New England harbours a myriad experiences. And, as Katie Wood discovers, the history, culture and great cities will endeavour to lure you back, time after time

Name a part of the

US that's got it all: great cities, fabulous countryside, a good climate, lots of history and friendly locals. The answer is Massachusetts. At the core of New England, America's oldest region, is everything the

Brit could ask for.

From the rolling Berkshire Hills to the tip of Cape Cod; historic Boston to the islands

of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has the best of all worlds. Within its 8300 square miles - about the size of Wales - you will find a range of attractions second to none. In all seasons - not just the famous ''Fall'' - this is a part of the world worth getting to.

I looked long and hard at all the brochures before deciding how best to see this varied landscape. In the end I decided on Jetlife Holidays. Specialists in the US. They offer a well-priced America A La Carte programme leaving you free to roam but with the security of pre-booked accommodation. They make the flight, car hire and hotel arrangements for you, but there's no rep; no welcome party. Couldn't be easier or better.

My family and I flew with United Airlines from London to Boston's Logan airport. A comfortable flight with good food and service, even in the back of the plane. Once through the lengthy US immigration procedure it was time to collect our wheels for the week. A spacious, air-conditioned Alamo rental four-wheel drive awaited us at the airport. For a touring holiday a good vehicle is essential and our Isuzu four-wheel, with its air-con and masses of luggage space, earned its corn.

We headed into Boston, the capital of Massachusetts and New England's gateway city. Located at the mouth of the Charles River, overlooking a natural harbour, the historic downtown area clusters round Beacon Hill and Boston Common. More European in feel than North American, Boston is a great place to explore on foot. This city has class, space, fabulous shopping and enough green spaces to never feel closed in.

Across the river is Charlestown and Cambridge, home to the classical elegance and serenity of Harvard University, one of several great excursions.

We decided that after a long flight it was time for a treat, so we booked ourselves into the Ritz Carlton Hotel - truly one of the greatest hotels in the world.

Situated next to the Public Gardens in Arlington Stree, this five-star hotel was built in the 1920s, and boasts a superb restaurant. With decor and cuisine comparable to the London Ritz, and impeccable service, expect to pay a reasonable $60 a head for two courses. Rooms start at $260 for two and

are palatial. A wonderful Boston institution is the Rooftop Sunday Jazz Brunch. For

just $35 you can enjoy the ultimate view

over Boston while listening to some great music. Candlelit dinners also available.

(Tel 617-536-5700).

They call Boston ''America's Walking City''. The pedestrianised streets around Faneuil Hall with their great boutique shops, outdoor restaurants and street musicians are a delight. Well worth doing if it's your first time to the city is the Green & Orange Trolley Bus Tour. Drivers are informed; there is pick-up from all major central hotels, and within the 90 minutes you cover all the main sights.

From Boston it was a two-hour drive

to Martha's Vineyard - the beautiful island south of Cape Cod, reached by ferry from Wood's Hole.

Fashionable for decades with the smart

''old money'' set - indeed the Clintons were following in the Kennedys footsteps and were ''on island'' when I was there - this is New England's largest and arguably most beautiful island. With pine forests, soft sandy beaches, rolling hills and storybook pretty towns

such as Edgartown, it's no wonder Martha's Vineyard gets booked up by spring each year. Brad Pitt, the Kennedys, James Taylor and island resident Carly Simon hardly get noticed in the streets anymore.

We based ourselves in this former whaling port and enjoyed a couple of nights in this smart yachting centre, staying in former mariners' mansions which today serve as plush hotels. White painted shingle houses and immaculate streets give the town an almost Disneyland appearance: America as it appears in the movies.

Art galleries, trendy boutiques, delightful bistros . . . it's expensive, elegant and very trendy. I spent a night at the delightful Hob Knob Inn on Main Street (tel 627 9510) and another at the Colonial Inn (tel 627 4711). Preferring the former for its olde worlde charm, both are centrally located and family-run, with the Colonial - a favourite of Somerset Maughan - dating back to 1911.

Apart from manwatching, shopping and deciding which restaurant to spend a considerable sum in that night there's the Historical Society Museum, the 1843 Old Whaling Church on Main Street and the Cottage Museum at Trinity Park for a bit of sightseeing. But it's not manmade artifacts that draw you to Martha's vineyard; it's the relaxed pace of life and the beauty of the scenery; don't miss the multi-coloured Gay Head Cliffs. Glacially formed and a national landmark, you can take them in on an Adams Cab Tour of the island. Three hours will cover everything and cost about $30.

