Richard P.
Yelp
Among the cities I have visited most often in the U.S., the most frequent would probably be this stretch of Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod, and Provincetown.
For a couple years, I dated someone who lived in Plymouth and one of the first places we visited during my first stop in the area was the famous "Plymouth Rock."
Whether historically accurate or not (it's not), the Plymouth Rock is still a pretty cool place to visit and a neat part of American history. Plymouth is actually this cool little city - it's far less urban than Boston but far more affordable than its neighbor Cape Cod (HINT: I prefer Cape Cod).
In case you're unaware (I have no idea what they're teaching in schools these days), Plymouth Rock is considered to be the place where William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims stepped off and began the Plymouth Colony in 1620.
A little history - in 1774, the rock actually split in half while they were trying to haul it to the town square. One portion stayed in the town square and in 1834 was moved to Pilgrim Hall Museum. In 1880, both portions were united. In 1880, the 1620 was onto the rock. If you visit now, you'll see the rock under a granite canopy designed by McKim, Mead & White.
This is a relatively quick tourist spot. It's certainly a beautiful view of the ocean and I certainly love little Plymouth, but even for a solid day trip you're probably going to end up on the Cape, in Provincetown, or headed back to Boston.
Unsurprisingly, Plymouth Rock is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's part of Pilgrim Memorial State Park and staffed by guides from April to November. Oddly enough, my first visit was in December and we pretty much had it to ourselves.
Considering the controversies around Plymouth, it's not surprising that the Rock has been subjected to vandalism on more than one occasion.
If you are in Plymouth, you do have a Mayflower replica, some cool historical monuments, stunning views of the ocean, and surprisingly mild winters. As my ex told me, they're in just the perfect location that they seem to miss a lot of the worst of the snow.
I often have joked that I don't so much miss that relationship, but I do miss my monthly trips to Boston/Cape Cod/Provincetown/Plymouth.
While I can't quite say that Plymouth Rock is a destination tourist site, if you're in the area it's certainly worth checking out.