2024 Maine Travel Guide | Best Restaurants, Hotels, & Things to Do

2024 Best of Maine: The Classics

MAINE CLASSIC DINING

FARM-TO-TABLE
Chase’s Daily, Belfast

A family farm since the early 1970s, Chase’s Daily added a restaurant in 2000. Recently, it transitioned from full-service to a seasonal counter-service spot. But much of the market/eatery’s charm is that it continually evolves, adding soft-serve ice cream, brewing a new hot sauce, streamlining the menu, pooling tips for fairer pay. The Chase family reminds us that with change comes opportunity (and Friday pizza nights). chasesdaily.me

ITALIAN
Primo, Rockland

To spend a day around chef-owner Melissa Kelly and her team is to realize that old-school farm-to-table cooking means endless hard work (when we last saw Kelly in September, she was going on six months without a day off). This was Maine’s first modern-era restaurant with a real animals-and-vegetables farm on-site. And in the 24 years since Primo opened, the pasta craft has only gotten better, the pork saltimbocca more succulent, the farm-grown tomatoes sweeter and more varied. primorestaurant.com

JAPANESE
Miyake, Portland

Freshly renovated in 2022, and with new owners, Miyake remains a destination with such uniformly high standards that we strongly advise putting yourself in chef Bounahra Kim’s hands and ordering the omakase (tasting menu), a comparative deal for fish this fresh. Prefer à la carte? Try the scallops with yuzu-miso sauce or the spicy Maine crab roll. miyakerestaurants.com

MAINE CLASSIC LODGING

BED & BREAKFAST
Pentagöet Inn, Castine

Matt Powell, a chef, and George Trinovitch, an interior designer, became this turreted Queen Anne Victorian’s new owners in 2022. They’ve combined their talents and passion for history to restore the inn’s yesteryear grandeur (think handsome antiques and delightful historical ephemera with an emphasis on comfort) without sacrificing contemporary must-haves. The dining is excellent, the pub is fun, and the organic gardens are dreamy. pentagoet.com

BOUTIQUE INN
OneSixtyFive The Inn on Park Row, Brunswick

When a fire charred the main structure, innkeeper Eileen Horner created the inn of her dreams within an 1848 Federal overlooking Brunswick’s town green. She updated the decor, opting for brighter neutral paints and wallpapers, restored hardwood floors previously hidden by carpeting, and added eclectic furnishings. Guests can mingle over breakfast in the front parlors or cocktails and snacks in Pub165. Independent-minded guests can stay at the self-check-in Carriage House. Those with a dog can book the cottage. onesixtyfivemaine.com

COUNTRY INN
The Waterford Inne, Waterford

Eager to get away from it all? Choose this attractively renovated 19th-century farmhouse—complete with hand-hewn beams and wide-plank pine floors—on 25 rural acres with fields, gardens, forests, and a pond. Feast on hearty farm-fresh breakfasts, laze in Adirondack chairs, toast marshmallows over the firepit, and enjoy light fare and drinks in the humongous red barn, which also hosts a seasonal dinner series. waterfordinne.insideout.com

MAINE CLASSIC ACTIVITIES

MEETING HOUSE
South Solon Meeting House, South Solon

This classic white-clapboard building sits on a quiet rural corner amid farmlands and forests. The exterior appears as it did when it opened in 1843, but step inside, and wow! Nearly every surface is frescoed with colorful, nondenominational religious scenes painted by 13 artists from the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in the 1950s. web.colby.edu/southsolonmeetinghouse

MUSEUM
Maine Maritime Museum, Bath

Delve into Maine’s seafaring heritage at the Percy & Small Shipyard, part of this museum’s 20-acre campus on the Kennebec River. View indoor history exhibits, then visit the boat and blacksmith shops and the Victorian Donnell House, gawk at the full-size structural representation of the largest wooden sailing vessel built in North America, and hop aboard a daily cruise. mainemaritimemuseum.org

SUMMER THEATER
Maine State Music Theatre, Brunswick

Summer theater is an enduring tradition in Maine, and if you haven’t seen a professional musical at Bowdoin College’s Pickard Theater, you’ve been missing out since 1959. June through August, Maine State Music Theatre presents four elaborately costumed Broadway musicals, three concerts featuring the songs of popular artists, and three family productions. During the season, behind-the-scenes tours are offered at both Pickard Theater and the nearby rehearsal building. msmt.org

