Concord

Concord sits in south-central New Hampshire, about 16 miles north of Manchester and 66 miles north of Boston. Governor Benning Wentworth renamed the settlement in 1765 to signify “the new harmony between the two towns” after resolving a boundary dispute with neighboring Bow; Concord became the state capital in 1808 and is the seat of Merrimack County.

The state's own history says final action to build the New Hampshire State House was taken by 1816 and the legislature first met in the new building in 1819; both houses still meet in their original chambers. Downtown Concord holds several other historic sites tied to national figures: the Pierce Manse, once home to President Franklin Pierce, the Eagle Hotel (which operated from 1827 to 1961), and Phenix Hall, where both Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 gave speeches.

New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary makes Concord and the surrounding area a recurring stop for national campaigns; Wikipedia notes that many presidential candidates still visit the Concord area during primary season. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, a science museum that opened in 1990, honors two space pioneers with New Hampshire roots: Christa McAuliffe, a Concord High School teacher chosen by NASA from more than 11,000 applicants to be the first Teacher in Space, and Alan Shepard, the Derry-born Navy test pilot who became the first American in space. McAuliffe was killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

The New Hampshire State House is the anchor of downtown Concord — built between 1816 and 1819, with both houses of the legislature still meeting in their original chambers. The building is open to visitors, with the House and Senate chambers, portraits and historical exhibits on view when the legislature is not in session.

Intown Concord, the downtown business organization, invites visitors to explore downtown shops and eateries and to stroll Main Street. We were unable to confirm the current operating status of individual restaurants, so none are named here.

New Hampshire has no general sales tax on goods, according to the state Department of Revenue Administration, but the state assesses a meals and rentals tax on restaurant meals, alcohol and hotel rooms, including in Concord.

3 breweries within 10 miles of Concord, though our source does not record a public room at any of them.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

Concord has no professional or major college teams; the nearest minor-league and college programs are in Manchester, about 16 miles south.

22 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Concord in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• North Conway (White Mountains)New Hampshireabout 60 mi
• SalemMassachusettsabout 60 mi
• BostonMassachusettsabout 65 mi
• PortlandMaineabout 70 mi
• FreeportMaineabout 85 mi
• MontpelierVermontabout 90 mi
• Basketball Hall of FameMassachusettsabout 95 mi
• PlymouthMassachusettsabout 95 mi
• ProvidenceRhode Islandabout 95 mi
• SpringfieldMassachusettsabout 95 mi
• StoweVermontabout 100 mi
• WaterburyVermontabout 100 mi
• BristolRhode Islandabout 110 mi
• Provincetown (Cape Cod)Massachusettsabout 110 mi
• Albany/CooperstownNew Yorkabout 120 mi
• AugustaMaineabout 120 mi
• BurlingtonVermontabout 120 mi
• HartfordConnecticutabout 120 mi
• NewportRhode Islandabout 120 mi
• MysticConnecticutabout 130 mi
• New HavenConnecticutabout 150 mi
• National Baseball Hall of FameNew Yorkabout 170 mi

• Ruggles MineNatural oddityGraftonabout 35 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Seasonal — not open all year

  Nearest road

  US-4

  Reopened 2025 open-pit mica mine; fill a bucket with minerals

  • Open seasonally, not all year

  Read on the page we checked

These are things you can go and look at, not a recommendation of any of them. Oddities move, get sold and quietly disappear more than anything else we list, so check anything you are driving a long way for. Where this list says we did not find a price or opening times published, that is exactly what we mean. A blank is not “free” and not “always open”. Some sit on private land and can only be seen from the road — please do not go onto anyone’s property. Every entry links the page we read it off.

State House access can be affected by legislative session schedules; check current visitor hours before planning a chamber visit.

Presidential primary season, roughly the year before a presidential election, brings heavier campaign-related traffic and event activity to the Concord area.

New Hampshire charges no general sales tax, but the state's Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax adds 8.5% to restaurant meals, hotel rooms and motor vehicle rentals in Concord.

Downtown Concord is walkable, with the State House, Phenix Hall and the Eagle Hotel site within a few blocks of each other.

One public campground within 25 miles of Concord, and it takes reservations. Public campgrounds run by federal agencies. State-park and private campgrounds are not included.

McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

Address

2 Institute Drive, Concord, NH 03301

Hours

Wednesdays through Sundays, 10:30 am to 4:00 pm; open daily during New Hampshire and Massachusetts school vacation weeks. Check the official site for holiday closures and vacation-week dates.

Price

General admission: adults $14^*, students and seniors $13^*, ages 3 to 12 $11^*, free for members and ages 2 and under; planetarium shows $7^* per person in addition to general admission.

Link

starhop.com

*Fees subject to change, please check starhop.com for updated information.

We checked fees, opening hours and seasonal opening on 2026-10-13. These change without notice — confirm with revenue.nh.gov, starhop.com and piercemanse.org the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Concord, not drive time.

• Concord Municipal (CON) — 2 miles
• Manchester-Boston Regional (MHT) — 20 miles
• Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) — 37 miles