Easy Day Trips From Rockport

Rockport is located on the tip of Cape Ann (Massachusetts' other Cape) and is just 35 miles north of Boston. Some of the day trips that we suggest to our guests are as follows:

Gloucester: drive to Gloucester to whale-watch, visit the Cape ann Historical Museum, walk along the boulevard and visit the famous Gloucester Fisherman's Statue.

Essex: Drive to Essex (20 minutes away) to go antique shopping at over 40 shops.

Ipswich: Drive to Ipswich (30 minutes away) and visit the Crane Estate, or go to Crane's Beach with 8 miles of coastline and sand dunes to explore. You can also visit the Audubon sanctuary for some glorious walking or great bird watching. A point of interest is that Ipswich has more 1600's homes than any other town in America!

Salem: Drive or take the train (25 minutes) and visit the House of Seven Gables and the Peabody- Essex Museum, and the Phillips House.

Boston: Drive or take the train to Boston (1 hour) and visit the museums, take the Boston Harbor water taxi, visit the Public Gardens or take in a baseball game.

Drive to Rowley for Todd Farms Flea Market on Sundays with over 200 dealers. Go to Newburyport to bird watch along the sand dunes of Plum Island and Parker River Estuary, and Maudley's State Park.

You can also visit the Lexington and Concord area in just over an hour if you're a history buff. You can also visit the famous Walden Pond, where you can re-walk Thoreau's famous paths. While there, pop over to the Wayside Inn in Sudbury for a memorable meal. Pilgrim Plantation, the Mayflower and the famous Plymouth Rock are about a 90 minute drive away. In Quincy, John Adams' homestead can be visited in a little over an hour as can the J.F.K Library as well.

Then there is always the shopping lure of the outlet stores in Kittery, Maine, about 90 minutes away as well. We've also had guests that have driven to Cape Cod, the Sturbridge area in Western Massachusetts and some of the scenic towns in Maine a bit farther up the coast all for a day (though they're all a bit farther than I'd undertake, about 2 - 2 1/2 hours away).

You'll find that there really is a multitude of readily accessible historic, scenic or interesting things to do within a short drive from Rockport. We suggest the you consider making The Tuck Inn your home base while visiting the area, as you can still return later in the day and relax in our quiet little village before more exploring during your holidays.

Rockport Music Performance Center

Everyone in Rockport is thrilled about our new Performing Arts Center on Main Street. The 20 million dollar Shalin Liu Center was just completed in June 2010, with special acoustics, a seating capacity of 330 and an extraordinary backdrop of Sandy Bay. It is quite a jewel for our town. The center offers Chamber Music, Classical, a new Jazz series and simulcasts of the operas from the MET, along with a number of productions for our local high school plays. The Center even has a fully catered function room, which can be rented for weddings or meetings to boot!

The Tuck Inn is conveniently located just two blocks away from the Shalin Liu, and as we are open nearly year-round, we would be happy to accommodate your lodging if you come up for a performance.

To look at a complete list of their upcoming performances, ticket prices, or to purchase tickets, please click to their website at www.rcmf.org.

Come enjoy the music in our beautiful little village!