Portsmouth, a city of Romance

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What Makes a City Romantic?

By Crai S Bower for MSN Local Edition

Portsmouth, N.H. entices lovers with a rich maritime history with colonial architecture

Portsmouth, N.H. Wandering the streets in Down East Maine, it's hard to decide which village best captures the ideal New England fishing visage, because they all qualify. Yet there are no hamlets along the coastline that quite compare with Portsmouth, the peninsular city on the Maine border that combines rich maritime history with colonial architecture, as well as winding streets from Market Square to the South End. Like so many nautical towns, this waterfront also burned, but that was over two centuries ago! Today, visitors browse the shops on Merchants Row, once home to rum runners and naval supplies, disappear into Strawbery Banke, a neighborhood-sized living museum, or capture views of the Piscataqua River along Bow Street.