Explore Southwest Airlines® destination Manchester, NH.

Straddling the Merrimack River in the southern part of the state, Manchester offers plenty of charming tuckpointed cityscape to take in on both banks. Having first built a canal system at the city’s scenic Amoskeag Falls, Samuel Blodgett, the city’s founder, then followed through on his plans to build an industrial powerhouse modeled after Manchester, England. While it’s now no longer the textile hub of Blodgett’s day, Manchester remains the largest New England city outside of Boston. Trading textiles for tech startups, the Queen City’s quaint red-brick buildings have been transformed from homes of industry into purveyors of cultural intrigue and cutting-edge cuisine.

Supported by its lively student population, the city is host to a burgeoning arts scene. Trend-setting new galleries and performance spaces dot the downtown districts, but it’s actually a couple of old stalwarts that remain the center of the action. Founded in 1914, the Palace Theatre has featured the likes of Harry Houdini and the Marx Brothers. Today, it’s still in stunning condition and attracts acts of the highest caliber from around the world. Before you catch a nighttime show, though, be sure to stop by the city’s celebrated Currier Museum of Art. Inaugurated not long after the Palace, this humble-in-size museum has long held an outsized collection of treasures. Stop in to see significant works from European giants like Picasso, Monet, and Matisse as well as crucial American Modernists like Georgia O’Keeffe and Alexander Calder. Catering to architecture and design aficionados too, the museum also offers tours of the nearby Zimmerman House—the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home open to the public in all of New England.

If it’s quality time in the great outdoors that draws you to the New England area, you’ll find plenty of worthwhile destinations both in and around Manchester. Ski bums don’t actually have to travel outside of the city to get some time on the slopes: The city-owned McIntyre Ski Area offers nine trails to skiers—and snowboarders—of all ages, all just a stone’s throw away from downtown. Travelers looking to take to the slopes outside of the city will also find a number of enticing resorts within reach of Manchester. Meanwhile, nature lovers wishing to enjoy the New England scenery at a slower pace—and perhaps without the snow—can head to Massabesic Lake. Abutting the eastern edge of the city, this lake is the perfect setting for sailing and kayaking, while the surrounding trails offer hikes of varying difficulty within a tranquil environment.

Of course, there’s much to explore in the New England Area outside of Manchester, too. A flight into Manchester-Boston Regional Airport puts you within easy reach of bustling Beantown. Trek into Boston from Manchester for a taste of the cosmopolitan, or head north just up the Merrimack to Concord to keep getting your fill of small-city charm in New Hampshire’s capital.

Regardless of where your journey ultimately takes you, get out of dodge and into town with ease on Southwest Airlines. Explore a variety of affordable flights to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and find the one that fits your schedule. As you plan your New England getaway, see what else goes into making your trip memorable as part of the unique Southwest® Experience.