There’s much to love about what Central Massachusetts venues and attractions have to offer businesses, visitors, and residents. They may not jump out at you the way Boston or Cape Cod do, but this region’s offerings have substance and plenty to explore.
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Worcester Business Journal and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Central Massachusetts business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the WBJ Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
When my wife and I first moved our young family from Florida to Central Massachusetts in 2008, tourism in this region was not at the forefront of our minds. We had been attracted to the Bay State by the glow of Boston, so most of those initial nights and weekends were spent exploring the city.
But even within the first two months of us living in our then adopted home of Marlborough, we were hitting some of this region’s highlights, starting with apple picking at the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton. Eventually, we would find our way to places like the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, the EcoTarium in Worcester (where this year’s Business Leader of the Year photos were shot), the Discovery Museum in Acton, Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, and Hanover Theatre in Worcester.
Now, when people come to visit us, I tell them they have to go check out Seed To Stem and Crompton Collective in the Canal District. My son and I took his friend to a Worcester Red Sox game at Polar Park, where the kids mostly just ran around the playground. One of my wife’s favorite meals in New England was at Armsby Abbey on Main Street. The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston ranks as one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been. I haven’t yet been to Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, but enough people have told me it is their favorite place in New England that it remains as one of my few lingering must-do’s in the region.
WBJ's March 20 print edition focusing on Meetings Guide & Tourism covers a lot of ground for what Central Mass. has to offer visitors and businesses. We have comprehensive lists of meeting venues, tourist attractions, and golf courses. Staff Writer Timothy Doyle writes in his story “A home for art and community: New owners of The White Room make it their own” about how an artist couple has taken over The White Room meeting facility in the Canal District and infused their own spin to create a unique space. Correspondent Emily Micucci writes in her story “As occupancy rebounds, hoteliers say hiring isn’t far behind” about how the long drought in workers in the hospitality industry may be inching toward normalcy.
There’s much to love about what Central Massachusetts venues and attractions have to offer businesses, visitors, and residents. They may not jump out at you the way Boston or Cape Cod do, but this region’s offerings have substance and plenty to explore.
