related delicacies as well as those peerless fried clams.

The red-and-white-striped takeout Clam Box in nearby Ipswich opened in 1938 and has been packing them in ever since. A friendly rivalry pits their fried wonders against those of
Woodman’s. You’re invited to sample a paper plate piled sky-high with their fried clams at an outdoor picnic table and cast your vote.

If it happens to be that gorgeous month of October, you might consider a brief foray inland to the little town of Topsfield, whose classic country fair features lots and lots of retro carnival food and local entertainment.

W
HERE:
Gloucester is 36 miles northeast of Boston.
Cape Ann visitor info:
Tel 800-321-0133 or 978-283-1601;
www.capeannvacations.com
.
Rockport visitor info:
Tel 978-546-6575;
www.rockportusa.com.
Y
ANKEE
W
HALE
W
ATCH:
Gloucester. Tel 800-WHALING or 978-283-0313;
www.yankeefleet.com
.
When:
May–Oct.
E
MERSON
I
NN BY
T
HE
S
EA:
Rockport. Tel 800-964-5550 or 978-546-6321;
www.emersoninnbythesea.com.
Cost:
ocean-view from $159 (off-peak), from $229 (peak).
R
OCKY
N
ECK
A
RT
C
OLONY:
Gloucester.
www.rockyneckartcolony.org.
E
SSEX
S
HIPBUILDING
M
USEUM:
Tel 978-768-7541;
www.essexshipbuildingmuseum.org
.
When:
closed Tues–Wed.
W
OODMAN’S OF
E
SSEX:
Tel 800-649-1773 or 978-768-6057;
www.woodmans.com
.
Cost:
dinner $15.
C
LAM
B
OX:
Ipswich. Tel 978-356-9707;
www.ipswichma.com/clambox
.
Cost:
dinner $15.
B
EST TIMES:
June for Rockport Chamber Music Festival (
www.rcmf.org
); late June for St. Peter’s Fiesta in Gloucester; mid-Sept for Gloucester Seafood Festival; early Oct for Topsfield Fair (
wwww.topsfieldfair.org
); early Dec for Christmas in Rockport celebration.

Anything Goes at the Tip of Cape Cod

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Toward the tip of Cape Cod’s northern end, the highway that crosses the rest of the peninsula dwindles to a two-lane road. Then Provincetown appears. A seaside town surrounded by gorgeous dunes and inviting
beaches, the longtime fishing port and artists’ colony is one of the best-known gay communities in the world. The year-round population of just over 3,000 grows tenfold in the summer. Walking along Commercial Street is the best way to get the feel of this casual, welcoming place, equally popular for day-trippers and drag queens, seekers of tacky souvenirs and fine art, beach bums and party animals.

Many year-round residents are Portuguese American (descendants of sailors and fishermen who immigrated in the years following the Civil War), and P-town has a strong Iberian flavor. The Provincetown Portuguese Bakery specializes in traditional pastries and meat pies, and the first big event of the summer is the Portuguese Festival, with Portuguese flags draped everywhere—there’s lots of authentic food, music, dancing, and the blessing of the fishing fleet.

Few grade-school history classes stress that the
Mayflower
landed here first in 1620 before continuing across the bay to Plymouth (see p.64) on the mainland; the Pilgrim Monument stands as a reminder atop High Pole Hill, visible from 40 miles away.

P-town is the port closest (6 miles away) to the Stellwagen Bank, an underwater plateau and rich fishing ground that’s irresistible to migrating whales, with quasi-guaranteed sightings mid-April through October. Whale-watching cruises to see the magnificent mammals—finback, right, minke, and humpback—leave from MacMillan Wharf in the heart of downtown Provincetown.

Fine seafood restaurants have made Provincetown a popular dining destination. Patrons enjoy a water view at the Lobster Pot, whose creative menu includes Portuguese specialties such as cod crusted with linguica sausage; bounteous
sopa do mar,
a mix of fish and shellfish poached in fish stock; and the award-winning Tim’s clam chowder. The menu at Napi’s draws inspiration from around the globe, featuring everything from bouillabaisse to Thai chicken to savory Brazilian shrimp. Built in the late 1960s from salvaged materials, the funky restaurant overflows with local art and antiques and always promises an interesting crowd year-round.

There’s no lack of variety in the accommodations department, either. The Land’s End Inn is a 1904 bungalow famed for both its location as well as its extravagant decor of plush fabrics, fine art, and elaborate antiques. Many of the individually decorated rooms have balconies, decks, or patios to enjoy P-town’s famous sunsets. The best-known unit is the octagonal loft suite, which offers a 360-degree view from private wraparound wooden decks. Another special choice in town is the Crowne Pointe Historic Inn, a late 19th-century sea captain’s house complete with turret and harbor views from its two-story wraparound porch; guest rooms extend into three neighboring renovated carriage houses. Modern amenities blend with the elegant Victorian atmosphere, and many rooms have whirlpools and fireplaces. The modern on-premises spa is P-town’s best, with a wide range of options from deep-tissue or gentle craniosacral massages to a Reiki energy-balancing treatment.

The New Provincetown Players are the resident troupe at the venerable Provincetown Theater. When the artists began arriving in the early decades of the 20th century, so did playwrights and authors, whose ranks over time included such luminaries as Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Norman Mailer, and E. E. Cummings. A busy cultural life is still one of P-town’s biggest summer draws, with drama, dance, cabaret, concerts, and films that fill out the schedule at the theater.