Seacoast Area Websites

Like probably any area of this country, the seacoast of New Hampshire has a variety of excellent websites to inform and entertain. Here at the library we try and keep track of the best of these, and we link to them from our own library's web pages. To explore these links, go to the library's website (www.hampton.lib.nh.us), click on the "About Hampton & NH" button on the big blue toolbar, and select from the list of links that appear. At left are links to websites specific to Hampton. In the middle are the broader, all-Seacoast area links, and to the right are two links to state of New Hampshire information. Let's explore some of those middle links.

One of my favorites is www.seacoastNH.com, which has a wide variety of information including history, arts, touring, business and area shopping. Our own library site has excellent links to Hampton history, but if you want historical info on Portsmouth and the seacoast in general, seacoastNH should be your first stop. They always seem to have some interesting new projects in the works. Visit their site and subscribe to their monthly email newsletter to learn more.

For local news there are two excellent sites. The first is at www.seacoastonline.com, which publishes the Hampton Union, Exeter Newsletter and Portsmouth Herald. Click the Hampton Union link from their front page for Hampton's latest news. You can also view and search back issues there. Foster's has its own giant website at www.fosters.com, which contains new and archived news for the entire Seacoast area.

Both of these newspaper websites also have links to much more than simply news. If you like crosswords, try Seacoastonline's web-based crossword puzzle, which you can play online. It will even give you the answers to the tough ones when you get stuck! It also has links to information on business, entertainment and tourism. Foster's has much of the same type of information, and its Local Links section is outstanding.

One of the most full-featured seacoast websites is www.portsmouthnh.com. This site tries to be a kind of all-in-one web "portal" for area information, and does a very good job of it. My favorite part of their site is their "Movie Times" link, which offers a page showing, on the left, all of the theaters in the area from Saco to Haverhill and, on the right, all the movies playing in any of those theatres. If you are wondering what is playing on the area, choose from the movie list on the right. If you want to know what is playing at a specific theatre, choose from the theatre list on the left. No need to call around or search through the local paper. This site has it all.

Chamber of Commerce websites can also be an excellent resource, especially for area business links. Hampton actually has two - www.hamptonbeach.com and www.hamptonbeach.org. Portsmouth can be found at www.portcity.org.

By exploring all of these websites, you should be able to find you way to all of the information about the Seacoast that has been made available on the Web.