Side Trips

In addition to being, in Oliver Wendell Holmes's words, "the hub of the solar system," Boston is the hub of a network of delightful excursions. The destinations -- Lexington and Concord, the North Shore and Cape Ann, and Plymouth -- make fascinating, manageable day trips and offer enough diversions to fill several days.

Like Boston, the suburbs are home to many attractions that rely heavily on aid from outside sources. Admission fees are current at press time, but the double whammy of funding cuts and energy prices may have nudged admission fees higher by the time you visit. If you're on a tight budget, call ahead.

You Do the Math -- The MBTA (tel. 800/392-6100 or 617/222-3200; www.mbta.com) serves most of the destinations reviewed, but public transit isn't necessarily cheaper than renting a car for a day. For example, suppose you're visiting Gloucester with three other adults, each paying a total of $15 to ride the commuter rail. Even allowing for gas prices, a good deal on a rental car will be cheaper than $60 in train fares. What's more, having a car allows you to make your own schedule instead of being tethered to the train's timetable -- and you don't have to leave from North Station. Just make sure that the car-rental company accepts returns at the time you anticipate returning to Boston, so that you don't get stuck with the car and pricey overnight parking.

Lexington & Concord

The shooting stage of the Revolutionary War began here, and parts of the towns still look much as they did in April 1775, when the fight for independence began. Start your visit in Lexington, where colonists and British troops first clashed. Spend some time at Minute Man National Historical Park, on the border with Concord, investigating the battle that raged there. Decide for yourself where the "shot heard round the world" rang out -- bearing in mind that Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote those words, lived in Concord. Emerson's house and Louisa May Alcott's nearby family home are just two of the fascinating destinations in this area.

Some attractions close from late fall to March, April, or mid-April (opening after Patriots Day, the third Monday in April). Information about both towns is available from the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, 9 Central St., Suite 201, Lowell, MA 01852 (tel. 800/443-3332 or 978/459-6150; www.merrimackvalley.org).

The North Shore & Cape Ann

The areas north of Boston abound with historic sights and gorgeous ocean vistas. Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula so enchantingly beautiful that when you hear the slogan "Massachusetts's Other Cape," you might forget what the first one was. Cape Ann and Cape Cod do share some attributes -- scenery, shopping, seafood, and traffic. Its proximity to Boston and manageable scale make Cape Ann a wonderful day trip as well as a good choice for a longer stay.

If possible, explore the North Shore by car. Public transportation in this area is good, but it doesn't go everywhere, and in some towns the train station is some distance from the attractions. For the full day-trip experience, try to visit on a spring, summer, or fall weekday; traffic is brutal on warm weekends. Many areas are practically ghost towns from November through March, but all of the destinations have enough of a year-round community to make an off-season excursion worthwhile.

The North of Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, 17 Peabody Sq., Peabody, MA 01960 (tel. 800/742-5306 or 978/977-7760; www.northofboston.org), publishes a map and a visitor guide that covers 34 municipalities, including Salem, Marblehead, and all of Cape Ann. It also coordinates Escapes North (www.escapesnorth.com), a clearinghouse for arts- and culture-oriented travel throughout the area. The Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce information center is another good resource.

North Shore Beaches

North of Boston, sandy beaches complement the predominantly rocky coastline. Things to know: The water is cold (optimistic locals say "refreshing"). Parking can be scarce, especially on weekends, and pricey -- the $25-per-car barrier fell in 2007. If you can't set out early, wait until midafternoon and hope that the people who arrived in the morning have had their fill. During the summer, lifeguards are on duty from 9am to 5pm at larger public beaches. Surfing is generally permitted outside of those hours. The beaches listed here all have bathhouses and snack bars. Swimming or not, watch out for greenhead flies in July and August. They don't sting -- they take little bites of flesh. Bring or buy insect repellent.

The best-known North Shore beach is Singing Beach, off Masconomo Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Because it's accessible by public transportation, it attracts the most diverse crowd -- carless singles, local families, and other beach bunnies of all ages. They walk 1/2 mile on Beach Street from the train station to find sparkling sand and lively surf. Take the commuter rail (tel. 617/222-3200; www.mbta.com) from Boston's North Station.

Nearly as famous and popular is Crane Beach, off Argilla Road in Ipswich, part of a 1,400-acre barrier beach reservation. Fragile dunes and a white sand beach lead down to Ipswich Bay. The surf is calmer than that at less sheltered Singing Beach, but it's still quite chilly. Pick up Argilla Road south of Ipswich Center near the intersection of Routes 1A and 133 or take the Cape Ann Transportation Authority's summer-only, weekend-only Ipswich Essex Explorer bus service (www.ipswich-essexexplorer.com) from the Ipswich train station. Also on Ipswich Bay is Gloucester's Wingaersheek Beach, on Atlantic Street off Route 133. It has its own exit (no. 13) off Route 128, about 15 minutes away on winding roads with low speed limits. When you finally arrive, you'll find beautiful white sand, a glorious view, and more dunes. Because these beaches are harder to get to, they attract more locals -- but also lots of day-tripping families. At the east end of Route 133, the beaches and snack bar in Gloucester's easily accessible Stage Fort Park are popular local hangouts.

Plymouth

Everyone educated in the United States knows at least a little about Plymouth -- about how the Pilgrims, fleeing religious persecution, left Europe on the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock in December 1620. Many also know that the Pilgrims endured disease and privation, and that just 51 people from the original group of 102 celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621 with Squanto, a Pawtuxet Indian associated with the Wampanoags, and his cohorts.

What you won't know until you visit is how small everything was. The Mayflower (a replica) seems perilously tiny, and when you contemplate how dangerous life was at the time, it's hard not to marvel at the settlers' accomplishments. One of their descendants' accomplishments is this: Plymouth is in many ways a model destination, where the 17th century coexists with the 21st, and most historic attractions are both educational and fun. Tourists jam the downtown area in the summer, but the year-round population is so large that Plymouth feels more like the working community it is than like a warm-weather day-trip destination. It's a manageable 1-day excursion from Boston, particularly enjoyable if you're traveling with children. It also makes a good stop between Boston and Cape Cod.