If you only have a few days to explore Eastern Massachusetts, you have a tough choice in choosing a direction to set out in. Do you go north, to explore the fishing and shipbuilding villages in and around the rocky shores of Cape Ann? If so, a must-see is the cultural mecca of Salem, which offers the witch trials sights and so much more. Another highlight of the region is the gritty fishing port of Gloucester, with its straight-out-of-Camelot Hammond Castle overlooking the harbor.

Or do you go west, into the heartland of Boston’s Revolutionary history? Here, you’ll find the perfectly preserved battlefields of Minuteman National Historical Park and the literary monuments of Concord, which pay homage to literary legends Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, and Henry David Thoreau (including Thoreau’s former stomping grounds at Walden Pond).

Lesser known but equally fascinating attractions are the industrial center of Lowell, and the re-created hamlet of Old Sturbridge Village. Or should you go all the way back, and head south? Here, you can step on the same ground that the pilgrims did with a visit to Plimoth Plantation, and the whaling port of New Bedford.

Whichever direction you choose, you’ll need a minimum of two or three days to really do any one of these areas justice; unless you are really a history buff, you probably shouldn’t pick more than two of these areas to explore in one trip. In the fall, the country lanes around Concord and Lexington are bursting with fall foliage by October. At the same time, the cranberry bogs to the south are blooming with red berries. It goes without saying that if you are in the area in the weeks before Halloween, Salem is positively bewitching, while Plymouth pulls out all the stops in November leading up to Thanksgiving.

During summertime, Bostonians here head to the shore. The coastlines both north and south of Boston have devotees, and fistfights have broken out over whether Duxbury or Crane Beach is best. During wintertime, many of the attractions around Boston go into hibernation, but sitting by a roaring fire in a historic inn by the seacoast has its own charms to recommend. Even then, however, it pays to call ahead, as a handful of restaurants and hotels in the area are seasonal and either close or reduce their hours of operation in colder months.