Portland: lobsters and lighthouses on the Maine coast

The Portland Head Light, Maine's oldest lighthouse built on order of George Washington, remains one of America's most photographed lighthouses.

Just steps away, the Old Port, a historic district with nineteenth-century brick buildings, enlivens fish restaurants and shops of local maritime craftsmanship.

Walking along the harbor, you observe fishing boats bringing Maine lobster ashore, the specialty that made the region famous throughout the United States.

As evening falls, local restaurants serve lobster roll, a sandwich filled with fresh lobster that symbolizes New England coastal cuisine, often accompanied by chips.

The Portland Head Light, commissioned personally by George Washington in 1791, remains Maine's oldest lighthouse, still functioning after over two centuries of continuous service.

Maine produces the majority of lobster consumed in the United States, an industry that sustains thousands of fishermen's families along the entire rocky coast of the state for generations.