These former textile mills, impressive brick buildings with hundreds of tall windows, stretch along Commercial St on the Merrimack riverbank for almost 1.5 miles. Other mills face the buildings from across the river in West Manchester. Many are now filled with hi-tech firms and technology innovators, plus lofts, restaurants and museums.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Lowell National Historical Park
25.12 MILES
The historic buildings in the city center – connected by the trolley and canal boats – constitute the national park
23.29 MILES
New Hampshire's oldest state park, Miller revolves around Pack Monadnock, a 2290ft peak not to be confused with its better-known neighbor, Mt Monadnock…
0.88 MILES
Housing works by John Singer Sargent, Georgia O'Keeffe, Monet, Matisse and Picasso (among many others), this fine-arts museum is Manchester's greatest…
24.98 MILES
Five blocks northeast of the visitors center, the Boott Cotton Mills Museum has exhibits that chronicle the rise and fall of the industrial revolution in…
25.54 MILES
A traditional Shaker community from 1792, Canterbury Shaker Village maintains the Shaker heritage as a living-history museum. Interpreters demonstrate the…
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
16.5 MILES
This science center is named after two New Hampshire astronauts. Christa McAuliffe was the schoolteacher chosen to be America's first teacher-astronaut –…
15.4 MILES
The handsome 1819 New Hampshire state capitol is the oldest such building in the US, and the state legislature still meets in the original chambers. Self…
26.36 MILES
Celebrating Exeter’s early history, this museum maintains the town’s historic collections inside the 18th-century Ladd-Gilman House. Among the highlights…
Nearby New Hampshire attractions
0.06 MILES
A highlight in the Amoskeag Millyard Historic District, this well-executed museum spotlights the various communities that have lived and worked near…
0.88 MILES
Housing works by John Singer Sargent, Georgia O'Keeffe, Monet, Matisse and Picasso (among many others), this fine-arts museum is Manchester's greatest…
15.4 MILES
The handsome 1819 New Hampshire state capitol is the oldest such building in the US, and the state legislature still meets in the original chambers. Self…
4. New Hampshire Historical Society
15.43 MILES
The White Mountains in the Parlor exhibit is our favorite 'indoor space' in the entire Granite State. In this small gallery, vast 19th-century landscape…
5. McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
16.5 MILES
This science center is named after two New Hampshire astronauts. Christa McAuliffe was the schoolteacher chosen to be America's first teacher-astronaut –…
23.29 MILES
New Hampshire's oldest state park, Miller revolves around Pack Monadnock, a 2290ft peak not to be confused with its better-known neighbor, Mt Monadnock…
24.98 MILES
This special exhibit examines the lives of working people. There are also a few Jack Kerouac artifacts, including the Lowell writer's typewriter and…
24.98 MILES
Five blocks northeast of the visitors center, the Boott Cotton Mills Museum has exhibits that chronicle the rise and fall of the industrial revolution in…