Ocean Beaches, Seaside Attractions and History That Comes Alive | The Secret to a New Hampshire Seacoast Summer The Secret to a New Hampshire Seacoast Summer The Atlantic coast of New Hampshire is a New England sampler of broad sandy beaches and dramatic granite outcroppings, hidden coves for sail craft and lobster boats, Yankee craftsmen in shops where their ancestors worked, white-steepled meeting houses and brick sidewalks. Home to Portsmouth, it has become a hot destination for those seeking a combination of distinctive shopping, great restaurants and nightlife. Choose an intimate B&B or a grand hotel, then map out a stay that includes the cultural treasures and the natural abundance of the seacoast. Get out on the water in a sailboat or a harbor cruise where you might meet a tall ship or a Navy vessel arriving at the Shipyard. Explore the salt marshes in a kayak or with a birdwatching guide at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye. Relax with a book on a nearly-deserted sandy beach, or tee up for golf, where even some distinguished private courses are available to you. From one of the best collections of historic houses in America, to the living museum and gardens of Strawbery Banke, you will find historical artifacts, treasures and personal mementoes that match whatever your interests might be. In Exeter, home to the Revolutionary War capital of New Hampshire, you can tour history and then turn back the clock on a summer night to hear band performances in the square. Visit historic houses or the ivy-covered campus of Philips Exeter Academy and the haunts and bookstores of famous local authors. There are inns, B&B's and familiar hotels throughout the area along with side trips for vineyard or brewery tours, berry picking or antiquing along ”Antiques Alley” on Route 4. Nearby Hampton puts you close to the hum of Hampton Beach and its boardwalk.