Exeter

For a brief period between 1775 and 1789, the attractive historical town of Exeter was the capital of New Hampshire [1]. To this day, the town celebrates its historical connections to the colonial period, when it was a bustling trade center and hotbed of Revolutionary sentiment.

Nowadays, the town is best known as the site of Phillips Exeter Academy [2], one of the best private high schools in the country and the model of the typical New England preparatory school. Inland from the coast on the banks of the Squamscott River, the small town center is full of fancy shops and pricey restaurants where parents treat their kids when they are in town.