New Bedford is a marvelous city with a range of attractions to attract the people from walks of life from all round the globe. It enjoys the status of being the county seat of Bristol County, Massachusetts. This fabulous city is located at 51 miles south of Boston and just around 12 miles from east of Fall River. The estimated population of the city in 2008 is around 91,365 making it a seventh largest city in the state.

The city is also commonly referred as 'The Whaling City' as it exhibits a great and famous whaling seaport. It also has an outstanding and world class fishing port in United States.

New Bedford exhibits a great history that will take to the yesteryears of the beginning of sixteenth century. Bartholemew Gosnold was the very first European to land on Cape Cod. His expedition started from Falmouth, England and was financed by Earl who was an admirer of Shakespeare. He named the Cape Cod seeing abundance of fish in the area; he named the Vineyard as Martha's Vineyard for his beloved daughter. He also named the island as Elizabeth Island for his queen Elizabeth I.

The town developed rapidly during eighteenth century. In the year 1792, the town had its own very first newspaper called The Medley and a post office. By 1818, the immigrants from Portugal and from other places such as Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde started arriving in New Bedford and the surrounding areas. St. John the Baptist was the first Portuguese community set by the Portuguese considering the increase in population.

The city of New Bedford is renowned for its well maintained parks and public beaches. The entire city though steeped in history and tradition, has a lot to offer to this modern world. It offers a lot of prominent attractions such as Whaling Museum, Martha's Vineyard and many more.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum is one of the most fascinating and largest museums of its kind in the world. This museum speaks about the magnificent story of American whaling as well as about its whaling port. It is home to the 89 feet half scale ship model of whaling bark Lagoda and model of largest ship in the world. It also houses a skeleton of a young humpback whale of 35 inch. One can also find a large 98 feet painting of sperm whale created by a renowned marine artist Richard Ellis. A large variety of scrimshaw, prints, paintings and artwork from several artists are also very popular among the visitors.

Martha's Vineyard is a must visit destination of the city and known for offering a great summer retreat. This place is home to several celebrities. This marvelous island is situated just about seven miles away from the coastline of Massachusetts.

During your visit to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket is worth visiting and one would not afford to miss this enchanting location. This place is referred as a National Historic District and it witnessed a little change since three centuries. The best ways of exploring the island is by taking a guided tour or take a bike on rent.