Welcome to Visit New England - Maine
Visit Maine: A guide to ME travel, tourism, vacations, hotels, food, and attractions
80 Great Things to Do in Maine
Maine vacation highlights include Bar Harbor, Acadia, beaches, and lighthouses
A Maine vacation encompasses all of the outdoor beauty and cultural pleasures of New England as a whole. A major draw for people all over the world is Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, a place of rocky coastlines, stunning ocean vistas, lighthouses, and mountain drives. This is also the region to find whale-watch cruises and Maine schooner cruises.
A description of Maine’s attractions should begin geographically in the South Coast region, where beach towns like Ogunquit, York Beach, Kennebunkport, and Old Orchard Beach offer sun, sand, surf, and wonderful hotels and other rentals for a short romantic getaway or a long family vacation. Get to the town of Kittery for outlet shopping. Lodgings throughout the state, in fact, cover the gamut of hotels, motels, inns, resorts, and bed and breakfasts.
Moving northeastward along the coast, the city of Portland offers plenty of urban pleasures, including art and history museums, nightclubs and live entertainment, more lighthouses, a revitalized waterfront, the Old Port district. The Portland region is home to Freeport, headquarters of the outdoor outfitter L.L. Bean.
The Midcoast region, northeast of Portland, is home to Camden, Boothbay Harbor, and Rockland. This area is home to lots of unique art galleries, lighthouses, coastal scenery, and good food. You will find Maine lobster everywhere in the state. The whole coast is dotted with historic lighthouses (about 65 at lat count).
The northern and inner regions, including the Western Lakes and Mountains, the Maine Highlands, and Aroostook, welcome whitewater rafters, skiers, snowmobilers, hunters, and fishermen to their mountains, majestic forests, and abundant lakes and streams. Augusta Kennebec is the home of the state’s dynamic little capital city. Maine’s towns and cities have made an effort to preserve much of their 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods. These elegant buildings now are often the home of excellent restaurants, galleries, antique stores, and unique gift shops.