TWELVE TOURIFIC WAYS TO GET OUT & SEE THE SIGHTS

Step back in time - Greater Portland Landmarks offers guided Architectural Walking Tours of Portland’s four distinct historic neighborhoods from July through the first week of August, on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Maine Fiberarts Tour Map is your guide for discovering art studios, cashmere farms, spinneries, yarn stores, fabric shops, and galleries along the byways and back roads of Maine. This map provides contact info, descriptions and driving directions to make visiting easy.
Stroll the streets of Portland’s quaint Old Port with Maine Foodie Tours and sample delectable Maine-inspired foods while visiting behind-the-scenes with the artisans who craft these culinary delights.
Maine Day Trip takes you on a day-long Walk Where Maine Artists Walked, See What Maine Artists Saw excursion to visit Maine locations that have become part of our American art history. After experiencing the sights and sounds that inspired Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth, you’ll wind up at the Portland Museum of Art where you’ll behold the artistic renderings of these great painters.
You don’t have to choose between tours on sea or shore – Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours offers both!Enjoy 90 narrated minutes aboard a trolley to uncover Portland’s history and architecture or a 90-minute narrated scenic cruise through the busy harbor and innermost islands with up close views of four lighthouses. And if you have the time, try both!
Maine Maritime Museum offers a one-hour, behind-the-gates Trolley Tour of the Bath Iron Works Shipyard on the banks of the Kennebec River. View the old launching ways and transfer facility, where large vessels are constructed and moved into the dry-dock for launching. Add a one-hour boat cruise to view BIW from the water. Or event better, plan to make a day of it; the tour fee includes museum admission but register online or by phone as space is limited and tours sell out quickly.
Follow the Portland Freedom Trail, a permanent self-guided walking trail of thirteen marked sites throughout the Portland peninsula that helps tell the story of the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movement. Walk the trail at your own pace and discover the inspirational and important history of the people, places and events that shaped the struggle for equality and freedom.
See charming villages of mid-coast Maine as you ride the rails from Brunswick or Bath to Rockland aboard Maine Eastern Railroad’s restored vintage railcars. Rail and museum packages include admission to either the Owls Head Transportation Museum (one of the finest collections of pioneer-era aircraft and automobiles in the world) or the Farnsworth Art Museum and Wyeth Center, comprised of over 10,000 works from many of America’s greatest artists.
The legends and history of haunted Portland are revealed on the Wicked Walking Tour, a one-hour, night-time tour through the Old Port filled with strange facts and tragedy-filled tales. The walk is easy but beware - you may not sleep that night!
Visit the state’s seven leading art museums and the inviting communities in which they reside as you follow the Maine Art Museum Trail from Ogunquit, located on the south coast, to inland Bangor. The collections, from ancient to contemporary, represent a magnificent array of art.
Take a guided tour of the historic village of Kennebunkport with the knowledgeable docents at the Kennebunkport Historical Society to become intimately acquainted with truly pristine examples of Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, and Victorian homes. If you prefer to amble along at your own pace, the Pasco Exhibit Center sells guidebooks offering in-depth descriptions and backgrounds of the historic buildings.
With one of the highest concentrations of microbreweries in the country, beer lovers won’t want to miss the Port City Beer Tour offered by Maine Foodie Tours. The half-mile walking tour stops at four locations to sample some of Maine’s finest brews, visit with one of the city’s brew masters and share the unique local history of brewing and drinking in Portland.