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With windows that open up onto the street, Sonsie sets the alfresco standard at this end of Newbury. The fashionable clientele enjoy light Italocentric cuisine upstairs, and devilish cocktails in the basement Red Room.

Vastly enlarged by fill from the Big Dig (see 1991–: The Big Dig), Spectacle Island was opened to the public in 2004. It has some of the highest peaks of all the harbor islands as well as 5 miles (8 km) of trails, a marina, picnic areas, swimming beaches, and disabled access as well as the best Boston skyline view. A model for environmental sensitivity, the island’s services run on photovoltaic cells and wind power.

Ply the harbor waters and enjoy unrivaled city views.

Enjoying one of the most generous portions of Newbury sidewalk, this American bistro packs the tables for the likes of duck and porcini risotto.

Experience a sultry Barcelona night: Newbury’s most romantic alfresco nighttime scene combines intensely flavorful tapas and an extensive Spanish wine list.

A learning center since the 1830s, Thompson is the site of an Outward Bound program serving more than 5,000 students annually. The island’s diverse geography includes rocky and sandy shores, a large salt marsh, and a hardwood forest. Killdeer, herons, and shorebirds abound.

The Upper Cape is tranquil and low-key. Watch the boats glide through Cape Cod Canal or take the Shining Sea bikeway from Falmouth village to Woods Hole. If it’s beaches you’re after, Sandwich’s Sandy Neck has huge dunes and excellent bird-watching, but Falmouth’s Surf Drive is best for swimmers and Old Silver Beach is tops for sunset views.

Prime spectator spot during the Head of the Charles Regatta (see Head of the Charles Regatta).

This 244-acre (99 ha) peninsula overlooking Hingham Bay is a geological sibling of the harbor islands, with its two glacial drumlins, rocky beaches, ledges, cliffs, and both salt and freshwater marshes. Frederick Law Olmsted laid out the grounds for a homestead development here in the late 19th century. The homes were never built, but paths, formal plantings, and hedgerows remain. World’s End is accessed by road by driving through Hingham.