Best Places of the Merrimack Valley

Looking for an opportunity to get out and explore the Granite State, but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Our curated “choose your own adventure” guide gives you the map to food, adventure, shopping, nightlife and culture spots in each region so that you can create your own getaway (our list is just the jumping off point!), discover hidden gems and well-known favorites, make new memories and fall in love with our beautiful state and the people within it all over again.

Best Places of the Seacoast
Best Places of the Monadnock Region
Best Places of the Dartmouth/ Lake Sunapee Region
Best Places of the Lakes Region
Best Places of the Great North Woods
Best Places of the White Mountains

Merrimack Valley straddles the border of southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts, named for the river that was the primary transportation route for the textile industry in the 19th century. Of all the regions in New Hampshire, it offers the greatest contrast between urban and rural, with its once-gritty mill cities and their revived downtowns just miles away from forested hamlets where homes have ample acreage and produce is still sold by the roadside in the summer. It’s also the most populated part of the state, so consider this a sampler from lots of possibilities.

Food: 

The Bedford Village Inn • Bedford
Sorry, Manchester, but the BVI is the kind of place businesses book when they want a high-end experience for lodging and dining experiences. It offers several options, including the AAA Four Diamond-rated Bedford Village Inn Restaurant, the Italian-themed Trattoria Fondi, the casual fare Bedford Village Inn Tavern and Corks Wine Bar. bedfordvillageinn.com

Tuscan Kitchen • Salem
Joe Faro’s flagship restaurant, Salem’s Tuscan Kitchen, moved from its original downtown location to be the centerpiece of the Artisan Hotel in Tuscan Village, the 170-acre residential and business center Faro developed on the site of the former Rockingham Park Race Track. While Tuscan Kitchen and its casual sister restaurant and retail shop, Tuscan Market, generate a lot of fanfare, the village is home to more than a dozen other restaurants. tuscanbrands.com

The Puritan Backroom Restaurant • Manchester
For more than a century, the family-owned Puritan Backroom Restaurant has managed to stay hip with high-schoolers on prom dates and provide a source of comfort for older diners. If you hadn’t heard yet, they also invented fried chicken tenders! puritanbackroom.com

Staycation: 

The Ash Street Inn Bed and Breakfast • Manchester
Margit Eder and Rob Wezwick took over ownership of the Ash Street Inn 10 years ago. Originally built in 1885, the inn is a converted Queen Anne Victorian home, perfect for travelers seeking quiet and calm. Its location offers great access to neighborhood amenities like the Currier Museum of Art, just a couple of blocks away. ashstreetinn.com

Hotel Concord • Concord
This independent boutique hotel tucked in the heart of downtown is just a short walk from shops and restaurants. The hotel occupies the fourth and sixth floors of the Capital Commons building and offers views of the State House. hotelconcordnh.com

Night Life: 

Nashua Center for the Arts • Nashua
One of the state’s newest entertainment venues, the Nashua Center for the Arts opened downtown in 2023. The venue has a capacity of 750 for seated events and up to 1,000 with a standing room-only section. nashuacenterforthearts.com

SNHU Arena • Manchester
It’s been more than five years since SNHU Arena has been home to a minor league hockey team, but the nearly 12,000-capacity venue regularly hosts national comedians, rock and country bands, rodeos, monster trucks and other entertainment. snhuarena.com

 Palace Theatres • Manchester
The Palace is a collection of theaters that includes its 834-seat namesake on Hanover Street and adjacent The Spotlight Room, plus the 300-seat Rex Theatre on Amherst Street and Forever Emma Studis youth theater on Pine Street. palacetheatres.org

Tupelo Music Hall • Derry
We liked it better when it was a tiny BYOB venue in Londonderry, but Tupelo Music Hall had to grow to keep up with the competition. Owner Scott Hayward’s bigger hall in Derry regularly books a wide variety of national musical acts spanning all genres. tupelomusichall.com

Adventure: 

NH Audubon Massabesic Center • Auburn
Just a few miles from the bustling city limits of Manchester, nature awaits along the trails around Lake Massabesic. NH Audubon’s Massabesic Center offers a great launching pad for bird watching and trail walking along Battery Point. The center is bordered by 130 acres of fields and features a mature deciduous forest with woodland wetlands, a pond, streams and marshes. nhaudubon.org

Manchester Firing Range • Manchester
Looking for an extra dose of challenge and adventure? Jake and TerryAnn from Manchester Firing Range are here to help. Their gun range, courses and even women’s shooting club educates and brings awareness of firearms and the responsibility surrounding the ownership of them. gunsnh.com 

McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center • Concord
This nonprofit science museum next door to the NHTI campus is dedicated to Christa McAuliffe, the Concord High School teacher and first civilian in space, and Alan Shepard, the Derry
native and Navy test pilot who became the first American in space. The 45,000-square-foot center features interactive science and engineering exhibits, a planetarium, an observatory and educational programs. starhop.com

SEE Science Center • Manchester
Founded in Manchester in 1986 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, the nonprofit museum offers hands-on science learning opportunities for families and students. Exhibits
include the LEGO Millyard, a representation of the museum’s neighborhood that includes more than 3 million pieces. see-sciencecenter.org

Shopping: 

Downtown Concord 
Concord has the complete downtown experience, including a bookstore, a record store and a movie theater — all independently owned. In 2015, the city launched a two-year, $14 million project to transform Main Street, reducing four lanes of traffic to two and expanding sidewalks. Shop for clothes or cookware, meet friends for dinner, and catch a show at the Capitol Center for the Arts.

Culture: 

Currier Museum of Art • Manchester 
This world-class museum, taken for granted by locals, is one of the Queen City’s crown jewels. Bragging rights: The Currier is the only art museum in the world with two Frank Lloyd Wright homes, which are both open for tours. currier.org

Millyard Museum • Manchester 
Take a crash course on the city of Manchester’s glory days as the center of the universe for textile manufacturing. It’s only fitting that the museum’s Millyard neighborhood is once again an epicenter for innovation. manchesterhistoric.org