A Hundred Revolutions
Concord, Mass.
There may be no place in this country with more history than Concord.
From literary and philosophical uprisings that reshaped American thought, to the crude wooden bridge that hosted the beginnings of a literal revolution, this is a place where history stacks up on itself in astonishing fashion.
This weekend: stay in the nation’s oldest inn, explore the nooks of the home that inspired Little Women, and dine in a place that Concord native Thoreau might have found a little too elegant (but it’s wonderful).
As always, your stay, meal and local experience are all bookable in one click.
Sat. Jan 10 - Sun. Jan 11, 2026
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Why here?
There’s a remarkable pile-up of history in this one quiet town, 20 miles outside of Boston.
“Two Revolutions,” states a plaque on the battlefield here, where American minutemen and British troops fought the first major conflict of the Revolutionary War. “The 18th-century American Revolution was followed by a 19th-century literary revolution in Concord.”
Viewable from that spot is a modest house beside the slow-scrolling Concord River. It’s where, 50 years after the war, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the essays that sparked an equally incendiary philosophical movement: Transcendentalism.
But two revolutions doesn’t quite cover it all. The sheer volume of radical ideas and radical people hailing from Concord is nearly unbelievable.
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That same house by the river was later home to a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, who scratched love notes to his wife in the window glass. Just up the road, in an old colonial set among apple trees, Louisa May Alcott invented Little Women. And through the woods a ways, Henry David Thoreau built himself a cabin — with an axe borrowed from the Alcott family — and created Walden.
Fredrick Douglass spoke here and galvanized Northern abolitionists; the Underground Railroad had a key stop here.
To be clear: you don’t need to be history or literature-obsessed to have a fantastic time in this town. It’s classically, quaintly New England and beautiful, with a bustling Main Street and a first-rate bookstore that has a ridiculously strong “Local Authors” section.
The Colonial Inn is low-ceilinged and creaky in the best way; it’s the oldest continually operating inn in the United States, and served as a hospital during the Battle of Concord. It’s a hotel you can wander through and poke around in; and you’ll want to.
But even if you’re not here for the history, when you walk out of the inn, cross the street, and stand in the place where Thoreau spent a night in jail (he refused to pay his taxes in protest of the Mexican War, and his Civil Disobedience inspired peaceful resistance leaders from Gandhi to Martin Luther King ), it’s hard not to feel a kind of weight.
The revolutionary effects of Concord reverberate in so many ways and categories today: from every child who falls in love with Alcott’s March sisters, to anyone who grabs a walking stick and takes off, Thoreau-like, into a forest, or is quietly considering their own place and responsibilities as Americans, here and now.
This weekend in Concord, discover…
The stay.
The Colonial Inn
You’re booked into the main inn. Ancient hotels are a dime a dozen in New England, but this one is special. It’s 300 years old, for starters.
The building dates back to the before the Battle of Concord. In fact, it served as one of the munitions storehouses that the British were coming to seize (Paul Revere rode ahead to sound the warning).
Thoreau himself lived here during his time at Harvard, and latter-day guests have included everyone from John Wayne to Jackie Kennedy.
You’ve got reservations for two on Saturday night.
The day.
Orchard House
Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women here in 1868, and the story is set in this house. It’s been meticulously preserved and looks more or less identical to the place Alcott loved.
80% of the furniture in these rooms was owned by the family, and guided tours are a walk-through of the novel’s world.
Alcott completed the book in just six weeks, working at a half-moon-shaped desk in her bedroom.
We’re including a guided tour for two.
The find.
Thoreauly Antiques
Walk here from the Colonial Inn. A varied collection of antiques and ephemera, with a heavy helping of Concord-specific gems.
The food.
80 Thoreau
Walkable, delicious, with a handsome blue door. Ambiance is great; the progressive menu and cocktails are too.
You have reservations at 7:30pm on Saturday evening. Pre-paid, just arrive.
Old North Church Lantern & Thoreau’s Desk
@ Concord Museum
So many things to take in at the museum, but there are two tucked-aways we’ll single out. Both are on permanent exhibition:
- Thoreau’s writing desk. Small, pine, a forest-ish green. A local cabinet maker charged the writer a dollar for it, and Thoreau got his money’s worth. He wrote Walden, Civil Disobedience and his extensive collection of diaries, all right there.
-Old North Church Lantern. Paul Revere was captured before his midnight ride could take him through Concord, but a lantern that prompted it (one of the famous ‘two if by sea’ pair ) is on the second floor of the museum.
Stop by on Sunday, admission for two is included.
And peaking of Thoreau (will we ever stop?) you should also absolutely visit Walden Pond. There’s a tasteful recreation of his water-side cabin, and it’s close to town.
The tucked away.
The evening mood.
The Tap Room, Colonial Inn
It’s more nook than a bar, but it’s the (pretty quiet) place to be on a late Saturday night.
There’s a larger tavern around the corner in the hotel, but the Tap Room is in one of the older parts of the inn, and its simplicity and unadorned but well-defined atmosphere feels very representative of Concord.
One-night stay for two at the Colonial Inn. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
A guided tour of Orchard House on Saturday afternoon and admission to the Concord Museum on Sunday.
Pre-paid dinner at 80 Thoreau. Table already reserved at 7:30pm on Saturday evening.
You’ll receive a detailed itinerary after booking confirmation.
Book it all in a click.
This Overnight is no longer available. Join our Weekly Weekend email for an early look at new destinations every Sunday.
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