Concord Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

Located 20 mi/30 km northwest of Boston, the village of Concord, Massachusetts, was one of the first places where musket balls flew during the Revolutionary War. The main battle site, Old North Bridge, is part of Minuteman National Historic Park, as are Hartwell Tavern (which changed hands several times during that day) and other related sites along Route 2A and in nearby Lexington.

Concord's other claim to fame is the large number of authors who lived and wrote there. You can visit the residences of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Emerson House) and Louisa May Alcott (Orchard House) and another house (Wayside) that Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne both lived in at different times.

Concord Museum highlights the town's literary connections, displaying the furnishings and books of Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Thoreau's Walden Pond is nearby. It's an especially nice getaway during the fall foliage season (in summer the pond and its shores get crowded). Rock musician Don Henley and other celebrities waged a successful battle to save Walden Pond from something not on Thoreau's list of life's essentials: condo conversion. As a result of their Walden Woods Project, the land around the pond will remain open to the public for walking, hiking and, of course, contemplating.

Overview

Introduction

Concord, New Hampshire's state capital, vies with Portsmouth for the greatest concentration of historic attractions. Be sure to visit the State House: Built around 1819, it's an imposing granite neoclassical structure with a gold dome and statues of Daniel Webster, Franklin Pierce and other New Hampshire notables.

To get a good introduction to New Hampshire, drop in at the Museum of New Hampshire History, which is housed in a warehouse from the 1800s (look for the Concord coach, the prototype of the famous Wells Fargo stagecoach). If you like historic homes, see the Pierce Manse, home of the 14th U.S. president, complete with family-heirloom furnishings.

The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium was named after the elementary school teacher and civilian mission specialist who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. Among the attractions is an interactive exhibit that allows visitors to chart their course through space.

Just 10 mi/16 km north of Concord in Canterbury Center is Canterbury Shaker Village, a museum and historic site that preserves one of the settlements of the communal Shaker religious community. There are no more living Shakers in Canterbury; the last ones died in the early 1990s. A walking tour highlights the restored buildings from the 1800s and the Shaker furnishings, which are much prized for their clean lines and high-quality craftsmanship. Artisans demonstrate woodworking and other Shaker crafts.

Every October in Warner, about 15 mi/24 km northwest of Concord, the Fall Foliage Festival showcases the region's seasonal offerings.