How to Eat a Lobster
The Pilgrims may have turned up their noses at lobster—they deemed it "fit only for pigs"—but today's seafood lovers can't wait to get their hands on these tasty crustaceans. They’re a favorite in Massachusetts, and natives can help you find the best place to try one out. It’s one of the infinite pleasures of any visit to Massachusetts!

Boston
Historic and scenic Boston is a must-see destination for any Massachusetts traveler. Follow the Freedom Trail, which provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the drama of the American Revolution. Stroll along the trail's red line, and you'll discover Paul Revere's House, Old North Church, and Faneuil Hall. At the trail's end, step on board the newly restored USS Constitution, The U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned ship. You should also visit the Black Heritage Trail—Boston's nineteenth-century Black community on Beacon Hill—and take a ride on the Public Garden's famous swan boats. Hoist a toast at the Bull & Finch Pub, which inspired the television show "Cheers."

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Ballet both have well-deserved reputations for artistic excellence. National and local productions light the marquees of the Theater District. Boston's art museums—the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Institute of Contemporary Art—all present exhibitions that are inspirational and provocative, and the Kennedy Library and Museum provides an absorbing look at a critical period of American history.

The Fleet Center, the spectacular new home of the Celtics and the Bruins and an entertainment venue, along with Fenway Park, one of America's oldest ball parks and home to the Red Sox, are both easy to reach by foot or by public transit. "Must-see" family favorites also include the New England Aquarium, with its giant tank filled with 2,000 species of fish, the Museum of Science and its four-story Omnimax Theatre and the world-famous Children's Museum with its "do-touch" exhibits welcome all visitors. Shopping for all tastes and budgets can be accommodated in Beantown, Downtown Crossing, Newbury Street, Copley Place, the Shops at the Prudential Center, and Faneuil Hall Marketplace, to name a few.

Cambridge
Right across the Charles River is Cambridge, an intellectual capital and home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here, you can visit Harvard Square, famous for its lively cafes, shops, and nightclubs. In the evenings, the Square's sidewalks are crowded with street musicians. There are a mouth-watering collection of ethnic restaurants in Harvard, Central, and Inman squares, and the city also has a vast array of bookstores—more than 30 at last count. The Longfellow National Historic Site, a grand mansion that served as George Washington's Revolutionary War headquarters and, later, as the home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow can also be found here.

North of Boston
The 30 miles of rocky coastline north of Boston are punctuated with long sandy beaches, rugged fishing ports, and sparkling sailing harbors. Salem, the home of the witch trials of the 1690s, offers a terrific museum devoted to Salem's 18th- and 19th-century trade with the Orient, and novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables. Marblehead is one of the East Coast's premiere sailing centers. Old Town features the 18th- and 19th-century homes of fishermen, merchants, and artisans, and Gloucester, a rugged fishing port, is packed with working boats and seafood restaurants and a departure point for four whale watch operators. Rockport harbor has been the subject of countless painters’ work. Essex, a mecca for antique hunters and seafood lovers, is also the birthplace of the fried clam, and Newburyport’s High Street, lined with splendid early-American mansions, holds the history of wealthy sea captains and merchants. Just off Newburyport is Plum Island, a barrier reef island and nature preserve with six miles of smooth white beach.

Merrimack Valley
Explore the Merrimack Valley and you'll encounter the sites and attractions that represent not one, but two revolutions, a century apart. Stroll along Lowell's canals and you can easily imagine the rhythmic clatter of looms coming from the sturdy brick mill buildings. The textile industry has long gone but the mills remain as a graphic reminder of the city's role in the American Industrial Revolution. The Lowell National Historical Park offers tours of the old cotton mills, barge trips through the canal and lock system, and rides on an early 1900s trolley. A Lowell sculpture park pays tribute to Lowell native and beat generation author Jack Kerouac.

If revolutionary history is of interest to you, head to Concord and Lexington, where the sound of muskets became a decisive moment in the struggle for independence. You can see a reenactment of the famous battle on Lexington Green, where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Here, the homes of Concord's literary lights, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, are preserved as museums. In Concord, Walden Pond, where Henry David Thoreau mused on nature, can be found.

Bristol County
Stroll down the gas-lit cobblestone streets of New Bedford's historic district and it's not hard to imagine the port in its heyday as the hard-driving whaling capital of the world. See the New Bedford Whaling Museum, where you can board a half-scale model of a whaling vessel, and the Seamen’s Bethel, a chapel for seafaring families and the inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. The schooner Ernestina, a 100-year-old vessel with a rich history as a fishing vessel and arctic explorer graces the New Bedford waterfront when not at sea.

Nearby Fall River has a rich history from its days as a textile-manufacturing center. Fall River is renowned for its discount outlet stores, housed in the granite and brick mill buildings that once hummed with textile machinery. It also is the home of Battleship Cove, which features the WWII battleship USS Massachusetts, and other historic Navy vessels, plus the tall ship HMS Bounty. Big-name jazz, folk, rock, and classical concerts can be attended at the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts.

Plymouth County
Plymouth Rock, an enduring symbol of the Pilgrim's arrival in the New World, is a natural starting point for a visit to Plymouth, "America's Hometown." The pilgrims' early days in the New World are vividly re-created at Plimoth Plantation, a living-history museum that re-creates the 1627 Plymouth community. You'll meet Governor William Bradford, Mistress Hopkins, and other members of the community as they go about their daily lives. The “Mayflower II" is a full-scale reproduction of the ship in which the hardy Pilgrims made their harrowing 66-day voyage. Whale watch cruises depart regularly from Plymouth.

