New Bedford, MA Road Trips

New Bedford is a city of 101,000 people (2020), many of Portuguese (particularly Madeira) or Cape Verdean ancestry, still with a great many off the boat immigrants from both. The city has gone through strongly contrasting cycles of poverty and wealth, from its relatively late (by Southeast Massachusetts standards) settlement and foundation, to the peak of the whaling industry, its growth as a textile city in the 20th Century, and the subsequent crash brought on by rapid mill closure in the latter 20th century. It's been known as one of the rougher, seedier locales of New England for a number of decades now, but it's strongly on the upswing since the historic center was declared a federally protected historic site in 1996. While you'll still find plenty of slums, projects, and tenements throughout the city, you'll also find the waterfront full of narrow cobblestone streets and alleyways, historic 18th- and 19th-century buildings, and upscale restaurants and museums. It's also one of the only fortified cities in the U.S., featuring an impressive (and walkable) gated harbor wall that runs from the South End cove across the mouth of the Acushnet river to neighboring Fairhaven. Additionally, there are pockets of grandeur in most parts of the city, with a long stretch of Victorian mansions on County Street that features some truly jaw-dropping architecture, akin to Newport's humbler dwellings. Though the downtown is perfectly safe at night these days, many neighborhoods are still dangerous and walking through them is not advised. New Bedford tourism website

1 Buttonwood Park Zoo, 425 Hawthorne St, ☏ +1 508-991-6178. Daily 10AM-4:30PM (summer F Sa until 6:30PM). Adult $6, senior or student $4.50, child 3-12 $3, under 3 free, family $16. Schooner Ernestina, ☏ +1 508-992-4900, fax: +1 508 984-7719. New Bedford State Pier. New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!, 608 Pleasant St, ☏ +1 508-961-3072, [email protected]. Th-Su 10AM-4PM. Adults $8, students/seniors $5, children (12 and under) free. (updated Dec 2021) Your Theatre, 136 Rivet St (at St. Martin's Church Hall), ☏ +1 508-993-0772. Community theatre group. 2 New Bedford Museum of Glass, 427 County St (within the James Arnold Mansion), ☏ +1 508-984-1666. W-F 10AM-5PM, Sa Su noon-5PM. A huge collection of antique and art glass from Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, to the golden age of Victorian New England glass making (with particular emphasis on New Bedford's world famous glass studios of Pairpoint and Mount Washington), to 21st-century glass artists from around the world. The gift and consignment shop has an ever changing selection of antiques and unique glass in every price range, plus books (great gift shopping for the not easily impressed). Library and resource room with more than 8,000 volumes available for research. Free expert glass identification done every Monday, a great way to find out more about heirloom and hand me down glass pieces. Adults $10, children 11-16 $3, children (10 and under) free.

Balloon Adventures of New Bedford, see Dartmouth. Stephen Hetland Memorial Skating Rink, 310 Hathaway Blvd, ☏ +1 508-999-9051. Call for public skating hours. New Bedford Harbor Tours, 52 Fisherman's Wharf, ☏ +1 508-951-0645. Harbor tours, sunset cruises, private charters. Carabiner's Indoor Climbing, 328 Parker Street, ☏ +1 508-984-0808. Acushnet River Valley Golf Course, 685 Main St, Acushnet, ☏ +1 508-998-7777. 18 holes, 6,807 yards, Par 72. Municipal. Awarded Golf Digest's 4-star rating. Go to East or West beaches on Rodney French Blvd. Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, 88 Tinkham St. First weekend in August. A tradition since 1915, this has become the largest festival celebrating Portuguese culture in the world. The 4-day event welcomes about 100,000 supporters annually, and is organized by the Club Madeirense S.S. Sacramento, where many members can trace their heritage back to Madeira, Portugal. You'll find all the requisite parades, street food and souvenir stalls well represented. Highlights include a colorful reproduction Santana house, where the popular Madeira wine (specially imported) is dispensed, and a 40 foot barbecue pit churning out delectable beef skewers. There's also a special Saturday afternoon kids day, filled with fun children's games and activities. The Museum of Madeiran Heritage is also free during the Feast, and there you can take in a traditional Fado performance. Free. (updated Feb 2023) New Bedford Roots and Branches Festival - July

