New Hampshire's oldest community, PORTSMOUTH , might look like a major city on the map, but once you're there it has much more of the feel of a country town, and a pleasant lived-in atmosphere that places it well above some of the smaller, more tourist-focused communities along the coast. Its position at the mouth of the Piscataqua River has always made it an important port - it was the state capital until 1808 - but it has barely grown, and the spire of North Church in the central Market Square remains the highest building you'll see in town.

Of a striking selection of grand timber mansions, the 1758 gambrel-roofed, cream-and-white clapboard John Paul Jones House at 43 Middle St, on the corner of State Street, is the most distinctive (June to mid-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm; $4). However, with so many old houses to see you can contentedly walk at random (or, better, get a Harbour Trail leaflet from the visitor center), and a visit to Strawbery Banke provides a better overview of local history. In Prescott Park along the waterfront, the Sheafe Warehouse Museum (free) has a fascinating collection of mostly nautical ephemera.

Indeed Portsmouth's fortunes have long rested with its naval shipyard , visible across the bay (in Kittery, Maine). Founded in 1800 by John Paul Jones as the US government's first shipyard, it has remained active ever since - it launched 31 submarines in 1944 alone, and built the first Polaris in 1962. During World War I, Humphrey Bogart , as a junior naval rating, suffered injuries, while attempting to prevent the escape of a prisoner, that left him with his trademark sneer and a slight lisp.