Looking for seaside cities and towns to explore this summer? We have three harborside destinations that are sure to capture your heart.
Newport, Nantucket, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, share roots as historic harbors and embody the essence of a coastal summer experience. We visit all three to discover what’s new in these ancient seaside destinations.
Gilded Age grandeur
Newport, Rhode Island, once the summer haven for the Gilded Age’s wealthiest continues to be a thriving vacation destination. Surrounded by saltwater on all sides, with walkable Colonial-era downtown, excellent shopping and dining options, and a 20-foot-deep channel and bustling waterfront, it is a favorite spot for yachters and landlubbers alike.
My friend Sarah and I traveled to Newport to join Classical Excursions, a travel company that runs tours throughout the globe to places of antiquity and elegance. On this occasion, the travel company has cultivated private tours of some of the city’s oldest houses as well as exclusive sneak peeks into rooms typically off-limits in the famed Newport Mansions.
We chose to stay on the waterfront at the Brenton Hotel. Opened in 2020, this boutique accommodation redefines a luxury stay in this historic port city. Spacious rooms, with interiors that conjure the feeling of being on a yacht, have floor-to-ceiling windows offering endless views of the harbor and historic cityscape.
We check into our 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom suite. Well-appointed and drenched in light, the suite has 270-degree views of Newport harbor, steepled New England churches, tall ships, sailboats, and superyachts, lighthouses, and some of the Newport Mansions off in the distance.
We are surrounded by unparalleled extravagance. With muted tones of nautical blues, brass, and natural wood furnishings, every guest room is thoughtfully designed to inspire a calming retreat. The bedding is fine linen from Matouk in Fall River, Massachusetts, and made specifically for the Brenton Hotel. The hotel even offers the sound bath meditation that I am more than happy to partake in to get my mini holiday underway.
Once unpacked, we meet the tour group to discover the Gilded Age beauty of this seaside playground. We visit Kingscote, built in 1839 by architect John Upton in the early Gothic Revival style. Also on the tour are the 1902 Marble House and 1893 Breakers designed by Richard Morris Hunt, and The Elms designed by Horace Trumbauer. Each mansion is more impressive than the last. Walking through these opulent halls invokes dreamy fantasies of fancy galas, free-flowing Champagne, and the finest ball gowns.
After our day of sightseeing, we congregate back at the Brenton’s “Living Room.” We find a comfortable couch with perfect water views and order a glass of Sancerre and a dirty martini. Other participants of the tour flow in, gathering around in club chairs to share the experience and splendor of the day. The mood is festive and relaxed as we continue to meet old friends and make new ones.
Sarah and I joined tour director Chas Miller, III, for a bite in the lounge. He has a wealth of knowledge about the city and is delightful to spend time with. The locally sourced menu offers shared plates designed by executive chef Glaister Knight. The elevated yet approachable dishes integrate local and New England–sourced ingredients, ranging from fresh Bluff Hill Cove Oysters, and local charcuterie and cheese boards, to crab cake scotch eggs, and braised short rib crepes.
Once we finish our meal, we head to the rooftop, which offers unmatched views of Newport. Games abound in this playground, including cornhole, foosball, and table tennis; there’s even a six-hole putting green. Outdoor sofas and fire pits allow guest to relax and linger over a nightcap or two.
As we wrap up the night, I look out over the harbor, happy to be among friends in this special place with such a rich and diverse history.
brentonhotel.com
classicalexcursions.com
Northern neighbor
After a quick flight (just under two hours) north to the seaside city of Halifax, you feel like you are a world away. The capital of this Canadian province has a cool, cosmopolitan vibe, and I’m eager to explore. The area is steeped in the history of both its native people, the Mi’kmaq, and European settlers of the 1600s.
I stay at the sophisticated Muir Autograph Collection Hotel. Located in the Marquee District with amazing harbor views, the posh hotel’s 109 rooms are modern and well-appointed with luxury linens, bespoke furnishings made in Canada, a wellness center and spa pool, and a halo therapy salt room, considered to have healing properties for a host of health issues.
The hotel also boasts its own art gallery showcasing local art and has a speakeasy called BKS. A private entrance reveals a handsome room with rich wood, marble, and luxurious banquettes. The bar’s terrace, open during warmer months, overlooks the dramatic harbor filled with naval ships, yachts, and cruise liners. Its historically inspired cocktail recipes pay homage to its maritime setting, including a rotating rum punch evoking the city’s rum-running past and global influences.
Exploring the city reveals a melding of old and new: 18th- and 19th-century architecture sits alongside modern steel and glass structures. I start my journey at the waterfront where I find a host of eateries and shops celebrating the coast. One favorite spot is the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which boasts the largest collection of wooden artifacts recovered from the Titanic. (Halifax was the closest port to where the ship went down.)
