Discover These 8 New Hampshire Cities That Have the Cutest Downtowns

I have been all over New Hampshire and I've been to darn near every cute corner of the state. Sometimes, if my husband has a gig at an area venue, (he's a musician) I will go wandering while he's working.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes I stay and sit at the bar and have a cocktail and an appetizer, but if it's a beautiful day, I'd rather be outside.

David plays all over New Hampshire, so, here are my top picks for the cutest downtowns that I could spend hours exploring.

Portsmouth

Believe it or not, Portsmouth downtown used to be a lot smaller than it is now.  It's grown by leaps and bounds.  Portsmouth is now a destination for locals and tourists alike.  My favorite downtown stop:  The Friendly Toast on Congress Street.  Jimmy's Jazz & Blues Club, the Music Hall and The Goat are just a few of the must stop places to go in Portsmouth.

Nashua

My hometown of Nashua has made huge improvements to the downtown area since I lived there as a kid.  They now have the Nashua Center for the Arts on Main Street and one of my favorite restaurants, Surf.

Plymouth

Wolfeboro

The Oldest Resort town in New Hampshire, Wolfeboro, is located in the Lakes Region.  It's downtown is home to the famous Yum Yum shop, Garwoods Restaurant right on the water and Kalled Gallery, home of the most incredible, hand made, expensive jewelry.  Not that I can afford it, but it sure is puuurty to look at.

Concord

Concord, NH is home to Gibson's on Main Street. I do love a great bookstore and Gibson's is one of the best.  It's huge and has a cafe.  I could spend hours and hours here.

Dover

Downtown Dover has my heart.  I work in Dover every day, so I've seen it go through a transition or two and it's still happening.  Harvey's bakery was in Downtown Dover for over 90 years, but Dover is getting another bakery in it's same space, Aubrey's on Central, which promises to keep the old Harvey's vibe and bring new delicious food of her own.

Exeter

I love downtown Exeter.  It has a lovely bandstand in the center of the town, which admittedly, is a challenge to navigate in a car when it gets busy, but the charm of Exeter just does not quit.  From the downtown restaurants to Water Street books to the UFO Festival,  Exeter is one of my favorite downtowns to hang out in.

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Keene

How could I not include Keene, NH's downtown?  I went to Keene State College and spent a lot of time downtown.  It has shops, great restaurants including Athen's Pizza that is still open after all these years and Keene used to be home to the biggest pumpkin festival that I've ever seen.  I think they've scaled things down a bit, but they still have a cool event every October.

There are other downtowns that I like too, I just don't spend as much time there.  Places like Hanover, Littletown and North Conway have that NH charm too.

What place did I miss?