Fleeing religious persecutionThe Shaker communities have inscribed their strict piety in the welcoming nature of New England. Here, a typical barn near Canterbury Village.
No one knows what happened to the real Mayflower, the ship that docked in Plymouth Bay one fine day in December 1620 after a mad transatlantic epic; but its exact replica is moored on a quay in the small Massachusetts town. We imagined it to be bigger, more majestic, this vessel that has become mythical for having transported the first 102 colonists of the future United States. How were they able to brave the ocean for two months on such a vessel? Among them were the Pilgrim Fathers, Protestant dissidents from the Anglican Church.
A short distance from the museum boat, Plimoth Plantation recreates the village where they started out, before dispersing to found other colonies. Here we meet our pilgrims, in flesh and blood and in period costume, played by some fantastic actors. They tell the story of their lives, their beliefs, their relations with the Indians... There's nothing Disney about it - it's a fascinating encounter. As part of a corporate event, you can share a meal with them, flavoured with the flavours of yesteryear, or even, in any season, a Thanksgiving menu, as this holiday was celebrated here for the very first time. Did you know? Franklin D. Roosevelt, Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner and George W. Bush are all descendants of Mayflower passengers. Proof that the DNA of austere ancestors can produce varied destinies.
Largest city in Maine, Portland is a popular destination for Hollywood stars.
Transition point Between early America and today's United States, Boston has preserved the memory of the first days of Independence, notably the Old State House.
At Plimoth Plantation, actors portray the first settlers to arrive on the Mayflower. George W. Bush or Clint Eastwood might recognise their ancestors' look-alikes.
New promised land
In the wake of the Mayflower, dozens of ships carried men and women to the Americas in search of a new promised land. Many were Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England at the time. They founded Salem, named after Jerusalem in Genesis, then Boston, the "city on the hill", a reference to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospels; two model cities of a morally irreproachable society promising the advent of a better world. A must-see, because a few years later, their radicalisation would result in a resounding witchcraft trial of young girls from the Salem region.
Our Puritans, who also turned out to be skilful merchants, developed a flourishing economy based on maritime trade, including the triangular trade. In Salem, Boston, Portsmouth, New Hampshire's only major port, and Portland, Maine's largest city, as in every other town in the region, magnificent colonial homes bear witness to this prosperity. Some are made of painted wood, usually white, while others are made of brick. Combined with the ubiquitous churches, which are also generally immaculately white, this sober, elegant architecture embodies the spirit of New England, the symbol of 'WASP' America.
"Boston is one of the top event destinations in the United States. With its mix of colonial charm and urban sophistication, the city is historically very rich, but also culturally very active, including in the field of gastronomy. Boston is also particularly well-equipped for conventions, both in terms of venues and hotels. Less than two hours away, you can enjoy the charms of the six states that make up New England."
Stéphanie PappasInternational Sales Director, Boston Convention Bureau.
The wilds of New England offers a succession of lakes, rivers and covered bridges, as here in Fryeburg, the first town to be established in the verdant setting of the White Mountains.
Old Europe
Fundamentally opposed to English rule, Boston was the cradle of American independence and a Freedom Trail perpetuates this memory. It winds its way between the skyscrapers of Downtown, stopping in front of the Old State House, from whose balcony the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time, then continues to the North End, the district of Italian and Irish immigrants, to pay tribute to Paul Revere, who rode all night to warn the patriots of the arrival of British troops... A walk with a historian guide to understand the mentality of this intellectual city, a surprising fusion of America and old Europe, whose posh districts seem straight out of a Henry James novel.
Once independence was achieved, other religious communities made their way to the New World. Particularly original was that of the Shakers - the "restless ones" - who owed their nickname to ecstatic prayer rituals. Describing itself as the "United Society of Believers in the Second Appearance of Christ", this sectarian church, founded in the second half of the 18th century by Anne Lee, a working-class woman from Manchester, enjoyed some success in America before declining inexorably. It has to be said that, in addition to confession and the pooling of their property, the Shakers advocate celibacy, which is hardly conducive to the natural growth of their membership...