With yuppie New Yorkers and Bostonians making up most of the summer population, not surprisingly there are some great places to eat out on the island. Two excellent restaurants are The Daggett House, 59 North Water Street (tel 627 4600), and O'Briens Serious Seafood, 137 Upper Main Street (tel 627 5850). Imaginative light food with the emphasis on native seafood, dinner averages $65 - not cheap but the quality is superb (the added-on 20% service charge is less pleasant). Ideally, you would spend a week in Martha's Vineyard but on our whistlestop

tour it was time to head back to the

mainland and on to Cape Cod - the peninsula famous for its glorious beaches, abundant seafood, distinctive architectural style, golf courses and gable-roofed houses with weathered shingles.

It was here the Pilgrim Fathers landed in 1620 and all along its 300-mile coastline you'll find bustling harbour towns and

the sort of picture-postcard America that leaves me wondering why so many people

opt for Florida.

The specialist company Destinnations New England work for Jetlife's independent clients and are known for seeking out family-run inns and tailoring even a short itinerary to ensure you get the best out of your time. Knowing I had only four days on the Cape they put me up in South Yarmouth in the wonderful mid-nineteenth century Captain Ferris House which has antique-strewn bedrooms, deluxe bathrooms with jacuzzis and the biggest three-course breakfast in New England! Just an hour's drive from the ferry port for Martha's Vineyard, and 45 minutes from Plymouth and Provincetown, it's also close to Sandwich, Cape Cod's oldest town. If

you like country house hotels, this

is the place for you: small, family-run and very personal.

Sandwich is a ''must'' on any Cape Cod itinerary to see the impressive Heritage Plantation Centre which has 76 acres of

tree and flower-filled grounds; a military museum, art collection, Shaker Barn, assorted restaurants, a fine collection of vintage cars and much more. Based on the private collections of the Lilly family, you need at least three hours to do justice to this impressive sight.

Sandwich is archetypal New England: historic, beautiful, clean and pretty. The sights sound ''twee'' but, in fact, are charming: a Dolls Museum, Glass Museum and Dexter's Grist Mill - a working restoration of a seventeenth-century mill next to the Town Hall. One real find I stumbled across - to either stay at or just as a venue to eat - is the Belfry Inne at 8 Jarves Street (tel 888 8550). Superb rooms with decor straight out of an interiors magazine, the food is excellent and reasonably priced at around $50 for a three-course dinner with wine.

The beauty of staying in South Yarmouth is it is 45 minutes from Provincetown - one

of the wackiest places in the US and a ''must'' if you think all of New England is conservative and predictable.

Despite its traditional and historical background as the place where ''America started'' when the Pilgrim Fathers dropped anchor here in 1620 - today Provincetown

is an artists' colony as well as holiday resort to around 20,000 homosexuals, most of whom let the world know by dressing in as overt a way as possible. The rainbow-coloured flag flies from virtually all the guest houses; there are drag queen parades, ''women-only'' shops, you name it. Subtle it is not, but it's

all great fun and you can't fail to enjoy the beaches, boutiques, bars and laissez faire attitude on offer.

Historically, it has always been at the forefront of radical thinking and art. Eugene O'Neill's first play was performed here, and from the 1930s to 50s the town was a major centre for abstract art. From Chatham to Provincetown is the 40-mile stretch of the Cape Cod National Seashore National Park. A wonderful area to explore on a rented bike, there are visitor centres and five lighthouses within its area. Also here is the Marconi Station Site from where Guglieimo Marconi made the first transatlantic radio signal from the US in 1901. At the other end of the Cape - again just 45 minutes' drive from South Yarmouth - is the Plimouth Plantation, 1627 village which is a living history museum recounting life in colonial America circa 1620. A full-scale replica of the Pilgrim Father's ship, The Mayflower, stands here and, as well as narrated tours, there is a crafts centre and

the opportunity to try to trip up the authentically-dressed guides who speak, think and live as though in the seventeenth century.

Whale watching is a major activity. According to the WWF's latest statistics Massachusetts is one of the world's top 10 whale-watching spots. Several companies on the Cape offer tours. Lasting two to four hours, the cost varies from $25 to $75. For info on whale watching - and all the region's summer events - call toll free 1-800-227-MASS.

This region has a huge amount to offer: beauty, history, fabulous eating and accommodation, great shopping, the freshest air in the USA and the friendliest people. Our week was nowhere near long enough. A fantastic holiday would be giving each location three days. But I'll be back . . . this

is one region I certainly won't confine to

just business.

fact file

A seven-night New England holiday featuring United Airlines flights from Heathrow; an Economy car hire with unlimited mileage and collision damage waiver; three nights in Boston at the Radisson Hotel; one night at the Hob Knob Inn and one night at The Colonial Inn, Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, and two nights at the Captain Ferris House, South Yarmouth, costs from #1201 per person next spring. Jetlife Holidays' Tailor Made division can custom design itineraries featuring inns and small hotels of character with the option of flying into and out of different airports without car hire penalties. Call 01322 614801 for

their brochure.