Traveling to Manchester, NH (1 Viewer)

[Kevin_Spradley]

Hey all,

I am travelling to Manchester, NH tomorrow for work for a couple of days. I am curious as to things to do for fun and enjoy some good food on Wednesday night, such as good restaurants, and bars, etc.

Thanks,

 

[Greg Morse]

Don't know much about Manchester, but assuming the weather is pretty good, I would advise you to go to either Portsmouth, NH or Newburyport, MA for dinner/drinks. Portsmouth is about 45 minutes away, Newburyport is about 50. Both have some decent restaurants and bars (kind of summer resort towns).

 

[StephenA]

Well you could visit me, I'm only 15 minutes away from Manchester. I have alot of family in Manchester, but am not familiar with the restaurants and bars. There's a nice small mall there called the Mall of New Hampshire though. Haven't been there in ages so it could be sucky now.

 

[Tim Abbott]

Have you ever been to a Jillian's?

http://www.jillians.com/club_detail.asp?club_id=25

Its a great place to hang out and have some fun. If you are looking for something wtih a little more 'local' flavor, I would absolutely recommend Newburyport. It is a great little town. If you're willing to drive up to an hour you can be in downtown Boston, which of course offers one or two things to do.

On a side note, hi Greg! I work in Newburyport (on Water Street), so I know that you live in one fantastic town. Small world, huh?

 

[Kevin_Spradley]

Yes I have been to a Jillian's. It is about 2 hours away from where I live.

Is the Jillian's in Manchester inside the mall or is it a stand alone building? I couldn't tell from the website.

Thanks for all the responses. I am looking forward to visiting this part of the country. I have never been up north, just out west.

 

[Malcolm R]

South Willow Street is your standard commercial strip with multiple shopping centers, malls, stand-alone big boxes, a movie theater (Regal Cinemas 9), and various chain restaurants.

Can't help you much regarding bars/clubs in downtown Manchester. I've never ventured downtown.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Hi, I'm in ... Manchester.

Actually, you could drive down to Nashua. It's like a shopper's mecca! Plus, there's a big Tweeter (HT shop) there.

 

[Malcolm R]

Ah, yes. Don't forget that NH also has NO sales tax!

 

[Kevin_Spradley]

Wow, no sales tax, that's awesome.

As far as the restaurants go, I am staying a hotel near the airport on Huse Road. Anything around there or downtown would be great.

Anybody been to "Strange Brew Tavern"?

 

[gregstaten]

The one thing you DON'T want to do in Manchester is catch a movie. The theaters in the city are universally awful. That said, there *is* a theater with four really nice digital screens (including a Dolby EX screen) about fifteen minutes south in Londonderry.

I've never understood why no one's put up a decent theater in the Manchester area. Until the digital screens went in last year, I always travelled to Mass to catch movies.

-greg

 

[Tim Morton]

I lived in manchester about 10 years ago...its grown leaps and bounds since then, its a cool little city. You should find some cool things to so. you didn't mention what you are looking for...stay away from tweeters, its a big box like Best Buy...you will find some nice stereo stores though if thats what you are looking for...lots of good food, just ask the locals when you get in. Footy's and Shorty's where my 2 favorites if you like pizza and mexican food respectively.

 

[Steven K]

You could drive 1 hour south to Boston - lots to do here... good theaters but horrible traffic.

 

[Angelo.M]

Shorty's Mexican Roadhouse.

If this place still exists... When my wife and I lived in northern Mass/NH, this was one of our favorite spots.

 

[David_N]

If you like italian food there's the Olive Garden or my personal favorite, Fratellos. Fratellos is on the same road as Jillian's.

 

[StephenA]

Didn't realize there were so many people registered here that live near me. That's cool.

 

[Phil Kim]

I've lived in Nashua (which is near Manchester) for a couple of years before moving out to San Francisco. I am sorry to say this, but Manchester and its surrounding cities are quite lame for "vacationing." Yup, no sales tax is nice (although there is very high sales tax on restaurants and moderate tax on gas), but it's just a nice place to raise a family.

For my money, rent a car and drive out to Portsmouth, a nice ocean/harbor city. Better yet, drive further up north to Maine, and stop by Ogunquit (picturesque beach town) and Kennebunkport (where the Bush Compound is).

 

[Grant B]

For my money, rent a car and drive out to Portsmouth

It didn't seem more than a couple of hours round trip but it's well worth it

 

[Angelo.M]

I was in Hanover and Manchester about a year ago for business, and I ate at a great little Italian restaurant on Elm St. in Manchester, called "Piccolo." Give it a try.

 

[Kevin_Spradley]

Hey all,
Just got back from Manchester. It was great. I was only in town 1 night so my time was very limited. I drove over to the seacoast at Hampton and then drove up to Portsmouth and ate a restaraunt somewhere in the middle. The coast was great. Before I got my flight back home, I drove around downtown and saw some of the old textile mills. Pretty amazing. Wish I had more time, I was dying to go to Stange Brew. I did have a couple of local brews such as SmuttyNose, and Shipyard Ale over at the coast.

thanks for all the good recommendations. Nice part of the country, bet it looks great in fall time.

 

[StephenA]

Yes it does, but only if there's been enough rain during the spring and summer. Otherwise the leaves don't really get the vibrant colors. The winter looks beautiful too with all the snow.