Around 1890, Port Townsend was preparing to become the great metropolis of the American Northwest: colonnaded banks, grand hotels and sea captains' mansions were springing up facing the sea. The railroad ultimately chose another shore of Puget Sound, and the town remained frozen in its ambition, preserving intact one of the finest Victorian ensembles in the United States. It is this interlude of brick and wooden lacework that the coastal cruise ships tying up here today come to find.

A dock at the foot of the façades

The small ships plying Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands dock in the heart of the waterfront, a few steps from Water Street. The main street immediately unfolds its 1880s façades: ornate cornices, painted signs and shop windows where art galleries, independent bookstores and cafés roasting their own coffee follow one another. Above the rooftops rises the clock tower of the red brick courthouse, a faithful landmark for sailors since 1892. Antique lovers unearth old nautical charts and ship's brass. An hour of strolling is enough to grasp the atmosphere; a whole day is not enough to tire of it.

Uptown and the mansions on the bluff

A staircase climbs from downtown to the upper neighbourhood, built on the bluff so that society wives could avoid the harbour taverns, or so the locals say. The quiet streets line up turreted homes, gardens overflowing with hollyhocks and white wooden churches. Black-tailed deer placidly graze the lawns, a local habit that greatly amuses visitors and rather less the gardeners. From the bluff lookout, the view stretches over the bay, the sailboats and, on clear days, the snowy silhouette of the Olympic Mountains. Architecture lovers can follow a self-guided tour available at the visitor centre.

Fort Worden, between cannons and beaches

A few minutes from downtown, the former artillery post of Fort Worden, built at the turn of the 20th century to lock the entrance to Puget Sound, has become a vast state park. You can explore echoing concrete batteries, walk to Point Wilson Lighthouse on its sand spit and picnic facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where cargo ships from around the world file past toward Seattle. The military buildings now house artists' residences and cultural centres, so a simple walk often crosses paths with musicians rehearsing, a transformation very much in keeping with the town.

The wooden boat capital

Port Townsend nurtures an almost religious passion for boatbuilding. At the Northwest Maritime Center, on the harbour, you can watch craftspeople shape planking and spars amid the scent of cedar shavings; every September, the Wooden Boat Festival brings hundreds of classic sailboats to the bay. The neighbouring docks can be explored freely, among century-old schooners and sloops varnished like furniture.

Extending your stroll

Everything can be done on foot, but a rental bike pleasantly extends your range to Fort Worden. Kayakers can paddle in the bay alongside seals; the luckiest sometimes come across a pod of orcas offshore. At the table, Puget Sound oysters and local craft beers are a must, enjoyed on a terrace facing the comings and goings of the ferries.

As the lines are cast off, the Victorian façades slowly slip behind the point, and you think about the fate of this town stopped in mid-stride. Its dream of greatness failed; in exchange, it left behind an intact elegance that a few hours in port let you savour like leafing through an old album. Photographers rarely leave with fewer than a hundred pictures.