I'm considering a long weekend trip (from Texas) in late September or early October to New England. We've been to Boston several times so I prefer to be out of the city. We enjoy New England lodging, antique shops, walking & dining - would Marblehead be a good destination for this type of weekend? We don't want to be too far from the airport and spend all our weekend time getting to our destination. If not Marblehead, any suggestions? Thanks for the input!

Marblehead is lovely but for a full weekend???Newburyport is nice (on the border for MA and New Hampshire)I am a big fan of Rockport, which you could combine with Glouster - this is the Cape Ann area, very beautiful...

Yes, Cape Ann would be close enough to Marblehead, but give you access to more activities, shops, restaurants, etc. Essex is full of antique shops and good restaurants. Salem would be a good place to stay in-between Marblehead and Cape Anne. It's rather late to book New England in foliage season, so where exactly you stay might be entirely dependent on availability.

The foliage season usually does not reach Marblehead until the last two weeks of October, and some years not until the beginning of November. For foliage during the time of your visit (late Sept., early Oct) you will have to go futher north, into New Hampshire.

Marblehead will be beautiful and you can travel to lots of different places without too much trouble.