With its well-preserved historical buildings and Delaware bed and breakfasts, Lewes draws American history buffs from all over the world.

The largest draw to this romantic getwaway destination is the beach and the array of gourmet restaurants and quaint shops along Second Street. Other diversions include boating, kayaking, hiking and fishing. Discovered in 1631, by the Dutch, Lewes (pronounced "Loo-iss") is the first town in the first state.

The Dutch established a whaling station and called the first settlement Zwaanendael, or "valley of the swans," because of all the swans they saw nearby. This peaceful time was short-lived, as eventually the town passed through Dutch hands to the English in 1682, after the Lenape Indians massacred the original settlers.

Zwaanendael was renamed Lewes in honor of the town in England. Years later, the town would be pirated by none other than Captain Kidd, and bombarded by the English in the War of 1812 (as memorialized by the cannonball still lodged in the side of one of the historical buildings).

During the nineteenth century, Lewes established itself as a harbor docking station and a fishing center. Tourism and commercial and recreational fishing still largely support the town.