The famous old whaling port of NEW BEDFORD , 45 miles due south of Boston, is still home to one of the nation's most prosperous fishing fleets which, each year, haul in the largest catch on the east coast. Ongoing development and a waterfront highway have obscured some of its past, but on County Street the fine old houses still stand of which Melville commented:

New Bedford is a queer place. Had it not been for us whalemen, that tract of land would this day perhaps have been in as howling condition as the coast of Labrador … all these brave houses and flowery gardens came up from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. One and all, they were harpooned and dragged hither from the bottom of the sea.

The roster of the whaling ship Acushnet , in the New Bedford Whaling Museum at 18 Johnny Cake Hill (daily 9am-5pm, second Thurs every month until 9pm; $6), shows Melville as one of the crew. Other evocative displays include a half-size replica of a whaling vessel. Immediately opposite stands the Seamen's Bethel ; it really does have the ship-shaped pulpit described in Moby Dick , but this one was rebuilt after a fire in 1866.

The town's visitor centers at 47 N Second St (tel 508/991-6200) and at Pier 3 (tel 508/979-1745) can book accommodation ; The 1875 House is an atmospheric little B&B at 36 Seventh St (tel 508/997-6433; $75-100).

New Bedford

• New Bedford

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