Portsmouth: New Hampshire's Big-ish City

Portsmouth is a place in the midst of a renaissance. Once a seedy harbor town full of squalor and prostitutes, Portsmouth has completely altered its atmosphere over the last few years. The town cleaned itself up, and the main street is now lined with trendy cafés and stores selling designer clothing. Gone are the strip joints by the harbor; they've been replaced by outdoor restaurants featuring panoramic views of tugboats on the water and the new suspension bridge leading to Maine. The result of this sudden and massive change is a town with a completely new image, catering to families and young people who come to enjoy the city's restaurants and nightlife.

Portsmouth is centered around a public square, and roads jut out at every angle, extending down to the harbor or into the suburban neighborhoods surrounding the town. The square serves as the focal point, and it is always bustling with activity, no matter the time of day. In fact, Portsmouth has a certain energy to it that no other town in New Hampshire can match. There's a constant flow of people traveling about, passing through the square, walking by the harbor, or poking around the little shops that flank the streets. It always feels lively, and the walkers don't disappear from the streets at 6pm. You can simply sit at one of the cafés in the square and people-watch for hours.

If you get hungry, Portsmouth offers excellent restaurants, some with extremely curious names, such as The Dolphin Striker or Fat Bellys. A standout is the Portsmouth Brewery, which is a large establishment centered around a microbrewery, serving all things battered and fried.

After dinner, take a walk down to the water and get ice cream at one of the places by the harbor. The view of the bridge is spectacular, especially at night. Although Portsmouth had inauspicious beginnings, the town has transformed itself into an entertaining and lively city offering something for everyone.

Quick Tips:

Downtown Portsmouth extends from the square to the waterfront, which is only a few blocks away. Although it's a rather small area, the town center has a lot packed into it. Begin at the square and work your way outwards. You can always find your way back, as there is a large steeple rising above it that is visible throughout the town. Make sure to check out the waterfront, which is located at the end of the main street. The views over the water are excellent, and you can see the old drawbridges that once carried all the traffic from I95 into Maine. Eat at the Brewery for dinner, but venture elsewhere in the town for dessert, as there are several excellent ice-cream shops and cafés (try Breaking New Grounds).

Best Way To Get Around:

Drive to Portsmouth and park in the town’s parking garage, which costs only .75 an hour. Once you are in Portsmouth, travel by foot. The downtown is small, and you should be able to see everything in a matter of hours.

For a moderately priced hotel, Best Western Wynwood offers a lot of bang for you buck. Located just off the traffic circle on the outskirts of Portsmouth, the hotel is easy to reach from the highway, but it is still only a few minutes from the city center.

Best Western Wynwood is built like an old-style motel, large and low to the ground. The building itself is only two stories high, but it sprawls over a massive chunk of land, with rows of rooms extending out from a central hub in no discernible pattern. Although the front desk can be somewhat remote depending on where you end up, the sheer size of the property ensures that you won't be bothered by road noise or light pollution. Best Western Wynwood makes full use of its space, fitting an indoor swimming pool with a hot tub, full fitness center, outdoor pool, and dining room with a 24-hour cocktail lounge.

If my room offered any indication of the average quality of accommodation, Best Western Wynwood is one of the best hotels around. The room was cavernous, fully heated and air-conditioned, and included such amenities as a refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker, two sinks, two phones, a TV with 98 channels, and free high-speed Internet access. The bathroom was nice as well, with a shower and full-size bathtub. (According to their website, BW Wynwood's suites have whirlpool tubs with "room for two.")

All this cost about $100 a night, not half bad for a double room in the summer. There's ample parking for cars of any size and a takeout breakfast place right next door so you can get moving quickly in the morning. You really couldn't ask for a nicer place to stay at such an affordable price and in such a great location.

The Portsmouth Brewery is a large pub-style restaurant located in the heart of downtown Portsmouth. What sets the brewery apart from any other large New England pub-themed establishment is that fact that the restaurant is built around a functioning microbrewery. Towards the rear of the restaurant and behind glass are the large brewing tanks and machinery, and the smaller holding tanks for each variety of beer are located in the basement, with little windows around the restaurant so that guests can peer in and watch their beer make its way through a series of hoses into the taps at the brewery's bar. Unsurprisingly, the brewery offers a wide variety of beer to its guests, and this is one of the main attractions of the restaurant. There are light lagers and dark Irish beers, as well as a selection of fancy beers flavored with things like cloves and orange peel. A few are yeasty and disgusting, but most are excellent, or at least mediocre. About 10 beers are offered at any given time, and the selection changes according to the season.

In addition to the beer, the brewery offers the standard New England pub selection of fried fish, steaks, and ample mashed potatoes. In keeping with the brewery theme, many of the dishes are prepared using homemade beer, with selections like beer-braised fish-and-chips and lager chicken. The portions are huge and the food is reasonably priced, with entrees costing between $10 and $20. The atmosphere of the restaurant is always lively, though the tin ceilings make for awful acoustics, and the brewery is often too loud for easy conversation. Despite this drawback, the restaurant is a great destination for the microbrew enthusiast, or anyone seeking a tasty meal at a crowded and comfortable place in the heart of town.