Read information about local
shops, stores and businesses in your city, complete with maps and links
to their own websites. Get deals and savings from your neighborhood businesses
offering printable coupons and write reviews.
The capital of Maine since 1832, AUGUSTA is much quieter and less visited now than it was a hundred years ago. The lumber industry here really took off after the technique of making paper from wood was rediscovered in 1844, and Augusta also had a lucrative sideline - each winter hundreds of thousands of tons of ice , cut from the Kennebec River, were shipped out, as far south as the Caribbean, in a trade now all but forgotten by history. There are informative displays on Maine's landscape and industrial past at the lively Maine State Museum , a short way south of the capitol on State Street (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm; free).
If you plan to stay in Augusta, the best-value accommodation is the Best Inn (tel 207/622-3776 or 1-800/237-8466; $50-75), at 65 Whitten Road at the Maine Turnpike's Augusta-Winthrop exit. For food , the lobster rolls at Burnsie's Homestyle Sandwiches (tel 207/622-6425), on Hichborn Street next to the capitol, are favorites with the politicians, while Curly's , 750 Main St (tel 207/933-2745), does good, moderately priced seafood.
Augusta Videos
in the City! Promote your video - 
chat)