Leominster (Massachusetts) - city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States

Leominster is a town in Massachusetts.

Understand

Leominster is a former industrial town with a number of National Register of Historic Places-listed buildings that used to be factories — such as for shirts, baby carriages or piano cases — in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and also some from its earlier period as a farming community. Leominster now is a major retail center and houses some people who commute to Worcester and Boston.

Get in

By car

From Boston, take State Route 2 West.

From Worcester, take I-290 East and I-190 North.

Get around

On foot

Easy enough for downtown attractions. Leominster covers a surprisingly large area though so you may discover that your destination is quite a long walk away.

By car

This is you best bet and you will likely need a car to get here any way. Parking is easy to find and either free or very cheap.

See

• Leominster Art Center & Gallery, 45 Main St, +1 978 840-7480. Nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of local art and artists.
• Leominster Colonial Band. See a concert in Monument Square from the city's band.
• Leominster Historical Society, 17 School Street, +1 978 537-5424. Founded in 1906 to preserve the history of the city. Maintains a collection in an 1870 schoolhouse.

Do

• Starburst Festival. Held in mid-June as a kick off to summer. Fireworks, music, and food.
• Sholan Farms, 1125 Pleasant Street, +1 978 840-3276. Visit the last working orchard in the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed. Pick your own available in the fall.
• Doyle Community Park, 464 Abbott Avenue. 157 acre open space with 3.5 miles of trails. Also contains: 2015-02-22
  • Doyle Center. Green building built in 2004 to house a Trustees of Reservations office and training center. Tours of the building are available. 2015-02-22
  • Pierce Meadow. Pierce Meadow is a 10 acre parcel of the former Pierce Estate containing huge specimen trees and open space. 2015-02-22

Buy

• Roots Natural Foods, 100 Crawford St, +1 978 543-7668. Organic, natural, and whole foods market.

Eat

• Rye & Thyme, 14 Monument Square, +1 978 534-5900. Big downtown steak and cocktails place.
• Comeketo, 285 Central St, Ste 111, +1 978 466-1224. Popular and well reviewed Brazilian restaurant.
• A Taste of Vietnam, 814 N Main St, Ste 3, +1 978 466-5991. Authentic Vietnamese food.
• Arisu Korean Restaurant, 704 N Main St, +1 978 466-8688. You probably weren't expecting to find good Korean food outside of Boston, but you can here.

Drink

Leominster is not a major nightlife destination. Most pub style restaurants will have a bar if you really need a drink. Rye & Thyme in addition to being one of the city's better known restaurants also has a well known bar. There's even a basement room. Leominster also has locations of major coffee chains Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.

Sleep

• Hilton Double Tree Leominster, 99 Erdman Way, +1 978 534-9000. Probably the nicest hotel in the city. You can get a room here for about $120 so it's not exactly expensive. 2015-02-22
• Motel 6, 48 Commercial Rd, +1 978 537-8161. Budget chain hotel. $72/night 2015-05-18
• Days Inn, 482 N Main St, +1 978 537-2800. Budget chain hotel. 2015-05-18
• Leominster Motor Inn, 665 Central St, +1 978 537-1741. Very cheap independent hotel. $50/night 2015-05-18

Go next

• Worcester is about 25-30 minutes' drive to the south.
• Boston is an hour to the east by car without traffic, but expect to hit traffic and allow at least an extra half hour.
• The state of New Hampshire is very close by to the north, and Vermont, to the northwest, is not that much further.