Boston.com This is the Boston Globe site, great for restaurant information on Boston-metro and Boston-area restaurants. Also the place for detailed information on events and museums.

Yankee Magazine The best site for all things New England, including articles on the top ski areas, search engines for lodging, and a guide to classic New England destinations.

Frommer's site has a Best of New England section that's worth exploring.

New England Restaurant Guide A great resource for fine dining in New England.

About.com A variety of links and suggestions from About.com's New England expert.

Distinctive Inns A guide to the most select inns in the area. These are not inexpensive, but they are guaranteed to please.

Bed and Breakfast.com Search by name on any town in New England and get a list of nearby B&Bs.

The Most Beautiful Villages of New England

Frommer's New England

The Everything Guide to New England

Recommended Bed & Breakfasts New England

Best Places to Stay New England

Foghorn Outdoors New England Hiking

Ogunquit is a beach town on the coast of Southern Maine. To get there from Boston, take Rt 1 N to I95 N. The drive from Boston is about 2 hours. Downtown Ogunquit has many small shops (clothing, jewelry, crafts) and restaurants.

In spring and fall, you'll be able to park in the town lot right at the beach. Just follow the signs for the beach (taking a left at the fork in downtown); the lot is at the end of the road on the right. Ogunquit Beach is wide, long, and beautiful. In the summer, beach parking is trickier--either get there early and walk or park in one of the more remote lots and take the free trolley.

From downtown, take a right at the downtown fork to get to Perkins Cove. (Note that parking can be tough here in summer.) Lovely small shopping area and view of tiny Ogunquit harbor featuring a footbridge that opens to let sailboats into the harbor. For a casual seafood meal (lobster available), try Barnicle Billy's, or just get an ice cream at one of several shops.

Ogunquit features an unusual shoreline walk called the Marginal Way. It's a 1.25-mile walk with great views that runs between Perkins Cove and downtown Ogunquit. It's worth checking out, especially in summer, when you can walk the entire path and take the trolley back to your car.

Nearby attractions: Antique lovers will want to check out the stretch of Rt 1 North between Ogunquit and Wells, which is filled with shops. On the way back to Boston, you may want to stop in the outlet malls in Kittery. Portsmouth (a small seacoast city just off I95) is a good place to stop for a meal on the way up or back.

At the tip of the Cape is a great town for art, fun restaurants, and people watching. From mid-May to the end of September, you can get to P-Town by high-speed ferry from Boston. In the off-season, or to see more of the Cape, take I93 S to Rt 3 S. You'll go over the Sagamore Bridge and be on Rt. 6, which runs the entire length of the Cape. Note: avoid going over the bridge on Friday late afternoon/evening in the summer, backups are several miles. Drive from Boston to P-town is about 2.5 hours in light traffic.

Restaurants are on every corner in P-Town, see listings here and here.

For a fun outing, you may want to take a dune tour, either during the day or at sunset along P-Town's famed Racepoint Beach.

Nearby attractions: If you're driving and want to walk or sunbathe along the way, the best choice is one of the National Seashore Beaches, which feature beautiful vistas, rolling waves, and easy parking. Chatham is a picturesque town for shopping or a late afternoon drink at the oceanfront Chatham Bars Inn.

About 45 minutes north of Boston (take Rt. 1 N to Rt. 1A N) is Salem, home of all things witchy. Right next door is Marblehead, with a quaint shopping district and gorgeous harbor. The two towns make a great day of eating, shopping, and museums.

There are several witch museums in Salem, but if your time is limited, my recommendation is the House of the Seven Gables, a facinating property made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Salem also features The Peabody Essex Museum with a house transported from Southeast China and many interesting permanent and temporary exhibits.

While in Salem, be sure to drive down Chestnut Street, touted as one of the most beautiful streets in the US, a wide street with beautifully maintained Federal Houses. Note the smaller windows on the top floors--these were servant quarters.

If you're looking to have Sunday brunch or a quiet late afternoon drink, try the Lyceum Restaurant. If you want to have lunch on the water, head over to Marblehead.

Take Lafayette St. in Salem into Marblehead and follow the road all the way into town. At the top of Washington St. is Abbot Hall, worth stopping in for a quick view (free) of the original Spirit of '76 painting. Down the other side of the hill is old-town Marblehead, with cafes and small shops. Note one of the oldest town halls in the US (yellow building in the middle of the road). Take a right on State St. to get to the harbor, and follow Front St. (left) about a 1/2 mile to the Barnacle Restaurant for harborside chowder and seafood.

Here are a few suggestions for activities during foliage season. Note that foliage turns first in the north and moves southward over several weeks.

Kancamagus Highway. From Boston, take Rt. 93 N to Lincoln, NH (about 2 hours). The Kancamagus is a scenic highway that runs between Lincoln and Conway, offering pretty river views and plenty of leaf peeping. Nearby are outlet shopping in North Conway and plenty of hiking on Mount Washington (highest peak in the Northeast).

