BELLOWS FALLS

Bellows Falls is a former mill village built in three tiers above the Connecticut River, where Victorian brick commercial blocks and a walkable downtown square have found a second act through heritage tourism and live performance.

The Bellows Falls Opera House, a 553-seat venue inside the 1927 Rockingham Town Hall, hosts touring concerts, theater, film, and the Ray Massucco Concert Series — carrying forward the legacy of the village's long-running Roots on the River music festival.

Industrial-age brick buildings line the walkable downtown, vintage signs still hang above storefronts, and the old canal and railroad infrastructure remain visible from the Square. It reads like a 19th-century river city that never got torn down.

Tip: Walk from the Square down to Riverfront Park for views across the Connecticut River, then loop back through the brick commercial blocks to the Opera House.

Neighborhoods: The Square • The Island • Canal Street