2024 Best of Maine: New & Buzzy

MAINENEW & BUZZY DINING

FINE DINING
Twelve, Portland

As the Forest City fully established itself as the Foodie City, it began attracting more chefs from away who’ve opened the kinds of artful, personal restaurants they couldn’t have done in, say, New York. Such is the case with Colin Wyatt, who cooked in top Manhattan kitchens before decamping to Maine. Halibut with a Ritz-cracker crust and bone marrow jus is the sort of high-low fusion that we love. And pastry chef Georgia Macon is a rising star on a national level. Don’t miss any of her breads, including her gingerbread. twelvemaine.com

LATIN AMERICAN
Café Louis, South Portland

Portland’s little sister to the south has lately become the belle of the ball, and this Costa Rican/Caribbean-inspired eatery is well worth the trek across the Casco Bay Bridge. Just about everything is made in-house, save for a few condiments. And much is sourced locally. When you bathe Bangs Island mussels in coconut milk with lime and green curry, you have a whole new way of appreciating what’s on hand. Don’t miss the house-ground brisket burger with house-cured bacon queso chihuahua or the slushy rum drinks. cafelouis.me

NEW AMERICAN
The Alna Store, Alna

What was once a general store with a gas pump out front is Maine’s most-talked-about new eatery. Here, customers can still buy beer or tag a deer, but they can also sit down to a Maine-style Italian sandwich or a plate of local scallops, kale, and celeriac with citrus and chili oil. Chef Devin Dearden changes the menu every two weeks, inspired by everything from local produce to Korean noodles to Provençal stews. In short, the Alna Store brings the world to a small town. thealnastore.com

SUSHI
Rosella KPT, Kennebunk

Rosella is a sustainable sushi restaurant from New York’s East Village, but this is not some overlooked satellite location. Chef Matt Kramer came to Maine with real intention to eschew overfished species in favor of what’s bountiful here: oysters, bluefin tuna, bluefish, amberjack, lobster, scallops, and crab. There’s still spicy tuna and avocado, but nothing that’s flown in. And with such artful preparation (the Kennebunkport Cali roll balances sweet Jonah crab with crunchy radish, creamy avocado, and jalapeño), you won’t miss the neon-orange salmon of old. rosellakpt.com

MAINENEW & BUZZY LODGING

BOUTIQUE HOTEL
The Federal, Brunswick

Captain Daniel Stone and his daughter, Narcissa, must be smiling down on their former home, an 1810 Federal within easy walking distance of Main Street. Renovated and furnished in vintage-meets-contemporary style, the dog-friendly hotel reopened in 2022 with 30 rooms and suites split between the Stones’ original home and the newer East Wing. At 555 North, where acclaimed chef Steve Corry prepares farm-to-table fare. thefederalmaine.com

INDEPENDENT HOTEL
Lockwood Hotel, Waterville

Downtown Waterville is undergoing an artsy revival, and the pet-friendly Lockwood Hotel, opened in 2022, puts visitors at the heart of it. Built by Colby College, the 53-room property displays original works by Maine artists throughout. The inviting lobby, bookended by fireplaces, has a buzzy bar and furniture arranged for cozy conversations. Local farmers and fishermen power a Maine-y menu at the hotel restaurant, Front & Main. lockwood-hotel.com

LUXURY BED & BREAKFAST
The Norumbega, Camden

New owners unveiled a calmer, brighter vision for Camden’s 1887 castle by the sea in 2023, opting for comfort and simplicity while emphasizing the Victorian’s architectural charms such as gleaming wood floors and mahogany woodwork. Numerous public spaces make it easy to find a private niche in the intimate bar, on a balcony or porch, or in the huge backyard. Afternoon treats and a breakfast fit for royalty are included. norumbegainn.com

MAINENEW & BUZZY ACTIVITIES

PARKS
Cobscook Shores, Lubec

Explore 20 beautifully designed and maintained waterfront preserves in and around Lubec. Created by a family-funded charitable foundation, these tracts offer free walking, hiking, picnicking, camping, paddling, birdwatching, and nature study amid miles of undeveloped shorefront including beaches, islands, and coves. All have restrooms, and most have screened picnic pavilions. cobscookshores.org

WALKING TOUR
Portland by the Foot, Portland

Historian Dugan Murphy makes poking around Portland quirky-good fun. A natural performer, he brings the past to life on two-hour “hidden histories” and Black history tours weaving through the Old Port, Waterfront, and East End neighborhoods. You’ll cover about 1½ miles and learn about Maine’s indigenous Wabanaki, European colonizers, women of note, and the city’s unsung heroes. portlandbythefoot.com

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