What is there to do in Lewes?

We are coming to southern Delaware for some business and trying to decide where to stay. I%26#39;m leaning toward Lewes because it sounds like there are quaint shops, nice restaurants, we%26#39;ll be able to stroll around a little, maybe fish in the bay or swim at the state park. Is it nice and quaint? Or will I find it run-down?

My other alternative is to stay about a mile from Rehoboth. (finding hotels in either area for about $120-$130 per night. But we don%26#39;t want to have to drive everywhere. We%26#39;re more park the car and walk kind of people.

Any suggestions?

What is there to do in Lewes?

Travelangie --

Lewes is a lovely little town, known for its ';painted ladies'; Victorian houses. The shopping/dining district is primarily on Second Street, maybe 2-4 blocks long.

Rehoboth is considerably bigger -- the shopping/dining area, centered around Rehoboth Ave., is more like 5-6 blocks by 10 blocks with even more on the periphery.

Both towns have just this year finished spiffing up their downtown areas, so they both look great -- not run-down at all. Both towns have really cool shops, with Lewes probably winning on the ';quaint'; side. Rehoboth has its share of tacky T-shirt shops, but lots of high-end boutiques, too.

Lewes%26#39; downtown district is quite a distance from the bay, and even farther from the ocean. You could walk to the bay (nearly a mile, I%26#39;d guess), but you%26#39;d absolutely have to drive to the state park. (And there is a daily entrance fee to the park -- $8/day per car for out-of-staters.)

Is the Rehoboth-area hotel on Route 1? That%26#39;s not a reasonable walk to town or the beach. But once you%26#39;re parked in Rehoboth (pricey meters or in some areas parking permits), you can walk to a couple dozen outstanding restaurants and to the beach (no admission fee). Or there%26#39;s a Park-n-Ride on Route 1 near the entrance to Rehoboth. $7 to park and you ride the bus free into town.

Rehoboth in the summer is a typical beach-town atmosphere with lots of families. Lewes has a more historic feel and seems more for grown-ups than kids. It has much less of a ';beachy'; feel to it. The downside is that I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;s enough within walking distance to fill more than a day. You might want to stay in Rehoboth and plan to spend an afternoon exploring Lewes.

What is there to do in Lewes?

Thank you so much! the information really helped me. I didn%26#39;t realize the distance from some hotels to the bay/canal/downtown. We%26#39;re going to stay in Lewes--because even though we%26#39;ll still need to drive around, I think there is still some scenic area around the hotel, whereas if I stay on Rt 1 in Rehoboth I%26#39;ll be right on a highway. We%26#39;re kind of trying to recapture a recent trip to new england w/o the drive north. Not to mention that we have some business in Lewes.

thankyou again!

If you%26#39;re looking for a ';New England feel,'; I honestly don%26#39;t think you could pick any other location in DE that would fit the bill better than Lewes. And I have to disagree with the remark that one day would be plenty to take it all in.

One day could be for shopping/antiqueing, another for museums/walking tour %26amp; yet a third for fishing/beaching.

Plenty of history (original colony settled in 1631) %26amp; homes faithfully restored to their original appearance. Although the downtown area is a hike from the beach (which is actually the DE bay; not the ocean), it does flank one side of the scenic harbor area. You can walk across the ';singing'; drawbridge to walk along the fishing docks which are lined with restaurants.

AS has been its heritage since the town was founded, Lewes still is home to many DE river pilots that guide the huge freighters %26amp; tankers up and down the DE bay. No longer a commercial seaport, but still very much a nautical town with fishing fleets %26amp; charter craft.