1. The Gourmet Outlet At Sid Wainer & Son
City: New Bedford, MA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (508) 999-6408
Address: 2301 Purchase St.
Insider Pick:
Description: This third-generation specialty/gourmet foods purveyor is a favorite resource of some of the top chefs in the Northeast. Headquartered in New Bedford, the company’s gourmet outlet is a must-visit for foodies and serious home cooks. Open to the public, the store stocks its shelves with smoked fish and meats, wheels of aged and ripened cheeses, and hard-to-find comestibles from truffle butter to du Puy lentils to almond flour. This is truly the good stuff. The best time of all to come is Saturday, when the demonstration kitchen hums with chefs cooking and offering advice (along with samples). Closed Sun.
2. New Bedford Whaling Museum
City: New Bedford, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 997-0046
Address: 18 Johnny Cake Hill
Description: Anyone—young or old—fascinated by Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick will find plenty to enjoy at this whaling museum. Kids will love the museum’s 4 awesome whale skeletons (each of the specimens came to the museum as a stranding or as a death by unknown circumstances), and adults will be fascinated by the collection of finely detailed scrimshaw art and an impressive array of maritime artifacts including harpoons and tryworks kettles to melt whale blubber. In a dedicated gallery, climb aboard the Lagoda, a detail-perfect half-scale, fully rigged model of the whaling ship of the same name.
3. New Bedford Whaling National Park
City: New Bedford, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 996-4095
Address: 33 William St.
Insider Pick:
Description: In its heyday during the mid-19th century, New Bedford’s whaling captains brought enormous wealth back home. Uncover their stories by tracing their steps along the cobblestones of the New Bedford historic district and visit the sites, including the Seamen’s Bethel Chapel, made famous in Herman Melville’s masterwork, Moby-Dick. The National Park Visitor Center should be your first stop; its 22-minute orientation film, The City that Lit the World, is a must-see. One-hour ranger-led tours are offered daily at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in July and Aug, and by appointment the rest of the year.
4. Feast Of The Blessed Sacrament
City: New Bedford, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 992-6911
Insider Pick:
Description: This celebration of Portuguese culture and heritage is the largest ethnic festival in New England. Started by a group of New Bedford residents in 1915, today the festival welcomes nearly 100,000 visitors during its annual 4-day run the first weekend of August. Food is the centerpiece of this festa with linguica sausage sandwiches, a 40-foot grill to cook your own skewers of beef, and casks of Madeira wine. All-day (and all-night) entertainment includes fado music and traditional folk dancing. There’s a midway with rides and games and a Sunday Grand Parade with floats and dozens of marching bands.