I can definitely recommend the Currier Museum of Art - and its Zimmerman house (one of a few FLW-designed houses in New England).
http://www.currier.org/
http://www.currier.org/collections/zimmerman.aspx

Here's a day trip report to Manchester I wrote up 2 years ago:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/yks-day-trip-report-to-manchester-nh.cfm#dest-header

Portsmouth, NH is probably the most touristy town. It has a cute, historic center. I think there are season guided walking tours - check their visitors center website. The outdoor Strawberry Banke museum will be interesting to you.

We visited Portsmouth last summer, on a day trip combined with a stop in South Berwick, Maine, where we visited a couple of old houses.
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/yks-day-trip-report-to-south-berwick-me-portsmouth-nh.cfm

I also like Portland, Maine a lot. It has tons of great restaurants, but also a good museum and a good amount of other activities. We spent a weekend there 2 summers ago and here's my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/yk-ate-her-way-through-portland-maine-in-one-weekend-june-2010.cfm

Dining:

Republic in Manchester
Pickity Place in Mason for lunch...reservations needed


Currier Museum in Manchester
Peabody Essex Museum in Mass.

Hike Mt. Monadnock over near Keene, NH.

Day trip to Portsmouth NH

Head over to Walpole NH to visit LA Burdick for lunch/chocolates.

check out www.nh.com/events for upcoming events

I lived in nearby Nashua for far too many years. Mining Manchester's cultural resources does not take an unduly long time.

That said, my favorite place in Manchester is the Zimmerman House, designed by Frank Lloyed Wright in the early 50s. At first glance, the house looks like a modest home in a pleasant, but hardly posh, neighborhood. But then you see detail after detail (and eccentricity after eccentricity) that gives the house Wright's unique stamp. If you enjoy architecture, or even if you just watch HGTV from time to time, it's worth a visit.

The house is owned by Manchester's Currier Museum, and visits to the house have to be arranged through the museum. For info about the house and how to visit it, see http://www.currier.org/collections/zimmerman.aspx and http://www.currier.org/eduprog/default.aspx?id=2504.

Thanks!

(I need to learn how to type faster)

Grab a free copy of the Hippo Press when you get here or check their website for news and events. It's usually on the stands around Wed of each week. Some grocery stores carry it. You'll probably find news boxes on Elm St in Manchester. I pick up mine in front of the post office (in Concord). In addition to the Freedom Trail, Kennedy Museum, etc I would highly recommend one of the culinary/historical tours with Michelle Topor. I have done both the North End (Italian) and China Town and enjoyed both. You will need reservations.

Get advice about driving into Boston. I only take the bus from Concord which is $35 RT. You might want to drive to one of the suburban towns where you can pick up the T or train.

Manchester restaurant reviews and recommendations are pretty active on Chowhound.com.

The Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner is a nice drive esp this time of year. http://www.indianmuseum.org/planyourvisit/plan_hours.html Unfortunately, Shaker Village isn't open yet. If you drive to Warner, you should include a stop in Concord. Check out the NH League of Arts and Crafts. I'm not a big fan of the NH History Museum. Loved one exhibit. Didn't care for another. It's adjacent to Main Street so you can both shop and do the history museum. The Red River Theater is an independent so you might be interested in seeing a film that isn't show in regular theaters. It's a wonderful theater. To get to Warner from Concord without going on the interstate, all you have to do is head west on Pleasant Street (which intersections Main St). It goes thru a lovely area plus the towns of Hopkinton and Contoocook before arriving in Warner which is another nice small town. Apple trees are just beginning to blossom. Leaves are just coming out. Daffodils and shrubs are blooming. My favorite time of year.

Next to Red River Theater is Gibson's bookstore which frequently has guest authors. You can check their schedule.

If you are a fan of Chinese food, there's an Asian market in Manchester (south Maple Street off So Willow St). Around noon on Saturdays and Sundays they get a delivery of freshly prepared food such as bahn mi. Otherwise, you might want to try the Golden Bowl.

Portsmouth and Portland are definitely worth the drive.

Excellent advice so far. Agreed that Portland, ME and Portsmouth, NH are worthy day trips. If you're thorough, plan on a full sightseeing day in each. A hike up Mt. Monadnock near Peterborough is well worth doing and not too challenging for this kind of thing -- hopefully, it's clear of snow on the trails.

Note that you'll need to make advance reservations to see the Zimmerman House, and they have been known to sell out prior to the day you want to book.

In Manchester, besides the excellent Currier Museum and Zimmerman House, also consider a visit to the Millyard Museum (the city's historic museum, pretty good).

Concord is not far away at all. The Museum of New Hampshire History is worth a visit, and while the state capitol building is not one of the more impressive ones in the US one could stop in there as well. Canterbury Shaker Village is located about a 20 minute drive north of here, but as mentioned above, may not be open yet.

You could also head to Hanover, where Dartmouth College is. The college has an art museum, there's a Shaker Museum in nearby Enfield, and there's also the Montshire Museum of Science in close-by Norwich, VT. Haven't been to any of these yet.

