Kennebunkport's appeal is coastal New England at its most accessible: good beaches, a compact harbour district, and a landscape of white clapboard houses and boat-filled inlets. Dock Square is the commercial hub — a cluster of shops, galleries, and restaurants around a tidal cove. It's pleasant to walk through, particularly on a weekday morning before the summer crowds arrive.
The beaches are the main attraction in season. Goose Rocks Beach, on the north shore of the cape, is the most beautiful and the least crowded. Kennebunk Beach, on the western shore, is more accessible and has good surf. Cape Porpoise, a tiny fishing village a few kilometres east, is worth the detour — fewer tourists, a working harbour, and excellent lobster.
Walker's Point — the Bush family compound visible from Ocean Avenue — is an unavoidable curiosity; boats cruise past it in summer. The Seashore Trolley Museum outside town is the world's largest collection of streetcars, an unexpectedly engaging place for a few hours. The offshore Goat Island Light is reachable by kayak and visible from Cape Porpoise harbour.