Here it is, the place where this experiment in democracy we call America first started. Named after the Mayflower’s port of embarkation in England, Plymouth was the first permanent settlement in New England. Fleeing what they viewed as the Church of England’s incomplete work of the Reformation, the Pilgrims (mostly poor farmers) bid adieu to what they considered Britain’s lax morality, endured a grueling transatlantic voyage, hit land, and quickly set about founding Plymouth Colony in 1620.

It’s here that you’ll find the famed Plymouth Rock (kept protected under a stone, miniature Parthenon-like canopy these days)—not to mention hordes of tourists snapping pictures of it. But of course, the rock itself tells extraordinarily little about the Pilgrims’ history or how they lived their lives in the area.

For that, visitors turn to Plimoth Plantation, a historically accurate working replica of their settlement, complete with actors playing the parts of real Pilgrims. In the real world beyond the plantation’s gates, Plymouth is a modern fishing center popular for its boating areas, beaches, and other tourist sites.