Let yourself be seduced by the charm of the East Coast of the United States
Nantucket! wrote Herman Melville in his novel Moby Dick in 1851. “Take out the map and look at it. Look what an authentic corner of the world it occupies: as it is there, far away, on the high seas (...) a mere hill and an elbow of sand; all beach, no backing.”
Melville's description of that remote island, which he once served as the most important whaling port in the world , is still valid today.
But unlike those days when Nantucket was populated by sea dogs and adventurers of all kinds, today the place brings together a good handful of billionaires who come to her trying to escape from the madding crowd.
The place where celebrities flee from the madding crowd
LIKE IN THE 18TH CENTURY
The urban center of this island, which today belongs to the state of Massachusetts It is compact and easily accessible on foot. With its old stone houses and cobblestone streets, the town of Nantucket it appears to be separated from the American continent not only in space but also in time.
There are no franchises here – no, sorry, don't look for McDonalds or Starbucks – and the town retains more than 800 historic buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Among them are Hadwen House (from 1846) and Thomas Macy's House (from 1900), which belonged to wealthy families involved in the whaling business and an old candle factory that today houses the essential Nantucket Whaling Museum .
There are also other curious structures, such as the old prison, a flour mill –the oldest in the United States still in operation– or headlights , who have gone around the world thanks to a whole legion of influencers who have been photographed in front of them.
Nantucket, the island of 'Moby Dick'
DRESS CODE: CASUAL
And it is that Nantucket is a magnet for Hollywood stars and other celebrities who decide to come down to earth, put on more or less disheveled clothes and eat an ice cream quietly on a bench in the square. No one approaches them on the street and they feel comfortable with that.
Among those who can be seen here without complexes are Tommy Hilfiger, who bought and then sold a mansion for $27 million, Ben Stiller, Johnny Depp, Gisele Bündchen, Ben Affleck or Kourtney Kardashian.
On Nantucket, where by the way the word summer is considered a verb and not a noun , the beaches (attention to Nobadeer and Cisco) are a must and also the coastal paths where what is imposed is move by bike.
And beware, because just like the albarcas in Menorca, Nantucket has its own dress code, a nod that is recognizable to anyone who has set foot on the island at some time. Is about the 'Red Nantuckets', a cherry color chino pants that the more washed it is, the more glamor it has.
Great Point, one of the most famous lighthouses on the island
SEA CUISINE
Melville already described it in his Moby Dick and they continue to cook it not only on this island, but throughout the New England coast. The **clam chowder** is the ubiquitous recipe in local restaurants and so is the lobster roll , a specialty in which something unusual (in our eyes) is done with lobsters: put them in a sandwich.
Nobadeer and Cisco beaches will dazzle you
These and other seafood delicacies are served in style at ** Club Car Restaurant , The Propietors , or Boarding House .**
Also in Breeze, Chef Bill Weisse's restaurant at the Nantucket Hotel + Resort, one of the most charming accommodations on the island – wooden interiors, esparto floors and marine colors – in which they have stayed from Robert de Niro or Meryl Streep to James Franco.