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  • Portland sits on the southern coastline of Maine.

  • Jutting out into the waters of Casco Bay,

  • Portland is one of those special cities whose history

  • and people have long been shaped by the sea.

  • It's a city whose character has also been forged by fire.

  • Native American raiders burnt the first English settlement to the ground in 1676,

  • and returned with the French fourteen years later to torch it once again.

  • In 1775, British warships set the city ablaze,

  • and in 1866, a Fourth of July firecracker set off an inferno,

  • which left thousands homeless.

  • But this is a city that refused to lie down,

  • and today Portland is one of the most dynamic,

  • and livable small metros in the USA.

  • Part of the city's great charm is its working waterfront.

  • Amble down Commercial Street

  • and spend a few hours drifting around the many wharves and piers.

  • Relax with a craft beer and lobster roll as fishermen unload their daily catch,

  • wooden ships set sail to nearby islands,

  • and cargo ships glide out to far-off ports.

  • Follow the salty breezes through the streets and lanes of the historic port district,

  • where the currents of past and future eddy

  • amid the old fish-packing plants and locomotive factories of yesteryear.

  • It was here that Portland's faithful raised their finest churches,

  • and where the city's ship builders and merchants built their stately homes.

  • Spend an hour or two touring the ornate rooms of Victoria Mansion,

  • the summer home of 19th century hotelier, Ruggles Sylvester Morse.

  • In 1940 this Italianate brownstone

  • was almost demolished to make way for a gas station.

  • Thankfully common sense prevailed and the historic home

  • and most of its original interiors were saved.

  • Time also stands still at the historic home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,

  • one of America's most beloved poets.

  • See the hobbyhorse young Henry rode into imaginary worlds,

  • and the desk where the poet honed his lines,

  • many inspired by the woodlands and wharves of Portland.

  • Head west along Congress Street to the Arts District,

  • an area teeming with creative enterprises.

  • At the centre of it all is the Portland Museum of Art.

  • Starting life in 1908 at McLellan House,

  • over the decades the collection swelled and new buildings were added.

  • Just like Longfellow,

  • many of the artists whose works feature here were inspired by the Portland's coastline,

  • including one of the giants of American art,

  • Winslow Homer.

  • In Portland, the ever-present cry of gulls is a reminder that the sea is never far away.

  • Head east along Congress Street to Eastern Promenade,

  • visionary parklands that have provided Portlanders with a place

  • to stretch their legs and take in the Atlantic breezes since 1836.

  • Over the centuries, Portland has been of great strategic importance,

  • and the coastline once bristled with cannon.

  • Cross the mouth of the Fore River to South Portland

  • and peer through the gun ports of Historic Fort Preble,

  • which saw service from the Civil War, right up until the 1950s.

  • Just below the fort is the Spring Point Ledge Light,

  • one of the smaller and more unusual of Maine's 57 active lighthouses.

  • While just a few miles south on Cape Elizabeth,

  • stands one of New England's most beautiful, Portland Head Light.

  • Commissioned by George Washington in 1791,

  • the lighthouse has been home to many characters,

  • including one lighthouse keeper's parrot who would screech as bad weather approached,

  • Start the horn, start the horn, fog rolling in”.

  • The lighthouse is part of Fort Williams Park,

  • where you'll find even more historic defenses,

  • as well as the eerie ruins of the old Goddard Mansion.

  • Once you start exploring this coastline, it's very easy to just keep on going.

  • Around every headland there's a new beach, bay, state park or town,

  • places that beckon paddlers, anglers, seadogs and dreamers,

  • and those happy to simply soak up the colours and scents of New England.

  • Seven miles south of Portland is Scarborough,

  • where families have been returning to sleepy havens like Higgins Beach for generations.

  • From here, let the bend of Saco Bay sweep you further south

  • to the neat-as-a-pin-town of Saco.

  • At the local museum,

  • learn about the little mill town that became a textile giant that helped dress the nation

  • in style.

  • Right at Saco's front door is Ferry Beach State Park,

  • 100 acres of trails, tupelo trees and time-stopping vistas.

  • And if you're dreaming of a little salt-weathered,

  • old-school, New England perfection,

  • drop anchor at Cape Porpoise.

  • Once you've come this far,

  • it's hard to resist the impossibly pretty docks

  • and historic ship-builder's homes of Kennebunkport.

  • A long-time favourite with US Presidents,

  • this resort town serves up some of the best eating,

  • classiest shopping, and most beautiful coastlines in Maine.

  • On your way back to Portland, be sure to grab a ticket,

  • and take a ride at the Seashore Trolley Museum,

  • the largest collection of streetcars in the world.

  • A visit here is more than just a ride, it's a tribute to craftsmanship,

  • engineering-know-how, and a time when people stopped to talk to strangers.

  • Portland, Maine, is very much a tribute to those ideals too,

  • for this is a place where life is as it should be.

  • It's a place where history, nature, creativity and community are in tune,

  • creating more than just a city, but a song by the sea.

Portland sits on the southern coastline of Maine.

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