Beautiful and peaceful place to take a stroll. Lovely little paths and religious vignettes all…read morearound. We visited the week after the Kennebunkport Prelude and there was a beautiful nativity scene set up. Gift shop was very nice too.

St. Anthony's Franciscan Monastery is such a blessing from God and a blessing to our family! A…read morefriend recommended this place and finally I had a chance to visit. A few times now! Beautiful grounds to take a beautiful walk along the coast. Along your walk there are several beautiful prayer stations to stop and reflect. You can even do some off trail type hiking through the forest. Jim in the gift shop is so kind. Such a blessing to be friends with a fellow Catholic. You will be greeted with a big smile and a warm heart! Lots of amazing blessings in the shop to look through. Mass in the chapel was awesome. Lots of cool, tribal, looking art of Mary and Joseph. I really loved this! Lots of places to pray and meditate in the chapel area. Don't forget to ask for a blessing from one of the Franciscans! Thank you St. Anthony's Franciscan Monastery for all you do. Thank you for your service to your community and most importantly to God We appreciate your example!

Bring your binoculars for a view of the lighthouse just across the water. The drive to the…read morelighthouse at Porpoise Cove is picturesque. It's a lovely spot to take in nature and quiet. There is a placard with info about the island light. It was very quiet when I visited (January) and I enjoyed the peace and beauty as well as seeing the lighthouse in the distance. Great views. There was a restaurant right there, but I believe only opened seasonally. The working pier is lined with lobster traps and it would be cool to visit when they bring the haul in!

A beautiful drive through a very quaint town to a busy pier. As many have mentioned, parking is…read moretough, but what do you expect at the end of an island! I recommend this stop!

Fantastic tour guide! Informative and engaging. Friendly staff! The mansion is in fantastic…read morecondition for its age. Recommend the stop!

Street parking was relatively easy for us. No paid meters, but read the signs. $38.50 for 2 adults…read moreis what we paid. That price came with a guided tour of the house and narration. Our guide was actually doing a very good job narrating, that is until she seemed annoyed that we wanted to pose for one or two pictures, hurrying us along and stating we were waisting time. Even the grand staircase, not allowing us to stand in the middle of the steps for a photograph. Telling us that wasn't allowed, it all sounded ridiculous. I mean it was just two people the guide was touring, us! The guide even walked us past the tip box we weren't tossing in anything. Great post card photo opportunities in house, which are allowed. *Videos prohibited. *Final thoughts: Nice and interesting experience go check it out and tell them the Guru sent you. Check out the documentary OLD WORLD ORDER 1&2 at rumble dot com before visiting. The Review Guru* Long Island NY

Lovely visit to the Portland Observatory…read more We had intended on a self-tour but were told that self tours would start at 4:30pm...and that before that time, you would have to take a toured guide up the tower. As there was a scheduled guide about to start soon...we opted to take the guided tour. At that time (mid-week in late August around 12pm) there were only four of us on that tour. Our tour guide, an older woman, was wonderful. As we ascended the tower during the 45-minute tour, we stopped off at each floor and she explained a bit about the tower and its history. Lots of interesting facts! We made it to the top to take in some amazing views of the area. Tours are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6-16 and free for those 5 and under. The stairs (there are about 100) throughout the tower are spiral-ish...so be careful of your foot placement on the narrowed parts of each step while ascending and descending. Street parking signs can be a bit tricky in the area reading "...no parking on the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th ___day of the month..." Be sure to properly read those signs and park accordingly.

My plans only have me in town for two days, so I asked my local coworker one sight I had to see…read morewith a short time frame, and was sent here. Just a fun little local tip. The history itself is cool enough: this was a lookout for ships coming into the harbor before radio, and is the oldest currently standing in the USA. But I really appreciated the elevation for getting a good look of the downtown and harbor area, walking around the tower in the breeze and seeing the ocean peaking through the islands in the harbor. Worth the $10 to the top. (Note: the stairs are steep and there's no room inside for an elevator. We're talking large curving internal staircases. Maybe not for those with mobility issues.)

Fort Gorges at Portland Maine in Casco Bay. This is old Civil war Fort you can access by boat and…read moreexplore! We did not get to go there! Noël Teel Lisa Diane Boyce-Vanoy Dale Lisa Vanoy Tony Vanoy #newengland25trip

Although I can't speak to Fort Gorges unless it's from the perspective of someone who's seen it…read morefrom a distance countless times, it is a beautiful landmark in Casco Bay. I hope to one day visit via kayak, but for now I'll settle staring at it from the port bow of the ferry.

Congress Squark Park, an open and public concrete space - and home to Union Station Clock -, was…read morecreated through an urban renewal project in the early 80's. Thankfully, the NPO Friends of Congress Square Park have done a lot over the years to protect it from outside buyers, preserve it, and breathe new life into it. This once deteriorated space has become a hub for arts, entertainment, and community togetherness. Over the course of the past many years I have... - Been entertained by the Circus Conservatory of America - Listened to the Maine Marimba Ensemble perform - Watched fire jugglers - Looked at art - Played an impromptu game of kickball ... in the park. And that was before all of the great things that are now intentionally planned for the space! Now, there's... - copious amounts of lovely seating - food trucks - even more musical and theater performances - outdoor movies - dance lessons - group knitting sessions - yoga and tai chi - kid-friendly activities ... all in the park. So impressed and grateful towards the Friends of Congress Square Park for what they've done. Bravo, folks! Thank you!

