Menemsha

Working fishing harbour at the western end of the island, with the best sunsets on Martha's Vineyard

Menemsha is the most picturesque corner of Martha's Vineyard: a tiny working harbour at the western end of the island, full of lobster boats, fishing shacks selling clams and chowder from the side door, weathered grey-shingle houses, and stacks of lobster pots on the wharf.

The harbour faces west, which is why locals and visitors drift down here for sunset; bring a takeaway lobster roll from Larsen's Fish Market or Menemsha Fish Market, a folding chair, and a bottle of wine, and join the small crowd on the beach watching the sun drop into Vineyard Sound. Cash is sometimes still needed in the smaller shops.

things to do sight
A story
The Quint scenes in *Jaws* — the shark hunter's grizzled house and harbour — were filmed in Menemsha in 1974. Half a century later the village still attracts a slow drift of film tourists; the harbour itself looks much as Steven Spielberg's location scouts found it.