The Tuck Inn

An 1790 sea-captain's home turned 11-room B&B in Rockport, on Cape Ann's harbor side. The Tuck Inn is the small-inn answer to Rockport — walking distance to Bearskin Neck, the harbor, and the Motif No. 1 fishing shack that's been the most-painted building in America since the 1930s. Family-run, simple, and right where you want to be.

It is one of the longer-running small inns on Cape Ann.

The setting

Rockport sits at the tip of Cape Ann, an hour north of Boston by commuter rail or car. The Tuck Inn occupies a clapboard 1790 home on Norwood Avenue, two blocks from the harbor and a five-minute walk to Bearskin Neck — the rocky peninsula crammed with shops, galleries, and the iconic red-fishing-shack Motif No. 1 painted by every art student in America since the 1930s. The drive from Boston is an hour; from Logan airport, an hour fifteen.

Rockport is dry by ordinance — no liquor stores in town, though restaurants now serve. It's a working New England fishing town that's been an art colony since the 1880s.

The building

A 1790 sea-captain's clapboard home — symmetrical Federal-style facade, twelve-over-twelve windows, a deep central hall, and the wide-plank pine floors of the period. The interior keeps original detailing — fireplaces, carved mantels, the staircase. Public rooms include the parlor, the breakfast room, and the porch. Materials are clapboard, painted wood, brass.

The rooms

Eleven rooms across the main house and a converted carriage house. Categories range from cozy queens to king rooms with private decks. Beds are queens or kings; bathrooms are tile, well-kept. From-rates open around $245, including a full hot breakfast. Wi-Fi is fine.

Food & drink

There's no restaurant. A full hot breakfast is served daily in the breakfast room. For dinner you walk five minutes to Bearskin Neck or downtown Rockport: My Place By the Sea, the Greenery, and the Lobster Pool (in nearby Folly Cove) are the established picks. Helmut's Strudel for breakfast pastries is a Bearskin Neck institution.

On the property

A small front porch, a parlor, and a back garden. There's no pool, no spa, no gym. The harbor and Bearskin Neck are the program.

• Full hot breakfast included
• Walking distance to Bearskin Neck, harbor, Motif No. 1
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers doing Cape Ann who want a small inn rather than a B&B chain
• Couples on a long weekend who'd rather walk to dinner
• Architecture readers who'll appreciate the 1790 Federal-style detailing
• Anyone for whom "art-colony fishing village" is the appeal

Who it's not for

• Travelers needing a pool, gym, or full restaurant on-site
• Families with young kids — the inn is configured for adults
• Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)

Nearby

Bearskin Neck is a five-minute walk for galleries, shops, and the Motif No. 1 shack. The Rockport harbor, with the public landing and the Lobsterman statue, is two blocks. Halibut Point State Park is fifteen minutes north for the granite quarries and the tip of Cape Ann. Gloucester is ten minutes south, with the Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial, the Cape Ann Museum, and the working fishing fleet. Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester is one of the great New England beaches.