Portsmouth, NH

Among New England seaports, Portsmouth probably has more of its historic architecture intact than any other. Dozens of 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century homes, churches, shops and pubs were spared the city fire of 1813 and the wrecking crews of more recent times.

The town is laced with historic houses inviting inspection. There is a collection of more than 30 such structures saved from urban renewal in the Puddle Dock area and recreated in their exact look and feel during specific periods of the past four centuries.