2024 Cape Cod Travel Guide - Magazine - Page 75
The island’s diminutive size, measuring
just 14 miles end to end, makes for easy
navigation and a cyclist’s dream, with
over 32 miles of mostly 昀氀at bike paths.
Rent bicycles once you disembark or
bring your own on the ferry. You can
also easily get around the island aboard
the WAVE, Nantucket Regional Transit
Authority’s public bus offering several
routes to popular island attractions and
stops.
Touring the quaint streets of downtown
Nantucket – an of昀椀cial National Historic
Landmark District that now encompasses
the entire island – is truly taking a step
back in time to a bygone era. Wander
through the cobblestone streets 昀椀lled
with historic architecture, while you poke
in and out of a curated lineup of seaside
boutiques, cafés, and art galleries. Gift
shops abound in Main Street Square, but
for a unique island keepsake that will
even double as a family heirloom, take
home a Nantucket lightship basket from
The Brown Basket Gallery. And don’t
JAMIE HOLMES
forget a stop by Murray’s Toggery Shop,
home of the original Nantucket Reds.
Leave plenty of time to visit the impressive Nantucket Whaling
Museum, where visitors can step inside the island’s original 19th
century spermaceti candle factory, be amazed by the sheer size
of the 46-foot sperm whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling,
and discover how Nantucket became the whaling capital of the
world.
When you’re ready to explore the island’s pristine natural beauty,
head eight miles east out to Siasconset. The old 昀椀shing village,
known as “Sconset,” is renowned for its sea of rose-covered
cottages that come alive with bright, colorful blooms in the
summertime. After you’ve stopped to smell the roses, grab a
delicious lunch from Claudette’s Sandwiches, then take a stroll
Nantucket Whaling Museum
to remember along the Sconset Bluff Walk that heads out to
Sankaty Light, lined with gorgeous private homes and gardens
on one side and sweeping views of the Atlantic on the other.
Scan for Nantucket
2024 » CAPE COD TRAVEL GUIDE
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