It may be too early to experience places further north in NH such as The Flume in Franconia Notch, or anything in the White Mountains.

As far as hiking, the last few days have been cold and extremely windy. Today was warm and calm but last Friday DS drove thru a snow storm in the White Mountains. Now that the wind has died down, the black flies are out (Concord area). They aren't a problem in the city but in grassy/wooded areas. The tick population is expected to be enormous this year and they are out (except for the one that just came in on my gd). Use bug repellant, wear long pants tucked into socks.

Wow! Fabulous information! Thank you all so much!

not sure where you are coming from. if you may not be back to new england, and you have enough time, visit newport ri and the mansions...it's just over 2 hours from manchester, so very doable.

you could also do quechee vermont. go to simon pearce for glass blowing and dining. "hike" (more walk) down to the gorge. there is a cabot cheese outlet there too i believe.

Thanks, rizzo. I've been before to Quechee, and have dined at Simon Pearce! Very memorable time!

Newport, Rhode Island is a definite possibility.

Thanks again.

I just want to say how much I love threads about my local area. I always get great ideas on day trips and dining that I hadn't thought about...or I forgot about!

If anyone is up for a mini GTG, I'd love to meet you!

It would be fun to have a mini GTG sometime esp since some of the posters are becoming familiar. Unfortunately, I'm headed out of state and life is crazy in the meantime. Spring into Warner is May 19 which in the past I have enjoyed with our two young GDs but I won't be back in time. Rizzo, I've mentioned this in the past as a good event for young children.

Hi all! Day one was a huge success and so much fun! I slept in (at the Radisson) and set out on foot for the remainder of the day. I love that Manchester is such a walkable city!

I had an extremely fresh omelet at Julien's Corner Kitchen, 150 Bridge St, followed by a few hours poking around the Currier Museum. What a lovely little museum!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Zimmerman House was next, as I was able to get same day tickets. I enjoyed the tour immensely.

The late afternoon and evening was spent moseying about the downtown Manchester area peoplewatching the hundreds who came out for the Hippo de Mayo Taco Challenge!

I took Rizzo's suggestion and had dinner at Republic on Elm St., and a dessert "taco" from Lala's Hungarian Pastries.

Your recommendations are right on, and I love your quaint city! We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Irego, thanks for reporting back. Glad you had a great first day.

Irego -

Glad that you're enjoying your visit so far. Just a quick vote for my little city, Lowell. It's only about a 40 minute ride from Manchester, straight down Route 3. Visit the National Park to see what the industrial revolution was all about. The Boott Mill Exhibit has a replica of a boardinghouse where the mill girls lived, we have the Textile Museum, a quilt museum, lots of public art, including Kerouac Park, and tons of restaurants serving what is probably the best Cambodian food in the US. Also the Merrimack Repertory Theater and a very nice riverwalk. Hope you can find the time to check us out.

Since you're interested in the outdoors and history, you might want to scoot down to Concord and Lexington, MA, the locations of the Old North Bridge and "the shot heard 'round the world", respectively. Both towns have national monuments of Revolutionary War sites that are pleasant to walk around.

Concord's historical society includes museums in the houses of the Alcotts, Hawthorne, Thoreau - and there's also Walden Pond. I prefer the shops in Concord (cuter for browsing) but both towns have a selection of restaurants and shops.

Lexington is right off Route-128/I-95, and it's a short drive from there to Concord on Route 2 or the more scenic Route 2A.

dfrost - we'll be out of town during that event...we'll have to check it out next year.

lrego - glad you enjoyed republic!!

shaz - i live in nashua and have NEVER been to lowell! we plan on visiting this summer for the trolley museum.

Good evening New Englanders! Just checking in on day 3.

Day 2 was pretty uneventful, though I did have a wonderful and decadent breakfast at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester. Regular old eggs, toast and potatos, with pork pie and gravy! I'm going to hell...it was pretty darn good! An added bonus was meeting a local woman, sitting next to me at the counter, who turns out to be a travel junkie just like me! We had a nice chat about our European and domestic adventures, traded e-mail addresses, and went our separate ways. Then, A bit of shopping and scoping out the area where DS will live this summer while interning here in Manchester.

Today sure was a treat! I drove to and along the shore, stopping for a late breakfast at The Golden Egg in Portsmouth. Then, spent the remainder of the day back in time at the Strawberry Banke Museum, and drinking in the vibe of downtown Portsmouth. I had dinner at a wonderful place called the Black Trumpet Bistro, where I had a crispy duck breast with lentils and baby leeks. I loved this place and recommend it highly!

Turning in early tonight for a big day in Boston tomorrow.

Iregeo, hope you have a good time in Boston tomorrow. Hope you see this before you leave - Sunday May 6 is our annual WALK FOR HUNGER. There are many road closures in/around Boston Common area and parts of Back Bay.

http://www.projectbread.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_route