Next, I head to Spring Garden Road, a popular street in the city for shopping and dining, and grab a coffee at the Smiling Goat Organic Espresso Bar before walking over to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. Built in 1856, it is now a historic landmark. I head back to the waterfront and hop on the Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry, the oldest operating saltwater ferry in North America, for a waterside glimpse of the city.
I make my way back to the Muir for dinner at Drift, which poetically states it is a culinary ode to Nova Scotia’s land, people, and history. Its elevated dishes include lobster and shrimp cakes and Atlantic Salmon tartare, and P.E.I. mussels. A must try is the updated take on the fish cake—light and flaky and perfectly battered. Back in my room, I drift off to sleep surrounded by luxury and comfort and stunning views to the harbor. I’m excited for my next adventure in Nova Scotia, a drive along the coast.
Upon checkout from the Muir, I make my way south from Halifax to the Lighthouse Route, which takes you through charming seaside towns reminiscent of Maine’s coastline. Shoreline roads pass rugged headlands and tranquil island-studded bays. I stopped at Peggy’s Cove to visit the graceful 1915 lighthouse set on granite overlooking the cove. With a preservation designation, it is still an active fishing industry area.
Next up, Chester, a seaside hamlet founded by New Englanders in 1759. The wood-framed houses are reminiscent of the North Shore’s.
Mahone Bay is a quaint little town known as the best small-town downtown in all of Canada. The community goes all out to celebrate every season: Great Scarecrow Festival in the fall, Father Christmas Festival, and Classic Boat Festival to name a few.
The seascapes and landscapes of Nova Scotia are breathtaking and worth the quick flight from Logan—it’s a must-see for anyone’s vacation destination list.
My first love: Nantucket
Thirty miles out to sea and one my favorite places on Earth, Nantucket is a pristine town seemingly frozen in time. Eighteenth-century sea captain’s mansions of the whaling era abound along cobblestone streets. You can get lost in the romance of this harborside haven.
The island’s 300-year history includes being named the whaling capital of the world in the 1700s—its wharves once bustled with boatbuilding, sail lofts, and candle factories. After the decline of the whaling industry, the island sat still and unchanged without progress or growth for almost a century. This perfect neglect maintained the beauty, mystery, and allure of the island. Rediscovered for its well-preserved charm in the 1920s, Nantucket entered a new era of tourism and by the 1960s, the waterfront, or the Boat Basin as it came to be called, developed into a fishermen’s community and artist enclave. Today, owned by White Elephant Resorts, Nantucket’s Cottages at the Boat Basin overlook the storied harbor.
The Cottages, where I am staying, underwent a multimillion-dollar renewal this year, while keeping the original integrity of the buildings in place. Nantucket designer Audrey Sterk infused new life into the 29 cottages, which perch along the boat slips and have names like “Falcon” and “Orion,” names of whaling ships of the 1700s. The interior color palette is deep ocean blue, misty gray, and stark white; and features including lantern lights, charts of Nantucket’s waters, and brass barometers play into the nautical theme.
I check into the “Falcon,” a dreamy two-bedroom loft with a full kitchen. From my windows I see the blue-gray waters, sailboats, and fishing vessels, and, in the distance, Brant Point Light. I’m eager to go out and explore the town. T-shirt shops, posh boutiques like Ralph Lauren, nautical antiques dealers, and galleries brimming with local art line Main Street. I pop in and out of storefronts, and then I head to the Whaling Museum, run by the Nantucket Historical Association, which offers a rich overview of the history of the whaling industry and a great timeline of how the island developed.
After working up an appetite, I travel to the east end of the island to the Wauwinet, the only Relais & Chateaux property on Nantucket (and owned by White Elephant Resorts) for lunch. Its award-winning restaurant, TOPPER’S, is a foodie destination, tucked into a traditional New England inn overlooking Nantucket Bay. The focus is hyper-local seafood—oysters and clams are harvested just 300 yards from the restaurant. I dine on smoked bluefish pâté, Nantucket oysters, and the lobster roll. Laurent Perrier Champagne is flowing freely.
After this indulgent meal, I decide to head to one of my favorite conservation areas on the island and perhaps anywhere in the world, the Middle Moors, which has the largest area of undeveloped land, over 3,000 acres, on Nantucket and is maintained by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Sandy paths meander past low-growing shrubs of huckleberry and bushberry mixed with sedge. Reindeer moss and false heather cover the ground. The breeze blows gently across the moorlands.
For dinner, I head to the White Elephant Resort to dine at Brant Point Grill located on the harbor. A feast of creative dishes comes to the table: Spanish octopus with charred tomatoes, olive tapenade and almonds followed by grilled swordfish in aji miso Amarillo (Peruvian chili pepper). I finish my dinner with a summery raspberry crème brûlée. After such a satisfying meal, I walk back to the Cottages in the dark mist of the evening. With just the click of my heels across the cobblestone and the lapping waves at the wharf, I am transported to another time. I have loved visiting this island since I was young and hope to always come back to it.