Location: Nantucket
Top Things to do in Nantucket
Top 10 Sights & Landmarks in Nantucket, Massachusetts (MA)
Windswept beaches, sand dunes, blinking lighthouses and a charming pace of life await on this 50-square mile island. The world's former top whaling port is now designated a National Historic District. Leave the car and take the shuttle or bike around. Seaside cottages, old whaling captains' mansions and historic harbors contain quaint inns, boutique stores, chowder shacks and upscale dining delights. Swim, surf or load up the tackle for Nantucket's excellent striper, bluefish and bonito fishing.
Restaurants in Nantucket
1. Unitarian Universalist Meeting House Nantucket
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 10 reviews
2. Great Point Light
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 184 reviews
Towering more than 60 feet, this historic lighthouse was established in 1784, destroyed in 1984 and rebuilt in 1986. Located on the Coskata Coatue Wildlife Refuge. You can get a tour of the lighthouse if you join one of the Trustees of Reservations guided natural history tours depending on the time of year and access to the lighthouse. Beach access is limited during storms and high tides. Always check the local Great Point tides and never drive through water!
Reviewed By farmguy78
Rented a Jeep Wrangler from Affordable Rentals. Bought the pass to drive out to the lighthouse across the dunes. Beautiful scenery. Lots of seals. Worth every penny of the $50 fee.
3. Nantucket Founders Burial Ground
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 10 reviews
4. Moors End Farm
5. St Paul's Episcopal Church
6. Sconset Bluff Walk
7. Oldest House (Jethro Coffin House) and Kitchen Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 74 reviews
The Oldest House on Sunset Hill, also known as the Jethro Coffin House, was built in 1686 and is believed to be the oldest residence on Nantucket still on its original site. The island’s English population at the time totaled several hundred, and the native Wampanoag outnumbered them by at least three to one. Built as a wedding gift for Jethro Coffin (1663–1727) and Mary Gardner (1670–1767), the house represents the unity of two of the island’s oldest families. Jethro was the grandson of one of the island’s original proprietors, Tristram Coffin, and Mary was the daughter of John Gardner, one of the leaders of the so-called Half-Share Revolt, in which the island’s tradesmen rallied against the wealthier full-share proprietors. Although the relationship between Gardner and Coffin was never amicable, the marriage of Mary and Jethro helped unite the families and soothe old wounds. Built on Gardner land using Coffin lumber, the house is a physical manifestation of this unity.
Reviewed By Chickadee0825 - Victoria, Canada
We had a nice walk up to the location of this house, and two tour guides met us outside (one was learning to be a guide) Amazing to see all the history that this house endured, and the story of the family that lived here.
8. Hadwen House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
The Hadwen House is a Greek Revival mansion built in 1846 by whaling merchant and silver retailer William Hadwen at the peak of Nantucket’s prosperity as the whaling capital of the world. The home is one of the most elaborate examples of Greek revival architecture on the island and the only publicly accessible mansion of its age in the area. Today, this Historic Home features exhibitions on various topics such as Decorative Arts, Suffrage and Slavery, Architecture, and more!
9. Coffin School
10. Brant Point Lighthouse
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 346 reviews
Established in 1746, America's second oldest lighthouse has been in service more than 250 years.
Reviewed By AHW676 - Kansas City, United States
This is the most accessible lighthouse in Nantucket if you're staying anywhere close to town or the harbor. it's free to visit, but you won't go inside or climb it. You'll walk around it, take some great photos, and it will probably take you all of fifteen minutes to visit before heading to town for other sites, or going in the other direction to Cliff Road or some of the beaches.
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