Orleans, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Orleans is well known for its natural beauty, but it is also sometime s called the unofficial business center of Cape Cod. One of the Lower Cape's larger towns, Orleans' resident population stays around 5,750. Hinting at the bohemian flavor of the rest of the Lower Cape, and connecting those towns to the mainland, the small town of Orleans is where trendiness begins. Cape Cod vacationers with a hunger for historical sites can follow a tour guide through the Jonathan Young Windmill, a former corn- and barley-grinding mill from the early 1700s. Other fantastic sightseeing opportunities lie in wait at the French Cable Station Museum, an 1891 cable station (networked through submarine- and ship-laid underwater cables) built to replace the earlier but isolated one in Eastham. The Orleans station became a museum in 1972.

Orleans sits at one end of Nauset Beach's 10-mile stretch (it ends in Chatham). Nauset Beach is a world-famous attraction perfect for afternoon body surfing following an early-morning sunrise stroll. Sunset-seeking vacationers can take a short drive to the bay side of Orleans and visit Rock Harbor. Nauset Beach along with the Skaket and Pochet beaches are fabulous birdwatching sites, with hundreds of species of birds bringing returning vacationers back year after year. Unlike most Cape towns, Orleans has little opportunity for championship golf, opting instead for miniature golf and putt-putt courses. But Orleans' vacationing golfers can still easily find plenty of other country clubs in the nearby towns of Brewster Chatham, Eastham, and Harwich.