Manchester-by-the-Sea, 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Boston on Cape Ann (map), is a small, neat coastal suburban community reachable by MBTA Commuter Rail trains.

The town's major attraction in summer is Singing Beach, an appealing expanse of sand a half-mile (800 meters, a 10- to 15-minute walk) southeast of the town center along Beach Street. More...

Though settled in 1629 as the fishing village of Jeffery's Creek, and incorporated in 1645, Manchester was just a village until the mid-1800s, when Bostonians of means began to build huge Shingle-style summer "cottages" here.

Manchester continues to be largely a community of means, with many fine houses and estates. The Manchester Historical Museum, in the Trask House (1834) at the town center opposite the Public Library and First Parish Church, is a good symbol of this.

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Singing Beach Cape Ann Gloucester Beaches Gloucester MA North of Boston