Biddeford

Biddeford is waking from a deep sleep, having devolved into something of a ghost town for a good deal of the past half century. It's a ghost town no more, thanks to chefs and small-business owners who have relocated from Portland; they are giving Biddeford's beautiful old-mill-town architecture a new lease on life. Developers have taken note as well, revamping many of the mill district's historic buildings, including the town's imposing 233,000-square-foot Lincoln Mill. Today, Biddeford is filled with art galleries and quirky boutiques, a distillery, an art school, and top-notch restaurants.