The Baker - New Bedford, 562 Pleasant St, +1 774-202-1901; Great cheap eats. Breakfast, sandwiches, variety of entrees. Freestones City Grill, 41 William Street, ☏ +1 508-993-7477. Nice facility set in a classic old brick firehouse, with a large copper top bar and displayed artwork. Cozy atmosphere in the heart of historic downtown, good for families, couples, or friends. Award winning fish chowder. $12-22. Candleworks Restaurant, 72 North Water Street, ☏ +1 508-997-1294. Lunch M-F 11:30AM-2:30PM; dinner Su-Th 5-9PM; F Sa 5-10PM. Fine dining. Waterfront Grille, 36 Homers Wharf, ☏ +1 508-997-7010. Lunch-9, 10, or 11PM. Big, spacious family seafood restaurant with sushi bar, amid historic stone counting houses and customs buildings on the harbor with a nice view of New Bedford's fishing fleet docked. Excellent food, which you don't always find in a restaurant of its size. Among the best fried calamari in Massachusetts. Cork (Wine & Tapas), 90 Front Street (next to Rose Alley on a narrow cobblestone path at bottom of the Union Street hill), ☏ +1 508-994-9463. 11:30AM-2AM. Chic tapas place and wine bar in one of the most stunning historic buildings in the city (which is really saying something in New Bedford). Dark, urban decor upstairs, exposed 18th Century stone walls in the basement, massive wooden support beams and other unique period details visible throughout. Excellent Spanish influenced food in surprisingly large portions, good wine list that offers "flights".

Best Western Dartmouth Inn, 737 State Road, ☏ +1 508-717-0424. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. $99 - 149. New Bedford Fairfield Marriott, 185 Macarthur Dr (Across from Waterfront Grill), ☏ +1 774-634-2000. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: Noon. A modern hotel with five floors of rooms and suites. About a one minute drive to the heart of downtown, right on Rodney French Boulevard, which is the scenic road that hugs the ocean looping around New Bedford's South End peninsula. Some spectacular ocean views from the upper floors, including the harbor wall. Try nearby towns for other hotels and motels. Captain Haskell's Octagon House, 347 Union St, ☏ +1 508-999-3933, [email protected]. Orchard Street Manor, 139 Orchard St, ☏ +1 508-984-3475. 3 rooms in 1850s three-story whaling captain's home. Continental breakfast.

T.F. Green Airport (PVD IATA) in Warwick (Rhode Island). Logan International Airport (BOS IATA) in Boston. 1 New Bedford Regional Airport (EWB IATA). Small regional airport mostly used for flights to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Interstate 195, Route 140 and Route 6 run through the city. From Boston and points north: Route 93 South (13 miles). The highway forks in Braintree; stay right. Sign reads: "93 South, Dedham-Providence." (3 miles). Take exit 4 onto Route 24 South. This is a left lane exit (24 miles). Take exit 12 off Route 24 onto Route 140 South (19 miles) until Exit 2E: Interstate 195 East (1.3 miles) to Exit 15: Downtown - Route 18 South (1.1 miles). Turn right at lights onto Elm Street. Public parking garage two blocks on right. From Cape Cod and points east: Route 6 West to Route 25 to Interstate 195 West, Exit 15: "Downtown - Route 18 South". Turn right at lights onto Elm Street. Public parking garage two blocks on right. From Providence and points west: Interstate 95 North to Interstate 195 East, Exit 15: "Downtown - Route 18 South". Turn right at lights onto Elm Street. Public parking garage two blocks on right. Peter Pan Bus Lines has up to ten daily departures from Providence. Buses arrive at the SRTA Terminal in downtown.

Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA), 134 Elm Street New Bedford Transportation Center, ☏ +1 508-997-6767 (email: [email protected])