On the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, Falmouth welcomes the small ships that cruise New England in summer. Founded in 1660 by English settlers who named it after the great Cornish harbour they'd come from, the cape's second-largest town has the feel of a grand village: white church steeples, well-kept lawns, sailboats at anchor, and beds of blue hydrangeas in front of shingled houses. This stop unfolds at the pace of bicycles and ferries, moving between a lively town and a world-renowned hamlet of science.

Main Street and the Old Town

From the marina, it's a quick walk to Main Street, the shopping thoroughfare lined with bookstores, artisanal ice cream counters, and shops set inside former sea captains' homes. Around the Village Green, the common where the local militia once drilled, the local historical society opens its house museums to visitors and tells the story of the town's maritime past, from shipyards to whaling voyages. The adjoining gardens, planted in period style, offer a quiet pause between visits. This is also the birthplace of Katharine Lee Bates, author of the patriotic hymn America the Beautiful, whose statue stands watch near the library. Several eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings listed on the national register line the surrounding streets, evidence of a prosperity built on the sea.

The Shining Sea Bikeway

The most pleasant way to explore the surrounding area comes down to a ribbon of pavement: the Shining Sea Bikeway, a cycling path just over 17 km long, laid out along a former rail line, running through four villages within the town, from North Falmouth to the hamlet of researchers at the far end. The most popular stretch starts in town and follows beaches, salt marshes, and coves where sailboats lie at anchor, with Vineyard Sound as a backdrop. Bike rentals are available near the trailhead; mopeds are banned, families are common, and an hour and a half is enough for the round trip, photo stops included. Walkers can also cover just one coastal segment, feet almost in the sand.

Woods Hole and the Nobska Lighthouse

At the end of the trail, Woods Hole holds a singular place: this village of a few hundred people is home to one of the world's great centres of oceanographic research. The docks where research vessels tie up, the laboratories, and a visitor centre open to the curious give the hamlet an atmosphere both studious and salty; you're just as likely to pass biologists on bicycles as boaters, and dockside conversations shift effortlessly from tides to the deep sea. On the neighbouring cliff, the Nobska Lighthouse, first lit in 1829, watches over the sound; its grounds, open at all times, offer one of the finest views in the area, and tower tours are offered in summer by a volunteer association.

The Island Across the Water

From Woods Hole, Steamship Authority ferries shuttle back and forth to Martha's Vineyard, visible on clear days across the sound. If the ship's schedule allows, some passengers treat themselves to a same-day round trip; others are content to watch the boats manoeuvre between the buoys, which is already a show in itself, ice cream cones in hand on the dock.

Before Heading Back Aboard

What you take away from this stop are simple images: a bike path between two golden marshes, a lighthouse rising above the sails, researchers chatting on a pier. Cape Cod has more famous towns, but few offer such an accurate snapshot of what gives the cape its character, and it's often this very stop that passengers say they'd like to see again.