Things to Do
Family attractions
Places built for children rather than tolerated by them, with stroller and access notes.
Filter by town
6 sample listings.
Portsmouth
Outdoor history museum campus
A whole neighbourhood of preserved houses interpreted across four centuries.
Budget three hours, not one. The best single introduction to how this city was built.
- Verification status
- Unverified sample
- Last verified:
- not yet verified
- Price positioning
- mid-range
- From Market Square
- 10 minutes
- Parking
- Small visitor car park; street parking nearby
- Access
- Gravel paths and historic thresholds; step-free route partial
- Season
- Strongly seasonal — commonly closed in winter
Portsmouth
Harbour sightseeing cruise
An hour on the Piscataqua past the tugs, the yard and the harbour lights.
Do this on day one. Everything you walk past afterwards makes more sense.
- Verification status
- Unverified sample
- Last verified:
- not yet verified
- Price positioning
- mid-range
- From Market Square
- 6 minutes
- Parking
- Garage, then walk
- Access
- Gangway gradient varies with tide; confirm before booking
- Season
- Seasonal, typically late spring to autumn
Portsmouth
Back-channel kayak outfitter
Guided paddles on the sheltered creeks behind the city, timed to the tide.
The Piscataqua's main channel runs hard and is not a beginner's river. Go with someone who reads the tide table.
- Verification status
- Unverified sample
- Last verified:
- not yet verified
- Price positioning
- mid-range
- From Market Square
- drive, 8 minutes
- Parking
- On-site parking at launch
- Access
- Launch is over a ramp and mudflat; adaptive options unconfirmed
- Season
- Late spring to early autumn
Portsmouth
Riverfront formal garden
Lawns, a planted formal garden and open river frontage in the middle of town.
In July this is where the whole city ends up in the evening. Free, and the best value in Portsmouth.
- Verification status
- Unverified sample
- Last verified:
- not yet verified
- Price positioning
- modest
- From Market Square
- 8 minutes
- Parking
- Adjacent lot, fills early in summer
- Access
- Mostly level paved and grass paths
- Season
- Gardens planted for summer; open year-round
Portsmouth
Children's hands-on museum
Two floors of things a child is allowed to touch.
The rainy-day answer for under-tens, and the reason a wet Portsmouth weekend still works.
- Verification status
- Unverified sample
- Last verified:
- not yet verified
- Price positioning
- mid-range
- From Market Square
- 12 minutes
- Parking
- Nearby lot
- Access
- Lift-served and stroller-friendly typical of this building type; confirm directly
- Season
- Year-round
Rye
Rye state beach
Sand, cold Atlantic water and a long view south.
Portsmouth has no beach. This is the closest proper one, and the water is genuinely cold until August.
- Verification status
- Unverified sample
- Last verified:
- not yet verified
- Price positioning
- modest
- From Market Square
- drive, 15 minutes
- Parking
- Metered state lots, full by mid-morning in July
- Access
- Boardwalk access at some entrances; beach wheelchairs unconfirmed
- Season
- Lifeguards summer only; open year-round for walking
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Outdoors
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