Full of history and diversity, Massachusetts offers everything from cobblestone streets and village greens to space-age technology centres.

You can explore the nation's early history in this Eastern Seaboard state, walk in the steps of the early pilgrims, tour battleships and lighthouses, catch the excitement of a Boston Red Sox baseball game or be awed by whales drifting along the coastline.

The gateway to New England, Massachusetts was the destination of the Mayflower in 1620, site of the Boston Tea Party which helped ignite the American Revolution in 1773, and is one of the original 13 states. The Berkshire Hills cut across its western corner. To the east the land rolls down to the sea, embracing the state capital, Boston, and the beaches of Cape Cod.

Massachusetts has been named by the WWF as one of the world's Top 10 whale-watching spots, with a variety of species of whales found just 40km (25 miles) off the coast. Whale-watching cruises operate from April to October.