Adorable little park with incredible public space offerings & events throughout the year.read more

Kennebunkport and the surrounding areas are full of both natural and architectural beauty. There…read moreare many gorgeous and historical homes and landmarks in the area. The Wedding Cake House was built in 1825 and is the most photographed house in Maine, revered for its unique architectural style. The home is privately owned so no peeks inside, but I was glad I stopped by to see it.

I mean, it's pretty but odd. The construction itself is interesting, definitely a WOW factor when…read moreyou drive by. There was a lovely older model vehicle in front when we went. If you want a venue for Quincenera or wedding, this may be a great location to consider.

This was my "go-to" park for jogging in the morning during a July 2026 stay in South Portland. It…read morehas so many pluses. First, parking is free and generally available in the morning. Second, it has a lovely, open view of Casco Bay with several islands in the distance. Third, you can jog along the park and around the marina - or connect to the Greenway trail for a longer run. Fourth, it has a cool display on WW2 history and Portland's vital role in navy shipbuilding (more than 25,000 workers added to the population).

This is a nice place for a quick stop! Theres a nice walking path. If it was a warm day i would…read morehave taken a walk since it has beautiful views. The lighthouse itself was small but well kept. Overall a nice picturesque park.

Seaview and atmosphere. They use to be freely access for local but nowadays else where park have to…read morepay to park, other than that there is great view.

Our family visited Portland Head Light (in Fort William Park) to take photos around 6pm in July…read more2026. It's about a 10 minute drive from South Portland and well worth the trip! First, it is the oldest lighthouse in Maine (which was completed in 1791 and authorized by George Washington). Second, it's easily accessible - just a short walk from the parking lot. Third, you have the option to buy lobster rolls if it's lunch or dinner time or bring your own picnic to spread out on the spacious grounds. Parking is only $3 per hour. Since the WiFi connection for Verizon was weak, I paid for a printed paper ticket (minimum of $6 for 2 hours). Would strongly recommend coming here within 2 hours of sunset for the best lighting of photos. Also, be sure to spend some time walking along the coast for stunning views of the rocks below.

Back in the late '90's, an obviously-bored Biddeford cop illegally detained me for almost an hour…read moremerely because --- after stopping me merely because I had salvaged a discarded-and-smashed-and-obviously-much-weathered TV set and was carrying it to my aunt's car to take it home and strip it for parts --- I did not have any ID and my name didn't come up when he ran it. The cop really had an arrogant and artificially-suspicious attitude, claiming that he didn't believe me regarding who I said I was because "You're a young man, and young men automatically have a criminal record, so you must be lying to me about who you are." What planet of prejudiced MORONS was HE from --- is it actually a DISADVANTAGE in the eyes of the law if I've simply BEEN GOOD ALL MY LIFE?! He even went so far as to run the plate on my aunt's car to see if anything about IT came back as a problem. He should have been GLAD that I was cleaning up the environment, not make me feel scared and humiliated for doing so! They also seriously need to upgrade their street-markings --- on one side-street, they had a confusing double-headed arrow painted at the end of it where it intersected with the main drag, seemingly indicating that it was a one-way street where you were supposed to change to the left or right lanes respectively if you wanted to turn left or right; I nearly got head-onned by a huge SUV that barreled around the blind corner on the left-hand side! What we pay taxes for, and they can't even mark their streets properly or train their officers ethically!

Round numbers have always been a big deal at Yelp. Back in the day, we would all celebrate each…read moreother's 100th and then 200th reviews. That's not as important as it used to be, but this is my 1000th review and we tend to pick them carefully. I suppose that I'm the first to commemorate number 1000 by reviewing Biddeford, Maine but it's no accident. Biddeford is an amazing little city. First, an incredibly abbreviated history lesson. Skip this paragraph if you understand mill towns. Biddeford's mill town community was the workplace and home for generations of immigrants. They came to the mills looking for employment and they started at the bottom, being poorly paid and working under conditions that we would never tolerate today. The mills were busy for years but became obsolete due a new technology called electricity. The old mill buildings became run down and abandoned, the towns were stuck with massive unemployment, crime increased, and it was really bad. Biddeford was luckier than many other mill towns because it became a bedroom community for Portland's workers and because the mills were re-used to make Vellux blankets, but downtown was still depressed. I first saw Biddeford in the 80's and it wasn't pretty. Not only had it been depressed for quite a while, but a huge incinerator called MERC was built downtown and it stunk. And it stayed that way into the 21st century. Fast forward to now and Biddeford is changing fast. The abandoned mills were bought by people with a vision. MERC was finally closed. People have been attracted by the cheap rents in the mills and they're being refurbished at an astonishing rate. I haven't been able to confirm it, but about one-third of the million-plus square feet of mill space has apparently been renovated. There's a group of people who give tours of the old run down mill buildings and they say that in a year or two here won't be anything left to see because it will all have been rebuilt and occupied. There are art galleries, coffee shops, concerts in the local parks, all kinds of ethnic restaurants, and new businesses seem to be opening almost every day. In the last few months, the city has gotten curbside recycling and a new supermarket. This is good stuff for a city that many had written off and I'm glad to write about it for my milestone of review number 1000. I'm giving the city of Biddeford four stars because there's still work to be done and more than a few local politicians act like they prefer the good old days of urban blight. Some bigger businesses have been unable to move to Biddeford because there's not enough parking and there's a big debate about whether the city should build a parking lot. A bright future for Biddeford is within reach and I'm excited to have a ringside seat in my artist studio, located in one of Biddeford's nearly-full mill buildings. And no, I'm not running for office. I'm just excited about where things can go.