Monadnock Mountain. A very popular 2-hour climb just outside Keene, NH. There are several choices for getting to the summit, some harder than others. The view from the top is spectacular, especially during foliage season.

Canoeing. In New Hampshire, you can canoe on the Saco River. In Mass, try the Ipswich River or the Concord River (South Bridge Boat House, 978-369-9438). About an hour paddle from the boat house, you can beach your canoe and explore historic Minuteman Park, site of the shot-heard-round-the-world battle.

If you're staying in Boston, want to spend a day at the beach, and don't feel like driving to Maine or the Cape, I recommend the beaches in Ipswich and Gloucester. Keep in mind that parking at these beaches on summer weekends fills up quickly. Get there before 10 (or after 2), or you probably won't get a spot.

Crane Beach in Ipswich is one of the North Shore's most beautiful. It's expensive to park on the weekend, but there are bathrooms and a snack bar, which is not the case at many beaches in this area. The beach is part of the Trustees of Reservations, which also owns nearby Castle Hill, featured as Jack Nicholson's home in Witches of Eastwick.

Good Harbor and Wingaersheek beaches in Gloucester are also lovely. More information here.

While you're in the area, you may want to check out the funky shops in downtown Gloucester (home of Gorton's fish factory and this famous statue, go antiquing along Route 133 in Essex, or wander around Rocky Neck Artist Colony

If you want seafood for dinner, the only place to go is Woodman's for wonderful lobster, fried clams, and everything else. Very casual, very fun, very famous (don't worry, the line moves quickly).

My favorite mountain in the Northeast is Sunday River. It's a big mountain, so there are plenty of trails for green, blue, and black skiers. Sunday River, about 3.5 from Boston, has outstanding snowmaking and nice ski lodges. This is a particularly great mountain for advanced skiers, since the blues there would be blacks at most other ski resorts. There are several hotels, various prices, right at the mountain. However, the town of Bethel, where the mountain is located, is rather small.

If you're looking for a more "New England" experience, with shopping and restaurants, I recommend Stowe, Vermont, also about 3.5 hours from Boston. There are many hotels and B&Bs in the area, as well as lots of restaurants and shopping. Stowe (Mount Mansfield) is a terrific mountain for skiers, with lots of expert terrain and very long runs. It also has a gondola, which is great for cold days. There is a new, smaller mountain called Spruce Peak that's perfect for beginners right across the street.

If you're in the mood for something decadent for dinner, try the fish and chips at Mr. Pickwick's Pub. For more restaurant listings, go here.

To get to Martha's Vineyard from Boston, you drive south on Route 3, across the Sagamore Bridge, and park in Wood's Hole. It's a 45 minute ferry ride from Wood's Hole to either Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven. At either port, you can get a taxi, rent a Jeep, or rent mopeds to explore the island. (To take a car on the ferry in-season, you need a reservation months in advance.)

If you don't mind getting up early, Martha's Vineyard is a great day trip. Take a morning ferry, rent some mopeds, explore the island's towns and beaches, and take a late afternoon or evening ferry back. If you want to see more of the island, consider renting a Jeep and staying overnight at one of the island's many B&Bs.

There are seven main areas on Martha's Vineyard: Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, Chilmark, Gay Head/Aquinnah, Menempsha, and Chappaquiddick (Chappy), each with its own unique character. The first three are good-sized villages with shopping and restaurants. The second three are "up-island" towns: small, rural, and beautiful. Chappy is a residential island on the other side of Edgartown harbor.

Edgartown is a sea-captain's town with beautiful Federal-style houses and a gorgeous harbor. Oak Bluffs is famous for fried seafood and colorful gingerbread houses. Vineyard Haven has great upscale shopping and restaurants.

The prettiest beach on the island is East Beach, on Chappy, accessed by a one-minute car ferry out of Edgartown. There will be a long ferry line in the morning out of Edgartown in the summer, so be prepared, or try Katama or Menemsha Beach as an alternative.

Drive out West Tisbury Road from Edgartown and you will pass through the tiny village of West Tisbury (stop at the Field Gallery for terrific art) and into Chilmark, another tiny village (but with Chilmark Chocolates). Past Chilmark are rolling hills with glimpses of ocean on the way to Gay Head. Park at the lighthouse and walk up to the observation area for views of the clay cliffs and the Elizabeth Islands. On the way back, stop in at Menemsha to pick up rocks on the beach and see the cute fishing shacks made famous in Jaws.

For a wonderful breakfast, try the Among the Flowers Cafe in Edgartown (sit outside). For a casual seafood lunch, try one of the tiny places along the pier in Oak Bluffs. For barbeque, try Smoke'n Bones outside Oak Bluffs. A bit hard to find, but worth it.