There is are several guides to Newburyport online that may be of some help – this one is pretty good if you can get past the myriad of real estate advertising on it. But it is better than a chamber of commerce business directory which doesn’t give you a feel for the area.
We had lunch at Ceia Kitchen + Bar located just up the hill in the town center. There’s no shortage of interesting places to explore here and lots of great little shops to poke into. I had the lobster Mac and cheese and it was incredible. It was different too! A bit of truffle flavor!
The town has a railway station with direct and frequent service to Boston North which is, as expected, on the northside of the downtown. We stayed in Salisbury and rode our bicycles over the bridge and it was pleasant and easy. A new bike trail now connects the two. Under the bridge they’ve done a great job with merging history and art with a space that normally would be unappealing. On another day we took the MBTA into Boston for a day from Newburyport and it was really easy.
The most interesting bit of the town I thought was how much it reminded me of some towns the same size in England. Not surprising since it was New England but interesting. There’s also a tourist information center of course and everything is in close proximity and easy to walk. The shopping tends to be a bit upscale though there is something for everyone. It isn’t one of those pretentious towns – at least I didn’t find it as such. We stopped for frozen yogurt on the square – more upscale than a simple soft cone but still it was frozen yogurt and if you’re on a budget, it won’t break the bank.
Even the park along the waterfront is reminiscent of parks in England. A great place to stroll and relax. We didn’t do anything specific when here because quite honestly the entire town is the destination and activity whether you are looking to stroll, shop, drink, eat, view and buy art, or just people watch it is a great place.
Nearby you can do a tour round Plum Island which we did and found interesting. There are nice views and some history to discover. It takes maybe ten minutes to get there from the town center of Newburyport and worth a poke over. For lighthouse fans, and who isn’t, there’s a lighthouse sometimes called Plum Island lighthouse and sometimes Newburyport Harbour lighthouse, to visit and a historic ground with several interesting buildings. There’s also a few restaurants out there and enough to keep you entertained for a short day trip or side trip from Newburyport whether you just like views or looking at houses and beach scenes.
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