Exeter

In the center of Exeter, contemporary shops mix well with the esteemed Phillips Exeter Academy, which opened in 1783. During the Revolutionary War, Exeter was the state capital, and it was here amid intense patriotic fervor that the first state constitution and the first Declaration of Independence from Great Britain were put to paper. These days Exeter shares more in appearance and personality with Boston's blue-blooded satellite communities than the rest of New Hampshire—indeed, plenty of locals commute to Beantown. A handful of cheerful cafés and coffeehouses are clustered in the center of town.