With their Victorian-inspired housesThe streets of Boston's upmarket districts have a very 'old' English feel to them.
Hands to make, heads to pray: their strict ethic has given rise to a stripped-back decorative style that is now very much in vogue. Nestling in the forests of New Hampshire, the Shaker village of Canterbury is made up of around thirty buildings of remarkable sobriety. Dormitories, communal rooms, infirmary, stables, mill, beehives and workshops have been left as they were by the last inhabitants. A few educational panels and security cordons serve as a reminder that the site is now a museum. But for the rest, it's a fascinating plunge into the minimalist aesthetic of these tireless workers who rejected all superfluous decorum. Chairs, tables, dressers, oval wooden boxes, carafes and checked tea towels would not look out of place in the home of a design enthusiast! More dated pieces of dressmaker's furniture, drying racks and shapes for modelling strange hats are a reminder that the Shakers were also great inventors. As an incentive, don't hesitate to book a workshop to learn how to make a broom or distil a liqueur from herbs, before lunching at the village restaurant.
Pretty wooden bridges
The motorway winds its way through forests home to bears and elk. Here and there, large lakes reflect the immense sky; the granite mountains of the Appalachian chain gradually close in until they form a corridor in the Franconia region, where picturesque covered bridges, most dating from the late 19th century, span the rivers. Why they are covered is not entirely clear. Some say that the horses felt reassured by the presence of a roof, others that the road was thus protected from the heavy winter snowfalls. One thing is certain: passage had to be paid for and the bridges were a comfortable source of income for their owners. The success of Clint Eastwood's film On the Road to Madison - another Mayflower descendant! - has brought them back into fashion, and New Hampshire has even devoted a tourist brochure to them. Red, varnished, long, short, dilapidated, renovated... This selection shows their diversity.
The same document can be used to find the most spectacular waterfalls in this popular region for walkers. From bridges to waterfalls, we find ourselves at the Shaker Museum in Enfield, which has transformed its imposing dormitory into a hostel, an original stopover reserved for small groups, since it has only 20 rooms; six others are available at the Shaker Farm, on the other side of the lake, but, while the solid building is in the purest Shaker style, the rooms offer cosy comforts not entirely in keeping with the morals of our strange parishioners...
Shaker Design
The Shakers defined their habitat according to the strict observance of rigid living principles - the "millenary laws" - creating an orderly, uncluttered style evocative of the simplicity of Paradise. Even then, the reputation of the sect's craftsmen spread far beyond the confines of their communities, and they earned a lucrative income from the sale of high-quality, straight-lined furniture. Today, they are much sought-after by design enthusiasts.
More than just a lighthouse, it's a truly historic monument. Commissioned by George Washington, the Portland Head Light completes Cape Elizabeth and has been guiding ships since 1791. Battered by the winds at the end of this wild and picturesque headland, the first lighthouse in the United States is also one of the most photographed in the world.
Portland's history is all about the sea, and the wealth of New England has long been based on the commercial power of its ports, dedicated in particular to whaling. In southern Massachusetts, New Bedford is the fictional point of departure for the Pequod, which set off in pursuit of Moby Dick.
Summit meetings
On the road to Maine, to meet the last Shakers, it's impossible to miss Mount Washington and Bretton Woods, New Hampshire's tourist hub, in the heart of the White Mountains National Park. The highest point in the north-east of the United States, the mountain's tabular summit is home to an observatory that records the vagaries of weather reputed to be among the worst on the planet. You can get there on foot - allow four hours and your lung capacity to be at its best - or by taking a little cogwheel train that climbs the slope in an hour: with sporty participants, why not consider a mix? From up there, the 360° view is splendid, reaching as far as Quebec on a clear day. In winter, thrill-seekers can spend the night on site with the scientists in residence.
