Exploring the Charms of Portsmouth, New Hampshire: A Coastal Delight!

Vacation is over and I’m happy to say that our trip to Maine is one of the best vacations I’ve ever had. Better than our recent excursion to Hawaii, hands down! The east coast has everything I’m passionate about – the ocean, hills, historic homes, quaint towns, and plenty of nature. We took two side trips to New Hampshire while visiting Kennebunkport, and the first round of eye candy I’m going to share is our jaunt to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

 

What a charming surprise this seaside town possesses. I was expecting the city to be a little on the grungy side, why – I don’t know. But what I found was streets filled with history and old houses lovingly restored, or in the process of being restored. Like the mustard house above and the pink house below, there was simply no shortage of residential beauty.

 

But before I share some of the other amazing homes, let me show you some of the city itself. I hate to even call it a city because Portsmouth, New Hampshire has a small town vibe to it. Maybe I’m just too used to the hustle and bustle of Chicago so everything seems more laid back.

It’s easy to imagine people from 200 years ago walking the streets or riding their horses and popping into local taverns.

 

We immediately found Market Square, which is the main shopping district in Portsmouth. I was fascinated by the brick sidewalks (it doesn’t take much to entertain me) and was happy they hadn’t been covered in cement. You’ll find one interesting boutique after another, with a few restaurants squeezed in here and there.

 

In addition to boutiques, there are plenty of historic buildings to admire.

 

 

I couldn’t pass the Museum of Dumb Guy Stuff without snapping a photo. We didn’t go inside because there was so much else to see. I can’t imagine what’s in there – or wait, maybe I can!

 

 

Walking down the streets of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, you’ll find little gated gardens like this one.

 

And interesting garages and sheds like this.

 

There are plenty of public garden spaces too, like this one by the waterfront.

 

 

Across the street from this public garden with amazing flower beds is this charming blue house. I noticed that a lot of the houses fly the flag or have patriotic bunting on the porch or at the windows.

 

We only spent a few hours in the charming town of Portsmouth, but we could have easily spent a couple of days. It was fun just to walk around and take in the sights.

 

Not all the architecture is historic. You’ll find a few modern structures in the downtown area.

 

Here’s a few of the historic homes I photographed. I took hundreds of pictures on this trip, but easily could’ve taken thousands.

 

There were a lot of houses that featured five windows on the second floor, and four on the first floor – with a center hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

This old wooden house was added onto. These five-over-four window homes also have a center chimney.

 

Some houses are a little newer, but I really like the Colonial era homes and thinking about what life was like when these houses were all newly constructed. This is a photo of Hotel Portsmouth, which looks like a great place to stay.

 

I highly recommend visiting Portsmouth, New Hampshire if you’ve never been there. We also took a drive over to Castle Island which is so very pretty. I was so in awe of this idyllic place that hosts the town of New Castle, with beautiful homes and gardens and am mad at myself for not getting photos. But you can see a few over at Mapped by Megan.