Grand New England

Depart the UK on your chosen scheduled flight to Boston. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel, The Fairmont Copley Plaza. Relax and enjoy the remainder of your day familiarising yourself with this wonderful walking city. This evening join your travelling companions for a welcome reception and dinner.

History is alive around every corner of the city of Boston on an orientation tour this morning that includes Boston Common, the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill, the ethnic flavors of the North End, and a visit to the USS Constitution Museum, located in Charlestown Navy Yard, where you’ll discover the secrets of “Old Ironsides.” Later, enjoy some free time to explore this city as you please, where the venerable past is always present.

Drive to Lenox in the Berkshire Mountains, home of The Mount, the hilltop mansion of the author Edith Wharton, a house she designed herself. She was the consummate hostess, and you’ll feel like one of her guests at a private lunch this afternoon. Then you’re off to Williamstown to visit The Clark Art Institute, where the large collection includes masterpieces by Winslow Homer, Degas, Monet, and Renoir. (On days when the museum is closed, a visit will be made to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.) Continue on to The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa in picturesque Manchester, Vermont, for a two-night stay. Dine at your resort this evening.

This morning, it’s off to Hildene, the Georgian Revival mansion of President Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert and his wife, Mary. He was the chairman of the Pullman Company, the largest manufacturing corporation in the US at the turn of the 20th century. On a self-guided tour, hear a demonstration of the resident 1,000-pipe Aeolian organ; discover the goat dairy (these goats produce milk with a high butterfat content and protein percentage that is perfect for artisanal cheese production) and the Pullman car Sunbeam, offering insight into the Gilded Age of wealth and industry that followed the Civil War. The Pullman car played a pivotal role in the African American journey; as the largest employer of African Americans, many of them freed slaves and their descendants, it gave rise to the first established black middle class in America. Return to the resort for lunch and an afternoon spent as you please, either at the mresort or perhaps exploring Manchester. This evening, savor locally sourced ingredients in an intimate setting.

The morning is spent traveling through the Vermont countryside; you’ll view charming small villages, rolling hills, forests, and fresh streams. Mid-afternoon, arrive at the Shelburne Museum, where art and Americana meet. Spread over 45 acres, this unique museum tells the tale of 19th-century American life through its collection of prints, paintings, folk art, quilts, and more. Explore historic buildings, including barns, a meeting house, a jail, a lighthouse, and a railroad station, in a village setting arranged around the Ticonderoga, a 220-ft. steamboat that once ferried passengers and livestock on Lake Champlain. Continue to Stowe, tucked in the Green Mountains; your accommodations are at a family-owned resort.

En route to the White Mountains, stop to take photos at Vermont’s gold-domed State House in the capital, Montpelier, and enjoy a maple sugar demonstration at Morse Farm. Arrive in Bretton Woods for a two-night stay at Omni Mount Washington Resort, one of New England’s last Gilded Age resort hotels. Since opening in 1902, this hotel has attracted presidents, robber barons, and celebrities. In 1944, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were established here in the Gold Room! The hotel’s architectural grandeur is well-preserved, and the mountain scenery is stunning. Dine at your leisure tonight.

Some of the harshest winter weather on the planet can be found on Mount Washington, where once a wind speed of 231 mph was recorded in 1932. But at this time of year, you’ll experience only temperate temperatures and magnificent views. Board special nine-passenger vans for a drive to the summit, an elevation of 6,288 feet. Tour the Mount Washington Observatory, meet the staff, and visit the “Extreme Mount Washington” interactive museum that explains meteorology and creates virtual Mt. Washington winter conditions for summer visitors. Wind your way down New England back roads on the return trip to Bretton Woods. This afternoon, attend a presentation by an expert on the local ecology and wildlife at your hotel.

This morning it is on to Portland, Maine where a local lobsterman takes you out into the harbour aboard his working boat for an authentic, hands-on experience in the lobstering trade. Back on land, stroll through the historic Old Port area along the waterfront, an atmospheric neighborhood with 19th-century buildings and cobblestone streets. Enjoy time exploring on your own and settle in at your hotel before joining us for dinner tonight at – where else? – a lobster house on Bailey Island overlooking Casco Bay.

Today you’re off to the town of Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island – a summer playground in the late 19th century for families like the Rockefellers, Astors, and Vanderbilts. Arrive at your luxury oceanfront resort hotel in time for lunch, where the dining room boasts panoramic views of the harbor. Afterward, it’s all aboard a traditional wooden schooner for a cruise on Frenchman Bay. Take in the landscape of picturesque coves, islands, lighthouses, and seaside estates – and enjoy the romance of a windjammer under sail; a park ranger accompanies the cruise and shares insights. Disembark and head back to your fabulous hotel overlooking Frenchman Bay.

Luminist painters were among the first to depict and draw attention to the beauty of Bar Harbor, a destination that attracted the Gilded Age high society – who created an exclusive summer community here to rival Newport in Rhode Island. See exquisite Victorian architecture en route to nearby Acadia National Park. Drive the Park Loop Road, enjoying views of Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Cadillac Mountain; the scenic landscapes are soul-stirring, including coves, forests, beaches, cliffs, and rocky islands – and the view from the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard, is worth the climb. Return to your resort for free time; your resort features two restaurants with ocean views, a luxury spa, and an outdoor swimming pool; it’s also a short distance from the Shore Path, a scenic trail, and a promenade that wraps around the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island.

Journey south along the rugged coast, pausing in Camden for lunch and free time. You’ll discover a picturesque historic town, lined with 19th-century mansions; Camden is so photogenic that it’s been used as a film location. Once a fishing and shipbuilding center, the area is dotted with tranquil coves and beaches and a harbor full of yachts and schooners. Continue to a classic Maine hotel, The Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, for an overnight stay. This evening, you will be invited to join your fellow travelers for a farewell reception and dinner at your hotel.

After breakfast, it’s just a short journey to Boston Airport, where you check in for your flight back to the UK.