At the foot of Mount Washington, the neo-Renaissance Spanish-style hotel of the same name is the only survivor of the twenty or so palaces built here at the turn of the twentieth century. In 1944, it hosted the famous Bretton Woods conference, which culminated in the signing of the eponymous economic agreements that gave birth to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The room where the world's leaders decided on the new order has been left in its original state, and a group of companies with some connection to finance will visit it with deference before meeting in the adjoining ballroom.
Hundreds of waterfalls New Hampshire's "White Mountains". One of the most spectacular is the Flume Gorge, in the Franconia Notch National Park.
In almost every village in rural New EnglandThe dazzling little wooden churches, all dressed in white and flanked by elegant bell towers, bear witness to the fervour of the local people in the 18th and 19th centuries...
Winding down from the White Mountains, a bucolic road leads to Sabbathday Shaker Village, in a region of Maine that is half woodland, half farmland. The discovery is more solemn than in the other places of memory of the Shaker utopia, because this is the last community still in activity, made up of a man and two very old women who share a dormitory built for more than a hundred people.
Unfortunately, they are not the ones who lead the tours, but a group of motivated travellers will be able to time their visit on a Sunday morning to attend their weekly worship meeting, which is open to all. It feels like the end of a story. Unless... According to a prophecy by Mother Ann - the nickname of Anne Lee, whom the Shakers put on the same level as Jesus Christ - a rebirth will come when the number of followers can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
So has the time come? Yes, in a way: 'shakermania' has taken hold of Americans, and it's fair to say that this renaissance has already taken place, in a symbolic way. The museum in Rockland, Maine, is devoting a major exhibition, the first of its kind, to this sect known more for its style than its philosophy; in New York, a troupe from SoHo is making a splash by performing particularly spectacular prayer songs and dances; in Massachusetts, a recent auction of antiques saw prices soar: 42,000 dollars for a sewing chest, acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, 33,000 for a chest of drawers... Even a simple little wooden jug, so cute, sold for 3,000 dollars. So it's with little faith in your luck that you scour the antique shops lining Route 1, between Scarborough and Kittery, in southern Maine: no fewer than 50 stalls, but not a single 'antic' stamped 'shaker'!
You can console yourself with an all-you-can-eat lobster dinner in a little port lined with adorable wooden cottages. Or let yourself be swept away by the sea spray of a jagged coastline watched over by solitary lighthouses, veritable icons of Maine and sources of inspiration for artists. Fans of American painting won't want to miss the Ogunquit Museum, where Edward Hopper fans will recognise the setting for some of his paintings. When it comes to shopping shakers, you'll have to make do with replicas, such as those on offer at a workshop in the Boston suburbs.
"As Maine is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, many activities are naturally linked to the sea: sailing aboard two or three-masted sailing ships around the many nearby islands, cruises, lobster fishing, maritime museums, etc. The region has a very strong identity, in terms of its landscapes, architecture, lifestyle and gastronomy. The many covered bridges are a must when travelling from one region to another. "
Carolann OuelletteDirector of the Maine State Tourism Office.
The oldest rack railway in the worldSince 1869, Mount Washington Cog has been climbing the highest point in the north-east of the United States, sometimes reaching 37%.
Lost in the forest, Canterbury Village illustrates the simple way of life of the Shakers.
New Hampshire is dotted with charming villages with their wooden houses and general shops, typical country shops where you can find anything and everything.
With the help of the Internet, it exports furniture and cult objects all over the world. The Scandinavians are particularly fond of dining rooms, while the Japanese love the famous oval boxes that they use as bento boxes. So, metaphorically speaking, Mother Ann's prophecy has come true, and on a global scale at that. Quite an adventure, as only America knows how to stage.
"New Hampshire offers a huge variety of landscapes. The richest region between lakes and mountains is undoubtedly the White Mountain Region; you can canoe on Lake Winnipesaukee aboard a cruise ship. There are many typical New England villages along every route, with their fair share of pretty shops and restaurants. "
Lori HarnoisDirector of Tourism and Development for New Hampshire.