Cape Cod
It doesn't take long to discover why Cape Cod is known as Massachusetts' year-round playground. You'll find miles of warm-water beaches, fresh-caught seafood, hiking and bicycling trails, and challenging golf courses. All this on a peninsula known for its distinctive architectural style of gable-roofed houses with shingles weathered to a soft gray. Sandwich is the Cape's oldest town and home to Heritage Plantation with its rhododendron-filled grounds and collections of early American artifacts, antique cars, and folk art. The National Marine Fisheries Aquarium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute can be found in Woods Hole. The John F. Kennedy Memorial is in Hyannis, a bustling seaside town with seafood restaurants and warm-water beaches. Take a detour at the National Seashore Salt Pond Visitors Center and swoop along an undulating trail all the way to Coast Guard Beach. The lively artists' colony of Provincetown is on the tip of the Cape.

Martha’s Vineyard
Here you will find Oak Bluffs, famous for its Methodist campground and the brightly painted Victorian "gingerbread cottages." It is home to the Flying Horses, the oldest working carousel in America. Vineyard Haven is a picturesque turn-of-the century community and a year-round ferry port. Edgartown, once a prosperous whaling port, is now an elegant yachting center filled with stately mariners' homes. The town's Old Whaling Church is a performing arts center.

Nantucket
Step off the ferry or the plane in Nantucket and you're in another world. Thirty miles off Cape Cod, this crescent-shaped island retains a quiet charm found in past days when whaling ships made this island haven their home. You'll find lots to explore on foot or by bicycle, unspoiled beaches, solitary lighthouses, peaceful byways and lanes, historic mansions, and open-air farmers' stands. Sea captains' houses line the cobblestone streets. The Whaling Museum, a former spermaceti factory, now overflows with artifacts and memorabilia from the island's once-thriving industry.

Central Massachusetts
Travel to the heart of the state and you'll discover a region that offers rolling hills and meadows, sophisticated cultural attractions, and the state's second largest city, Worcester. Old Sturbridge Village, a living-history museum that re-creates a rural New England settlement of the 1830s, is a short drive away. Museum staff dressed in period clothing farm the fields and go about their daily chores in the 40 restored homes, meeting houses, and craft shops. Worcester's venues for cultural performances and special events include the modern Worcester Centrum Center and Mechanics Hall, the setting for such 19th-century orators as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Henry David Thoreau. The Worcester Art Museum is one of the leading small art museums in America. The collection there includes Dutch and Italian paintings and the earliest surviving examples of American paintings.

Greater Springfield
Springfield’s role as the birthplace of basketball and the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame is preeminent. Pay tribute to the sport's legends and test your skills in the "shoot-out" gallery. The city also offers history, art, and science lovers a cluster of special-interest museums. The bustling town of Northampton is a center of the region's thriving crafts scene and is home to Smith College. The charming college town of Amherst, home to the University of Massachusetts and two of the region's nine private colleges, can also be found in this area.

Franklin County
North along the Connecticut River is the rich farmland and magnificent scenery of Franklin County. Stop by any of the friendly hill towns and you'll find old-time general stores, antique shops and cozy B&B’s. Travel the back roads of the northwest corner of Massachusetts, and you'll find charming villages, swimming holes, and covered bridges. The Mohawk Trail, now Route 2, began as a Native American trail, was widened by the early settlers, and then was developed as America's first scenic automobile route.

The Berkshires
Looking for natural beauty, a culture-packed summer season, great skiing, and sophisticated dining and lodging? Look no further than the Berkshires.

Area: 10555 sq.mi, Land 7838 sq. mi., Water 2717 sq.mi.

Location: 42.33602 N, 071.01789 W.

Population: 6,175,169; 13th, 12/99.

Coastline: 192 mi.

Shoreline: 1,519 mi.

State Capital: Boston.

Border States: Connecticut - New Hampshire - New York - Rhode Island - Vermont.

Agriculture: Seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, vegetables.

Industry: Machinery, electric equipment, scientific instruments, printing and publishing, tourism.

Flag: On a white field is a blue shield emblazoned with the image of a Native American, Massachuset. He holds a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. The arrow is pointing downward representing peace. The white star represents Massachusetts as one of the original thirteen states. Around the shield is a blue ribbon with the motto, "By the Sword We Seek Peace, but Peace Only Under Liberty". Above the shield is an arm and sword, representing the first part of the motto.

Largest Cities: Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, and New Bedford.

Geographic Center: Rutland, 12 mi. north west of Worcester.

Highest Point: Mt. Greylock - 3491 feet, 31st.

Lowest Point: Atlantic coast - sea level, 3rd.

State Motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem -- By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.

State Bird: Chickadee.

State Flower: Epigaea regens.

State Nickname: Bay State.

Origin of state's name: Named after local Indian tribe whose name means "a large hill place".

Statehood: February 6, 1788.

Topography: Jagged indented coast around Cape Cod; flatland yields to stony upland pastures near central region and gentle hill country in west; land in west is rocky, sandy and not fertile.

State Song: Hail Massachusetts.

State Tree: American Elm - Ulmus americana.