Mark’s Score 9.0
Lewes’ claim to fame is that it is the “first town in the first state.” The original settlement was settled as a whaling station by Dutch explorers in 1631, just twenty-four years after the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia. However, the settlement was quickly destroyed by the Lanape people. It would be thirty years before Dutch settlers returned to the area, and soon after Delaware was acquired by the English in 1664. Unlike the beach towns, Lewes was a thriving maritime and shipbuilding center. Its location at the entrance to Delaware Bay made it a base for pilots who guided ships to ports up the bay.
It is this long history that makes Lewes unique among the coastal communities. It’s downtown, though small, is filled with structures dating all the way back to the early 1700s. Of all the places on the shore, it reminds me the most of my native New England. Lewes could easily be mistaken for a New England fishing village with a beach attached. Lewes is in fact is three towns. To the southwest of the center is the suburban sprawl of strip malls and track developments, which grows larger and more congested every year. The center of town is separated from Lewes Beach by the Lewes Rehoboth Canal. The beach section of Lewes faces north on Delaware Bay, so you do not get the ocean waves as you do int Rehoboth, but it is also far quitter and less crowded than other beach communities.
But for me, the only reason to visit Lewes is its downtown. The Lewes’ shopping district is three blocks wide and four blocks long, nestled on the southwest side of the canal. In my view, Lewes has the best commercial area of any town on the peninsula. I say this for two reasons. Its small size makes it walkable for almost everyone. But even though the area is small its tree-lined streets are chock-a-block with excellent restaurants, interesting retail, multiple museums, and some stunningly beautiful buildings. I think St Peter’s Episcopal Church is one of the prettiest churches in the area, it is all the more charming by being surrounded by its historic cemetery.
A few blocks down the street, is the Lewes Historical Society Main Campus; which includes multiple colonial structures, and reminds me very much of Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. All of this would be enough to put Lewes on your short list. But then there is the canal, which widens rat the center of town to create a picturesque full of working and pleasure craft. Sometimes I just like to sit on a bench in the canal-side park and watch the ships pass.
You could have a wonderful beach holiday just sticking to the beach resort towns, but if you did, you would miss one of the true gems on the Mid-Atlantic coast.
Places rated in or near Lewes
| Rating Date | Place | Category | Score |
| 2025 Nov | Cape Henlopen State Park | Park | 9.17 |
| 2025 Nov | Agave | Restaurant/ Mexican | 9.16 |
| 2025 Nov | Lewes Maritime Museum | Museum | 8.85 |
| 2025 Nov | Lewes Brewing Company | Restaurant/Craft Brewer | 8.83 |
| 2025 Nov | Zwaanendael Museum | Museum | 8.62 |
Places reviewed in or near Lewes
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