Southern Maine Coast
Kennebunkport
Dock Square boutiques, Goose Rocks Beach, and the Bush family's Walker's Point - the quintessential coastal Maine summer town.
Kennebunk
Postcard-perfect village of sea captains' mansions, Lower Village shops, and easy walks to Mother's Beach and Gooch's Beach.
Ogunquit
Three miles of sand, the Marginal Way clifftop walk, and Perkins Cove's galleries - southern Maine at its most photogenic.
Old Orchard Beach
Seven miles of sand, a 500-foot pier with carnival games, and summer nights that feel like they belong in a postcard.
Wells
Four miles of quiet beach, working lobster wharves, and a wildlife reserve where sandpipers still outnumber tourists.
York
Nubble Light, Long Sands Beach, and the oldest English-chartered town north of Virginia - history with salt air and a carousel.
Kittery
Maine's southern gateway - Kittery Trading Post, the outlet strip, and Kittery Point lobster shacks Bourdain put on the map.
Saco
Funtown Splashtown, Ferry Beach's maritime pine forest, and a tidy Main Street connecting downtown to the ocean.
Cumberland
Quiet agricultural suburb north of Portland - the Cumberland County Fair in September still runs tractor pulls and pie tables.
Sanford
Mill-town comeback on the Mousam River - Goodall Park baseball, Heritage Crossing, and the Cirque du Soleil training grounds.
Sebago Lake
Maine's second-largest lake - drinking water for Portland, sandy beaches at Sebago Lake State Park, summer camp country.
Auburn
Twin-city of Lewiston - Pettengill Park, the Androscoggin River Greenway, and Mount Apatite's tourmaline-flecked trails.
Lewiston
Twin-city of Auburn on the Androscoggin - Bates College, Kennedy Park, and Maine's most vibrant Somali-American community.
Poland
Poland Spring bottling country - Ricker Hill Orchards, the former Poland Spring Resort museum, and Range Pond State Park.
Topsham
Brunswick's across-the-river twin - Androscoggin riverfront trails, Topsham Fair Mall, and the Coombs Road antique loop.
Arundel
Between Kennebunkport and Biddeford - Arundel Barn Playhouse, the Kennebunk River paddle, and antique-shop row on Route 1.
Berwick
Salmon Falls River mill town, the Berwick Academy prep school, and quiet country drives into the Great Works River marsh.
Eliot
Piscataqua riverfront, the Green Acre Bahá'í School, and the cross-river view to Portsmouth's tugboats from Boat Basin Road.
Gray
Maine Wildlife Park - rehabilitated moose, bears, and bald eagles on show - plus Dry Mills and Cranwell Preserve access.
Hollis
Tory Hill Meetinghouse historic district, Saco River float trips, and the old Hollis Fire Museum just up the road.
Lisbon
Moxie Festival every July - Maine's official soda - plus Worumbo mill ruins, Railroad Park, and the Androscoggin Greenway.
Lyman
Rural York County with Kennebunk Pond - Goat Hill Farm, tractor shows, and quiet drives along Old Alfred Road through farmland.
North Berwick
Hussey Seating Company hometown - Logan's Sub Shop whoopie pies and Mousam River paddling access on the back roads.
Norway
Oxford Hills village - the Norway-Paris Grange, Stephens Memorial Hospital, and the Butters Conservation Area on Norway Lake.
Paris
Paris Hill's white-clapboard common - Hannibal Hamlin's hometown - plus McLaughlin Garden and Oxford Hills foliage drives.
Rumford
Androscoggin River mill town under Pennacook Falls - Mt. Zircon, Rumford Whitecaps, and Smallpox Island view from the bridge.
