Lowell (Massachusetts)

Lowell is a city in Massachusetts about 40 minutes northwest of Boston. With over 105,000 residents, it is the fourth largest city in Massachusetts, and has an important historical background. It was the first planned industrial city in the United States.

Travel to Lowell (Massachusetts) - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Lowell (Massachusetts)

The nearest airports are Boston's Logan Airport and Manchester Airport in New Hampshire, each about 40 minutes away.

By train

The Lowell line of the MBTA Commuter Rail has a terminus in Lowell. [1] This train station is about a 15 minute walk from downtown, or there is a shuttle that runs between the train station and downtown.

By car

Take U.S. Route 3 or Interstate 495 to the Lowell Connector, a 2.5 mile highway that ends near downtown Lowell. Be careful; the Lowell Connector is one of the most dangerous highways in the state. Exit 31 on Route 3 and exits 37 and 38 on I-495 will also take you to Lowell.

Tours and Getting around Lowell (Massachusetts)

Public transportation

The Lowell Regional Transit Authority[2] has regular shuttles going around Lowell and several neighboring towns.

Lowell (Massachusetts) tourist attractions and sightseeing

Museums

• American Textile History Museum, 491 Dutton St., +1 978-441-0400, [3].
• National Streetcar Museum, 25 Shattuck St., [4]. This is a satellite of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine and shows the history of transit in Lowell in the context of American transit history.
• New England Quilt Museum, 18 Shattuck St., +1 978-452-4207, [5].
• Whistler House Museum of Art, 243 Worthen St., +1 978-452-7641, [6].

Lowell (Massachusetts) city tours

• Lowell National Historical Park, 67 Kirk Street, +1 978-970-5000, [7]. Open year round. 9AM-5PM (Summer to 5:30PM). Commemmorates the history of the American Industrial Revolution in Lowell. Includes the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, textile mills, canals, worker houses, and 19th-century commercial buildings.
• Edward A. LeLacheur Park, 450 Aiken St., [8]. 5000-person stadium that hosts home games of the Lowell Spinners, a class A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
• Tsongas Arena, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, +1 978-848-6900, [9]. Hosts concerts and home games of the Lowell Devils (an AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils) and the UMass-Lowell River Hawks (an NCAA Division I hockey team).
• Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest, [10]. Located in the western edge of the city. This is a 1140-acre forest that has 180 acres of ponds, swamps, and wetlands.
• Cawley Stadium, off of Route 38 near Tewksbury. Hosts various sports events.
• Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 East Merrimack Street, [11].
• Lowell Folk Festival, [12]. One of the largest free folk festivals in the United States, end of July. Peformers throughout city, international food court.

Learn

• University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Av., Phone: +1 978-934-4000, [13].
• Middlesex Community College, (Lowell Campus) 33 Kearney Square, [14].
• Blaine Beauty School, (Lowell Campus) 231 Central St., Phone: +1 978-459-9959, [15].

Lowell (Massachusetts) souvenirs and shopping

• Barnes and Noble, 151 Merrimack Street.
• Haus, 17 Shattuck Street, Phone: +1 978-458-4287, [16].

Lowell (Massachusetts) Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

• Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus, 61 Market Street, Phone: +1 978-454-2739.
• Olive That And More, 167 Market Street, Phone: +1 978-275-1931.
• Athenian Corner, 207 Market Street, Phone: +1 978-458-7052, [17].
• Viet-Thai Restaurant, 368 Merrimack St, Phone: +1 978-446-0977.
• La Boniche, 143 Merrimack St, Phone: +1 978-458-9473.
• The Brewery Exchange, 201 Cabot St, Phone: +1 978-934-0097.
• Bombay Mahal, 45 Middle St, Phone: +1 978-441-2222.
• Fortunato Italian, 44 Palmer St, Phone: +1 978-454-9800.
• Mambo Grill, 125 Merrimack St, Phone: +1 978-458-1739. [18]. Burritos and other quick Mexican food.

Lowell (Massachusetts) nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Lowell (Massachusetts) nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

• The Dubliner, 197 Market St.
• Blue Shamrock, 105 Market St.
• The Brewery Exchange, 201 Cabot St.
• The Courtyard Bar and Grill, 280 Central St.
• Cappy's Copper Kettle, 245 Central St.
• Sangria's, 179 Central St., [19].

Cafes

• Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus, 67 Market St, [20].
• Cafe Aiello, 30 Gorham St, [21].

Lowell (Massachusetts) cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

• Doubletree Hotel Lowell, 50 Warren Street, Phone: +1 978-452-1200 Fax: +1 978-453-4674.
• Courtyard Boston Lowell/Chelmsford, 30 Industrial Avenue, East, Phone: +1 978 458-7575, Fax: +1 978 458-1302, [22].

Get out

Boston, the North Shore or the White Mountains are all good next stops.

This page was last edited by Peter Fitzgerald. Based on work by David, Tom Holland, Michele Ann Jenkins and Tim Sandell, Wikitravel user(s) Kopter, Tjmather, Ajacobson and Schzmo and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license