Suggestions for things to do in/near Portland and Kennebunkport Main?

[JoeM]

The wife and I have a wedding to attend near Kennebunkport ME in mid October. We'll fly up to Portland 3 days ahead for sightseeing and hopefully some photography for me. The wedding is at The Atlantic Hall in Cape Porpoise and we'll stay a couple of miles from the hall that night and day but we thought we'd stay somewhere else, maybe near Portland for the prior 3 days if there are more interesting things to see in that area.

Is anyone familiar with the area and if so, any suggestions for where to stay nearby for sightseeing and what might be fun to check out?

TIA

[DinerDave]

Depending on what interests you, downtown Kennebunkport is a great town to stroll around, nice shops, restaurants, etc. Don't forget to take a peek at the Bush Compound. Also near there on the shoreline are some natural 'blowholes' in the rocks.
Since my life is basically eat one meal, then plan your next, I have a couple of suggestions. To begin with, all the restaurants in Kennebunkport are good, you need to select the menu and price points you are comfortable with. I do have a couple favs that I have to frequent when I'm there. First, for lunch, locals flock to Bennet's Deli, great subs, sandwiches, etc. Outside tables, or togo only. A famous breakfast/lunch destination is The Maine Diner in Wells. While this place is famous, I prefer the Bull N' Claw, which is directly across the street, open for dinner only. Huge dinning room, large salad bar with soup selections.
When not eating, LOL, not far away is The Maine Classic Car Museum, in Arundel, Maine. The owner has way more cars than are on display, and rotates his showpieces every 6 months or so, something new there each visit. If you want to get a 'different' atmosphere, check out Bentley's Saloon. Bentley is a regionally famous retired race car driver that now runs a biker bar. A bit of a dive, but car racing and bike memorabilia galore, and the food (pub stuff) is good.
There is also a train museum, and place that turned the tracks into rail riders for custom bikes, all within driving distance.
Depending on your interests, there is no shortage of things to do.

Dave

[mrbigstuff]

Bath to look at what's in dry dock. A few years ago, I saw one of the stealth destroyers. Portland to eat your head off (most restaurants per capita, I've read). Harpswell and area for pretty harbors. Acadia for woods by the ocean. Bowdoin College has a greatlittle museum

https://www.bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum/index.html

[JoeM]

DinerDave wrote:
Depending on what interests you, downtown Kennebunkport is a great town to stroll around, nice shops, restaurants, etc. Don't forget to take a peek at the Bush Compound. Also near there on the shoreline are some natural 'blowholes' in the rocks.
Since my life is basically eat one meal, then plan your next, I have a couple of suggestions. To begin with, all the restaurants in Kennebunkport are good, you need to select the menu and price points you are comfortable with. I do have a couple favs that I have to frequent when I'm there. First, for lunch, locals flock to Bennet's Deli, great subs, sandwiches, etc. Outside tables, or togo only. A famous breakfast/lunch destination is The Maine Diner in Wells. While this place is famous, I prefer the Bull N' Claw, which is directly across the street, open for dinner only. Huge dinning room, large salad bar with soup selections.
When not eating, LOL, not far away is The Maine Classic Car Museum, in Arundel, Maine. The owner has way more cars than are on display, and rotates his showpieces every 6 months or so, something new there each visit. If you want to get a 'different' atmosphere, check out Bentley's Saloon. Bentley is a regionally famous retired race car driver that now runs a biker bar. A bit of a dive, but car racing and bike memorabilia galore, and the food (pub stuff) is good.
There is also a train museum, and place that turned the tracks into rail riders for custom bikes, all within driving distance.
Depending on your interests, there is no shortage of things to do.

Dave

Thanks so much for all the suggestions, Dave. Will pass on to the misses.

[JoeM]

mrbigstuff wrote:
Bath to look at what's in dry dock. A few years ago, I saw one of the stealth destroyers. Portland to eat your head off (most restaurants per capita, I've read). Harpswell and area for pretty harbors. Acadia for woods by the ocean. Bowdoin College has a greatlittle museum

https://www.bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum/index.html

This is great, thanks so much!

[Wags]

Just saw this on PBS. Fine art basketry at the Portland Museum of Art.

https://youtu.be/wv_hF9txpMM?si=1G00hOR9m3Ctgl2T

[AllGold]

Typical Maine stuff. Beaches and shorelines and there's a lighthouse near Portland. Eat lobster. :wink:

Ferry Beach State Park in Saco.

I think the Old Orchard Beach amusement park is probably closed in October, but I'm not sure. The boardwalk is probably still open. https://www.themainemag.com/old-orchard-beach/

If you have the time and inclination, a trip north to Acadia National Park might be cool.

[RecipeForDisaster]

We spend a week in that area every few years. Portland does have amazing food and drink. Barreled Souls and Oxbow were among our favorite breweries. We paddled a lot of the seacoast and rivers…

Whoopie Balls (basically whoppie pie in ball form, available in tons of flavors) were amazing. https://www.shopaunties.com/
Casco Bay ferry is a great way to just see the islands and harbor, but we spent some time hiking Peaks Island, which has an old military battery. https://www.cascobaylines.com/schedules/
A really nice scenic walk with a connection to President Bush https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_R...Maine.html
There’s a life sized chocolate moose in a candy store in Scarborough.
Walk Marginal Way in Ogunquit. The views of the shoreline and the houses are equally nice.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

[JoeM]

Thanks everyone, looks like there’s plenty to do! The wife says she wants to eat lobster, lobster bisque and New England clam chowder every day.

[rz]

mrbigstuff wrote:
Bath to look at what's in dry dock. A few years ago, I saw one of the stealth destroyers.

I got to tour the original DDG-1000 while it was being built. That was pretty cool.

The first time I was in Maine, I found this tiny little lobster place in Kittery. I was taking a class in Nashua, and drove to Kittery the day I flew in just to say I’d been to Maine. Went back with my wife a few years later and the town had exploded with outlet malls. The restaurant, which had been all by itself on the main road, was now surrounded by shops. But they were still there, and the food was still great. But that was 25 years ago.