Best Attractions in Massachusetts | 2015 Editors’ Choice Awards

Looking for fun in the Bay State? You won’t have to look far! Read our picks for the best attractions in Massachusetts for 2015.

Best Art Museum Campus Clark Art Institute, Williamstown The opening last year of the Clark’s new Visitor Center was a capstone in the reinvention of this already-excellent small museum. The 19th century French works collected by Sterling and Francine Clark remain the centerpiece, but the new and renovated buildings now conjure a broader artistic vision that links the art to the museum’s bucolic grounds, laced with hiking trails. 225 South St. 413–458–2303; clarkart.edu Best Summer Theatre Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield With a 520-seat renovated main stage (a former vaudeville hall) and a modest 99-seat contemporary theatre, Barrington offers venues for splashy musicals as well as intimate plays. The company has had a long commitment to developing new musical theatre and typically premieres at least two musicals each summer season. 30 Union St. 413–236–8888; barringtonstageco.org Best Thrill Ride New England Skyscreamer, Agawam The name says it all. Dual swing chairs dangle on cables from the 400-foot-high top of the New England SkyScreamer, and when the machine starts to spin, riders are slung almost perpendicular 40 stories above the ground. The views are great—if you can scream and look at the same time. Six Flags New England, 1623 Main St. 413–786–9300; sixflags.com/newengland Best Birdwatching Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton/Northampton With its diverse terrain, a mix of wetlands, meadow, and woodlands at the oxbow of the Connecticut River, Arcadia’s rich environment supports dozens of bird species over its 723 acres. Typical midsummer sightings along five miles of trails range from bald eagles, kestrels, and redtailed hawks to blue-gray gnatcatchers, Eastern bluebirds, and black-billed cuckoos. Great blue herons nest communally in the Ned’s Ditch wetland. 127 Combs Road. 413–584–3009; massaudubon.org Best Armor Collection Worcester Art Museum, Worcester The suits of medieval armor adopted from the now-shuttered Higgins Armory Museum shine all the more brightly in the Worcester Art Museum’s context of art and history. Always one of the world’s great collections of armor, these masterpieces of the smith’s craft can now be fullyappreciated as beautiful works of art. 55 Salisbury St. 508–799–4406; worcesterart.org Best Maritime Art Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester No artist ever painted sea and sky as luminously as Fitz Henry Lane of Gloucester. His canvases glow even more brightly in the museum’s renovated galleries, which augment Lane’s oil paintings with his drawings and lithographs. Upstairs, two small ships and a first-order Fresnel lens help cele brate Cape Ann’s fishing and maritime history. 27 Pleasant St. 978–283–0455; capeannmuseum.org Historic Highlight – Best Historic Farm Spencer–Peirce–Little Farm, Newbury (1638) Just off busy Route 1A, this historic farm rolls back the clock to a simpler era. Genial goats, handsome horses, and immense pigs rush to the fences for attention, and guides offer tours of the 1690 manor house and attached 19th-century farmhouse. Many weekends see vintage games of the Essex Base Ball Association. 5 Little’s Lane. 978–462–2634; historicnewengland.org Best Children’s Attraction LEGOLAND Discovery Center, Somerville No adults are allowed without a child escort — probably so the old folks don’t hog the interlocking bricks. Geared to ages 3 to 10, this builder’s delight includes an “academy” where kids get construction tips from experts, as well as a gallery of Somerville and Boston buildings and attractions made from LEGO bricks. 598 Assembly Row. 866–228–6439; legolanddiscoverycenter.com/boston Historic Highlight – Best Presidential Homes Adams National Historical Park, Quincy (1947) The birthplaces of John Adams (POTUS #2) and John Quincy Adams (POTUS #6) tell compelling tales of learned men of principle and one brilliant, tough-minded first lady named Abigail. A National Park trolley makes the rounds of the two modest birthplaces and the grander family manse. Visitors’ Center, 1250 Hancock St. 617–770–1175; nps.gov/adam Best Sport Museum Hall at Patriot Place, Foxborough For football fans who have perhaps forgotten that there was a New England Patriots team before the Brady/Belichick era, this facility adjacent to Gillette Stadium contains the team’s Hall of Fame and galleries that tell the Pats’ tale from the early days to the four Lombardi Trophies. You can even try on uniforms in a replica locker room. 1 Patriot Place. 508–698–4800; thehallatpatriotplace.com Best Winery Lunch Truro Vineyards & Crush Pad, North Truro Before touring the winery, you can picnic on the grassy lawn with Niman Ranch burgers, skirt-steak tacos, and lobster rolls from the Crush Pad food truck (a mobile offshoot of Truro’s Blackfish restaurant). The winery bar sells Truro wines by the glass to complete the experience. Sandwiches: from $7. 11 Shore Road. 508–487–6200; trurovineyardsofcapecod.com Best Artist’s Home Edward Gorey House, Yarmouth Port Much as artist and author Edward Gorey (1925– 2000) loved the macabre, his pen-and-ink drawings of all matters horrific were always touched by whimsy, including the animated tombstone opening credits for the PBS Mystery! series. The house preserves the artist’s mishmash collection of books, artifacts, beach stones, and curios—and his enduring, ultimately droll vision. 8 Strawberry Lane. 508–362–3909; edwardgoreyhouse.org

PRINT