Indeed. But I want to stay stateside. I'd rather fly to New Orleans to be honest.

Berlin, Lewiston, Augusta, I’m sure northern. Vermont towns

Why wouldn't you?

You're basically saying "I want to go see a thing but I don't want to go see it"

Edit: Also looks like round trip tickets to Paris from Boston can be had for about $500 up through May on Play (A budget Icelandic airline). It might be worth a trip.

Chez Vachon is great but the area is decidedly not French anymore, my grandfather still bemoans the loss of the community and culture

Absolutely untrue. While there are “anti-outsider” sentiments to be found anywhere, as long as you are a respectful and polite tourist, Quebec is as friendly and safe a place to travel as you can find. Also, Quebec is French-speaking, not officially bilingual. If they have English service, it’s as a courtesy to their customers—only French is required. Would you expect universal English service in Paris? What you might be experiencing as “not liking Americans” is frustration that you’re in their country speaking a foreign language and assuming they should accommodate you universally. That said, in Montreal it is virtually impossible to find a place that won’t serve an English speaker, even if it takes a little bit of patience on the latter’s part.

Seconded, went last September. It was a great time, beautiful city and plenty to see, very European-esque.

Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing you’re looking for though?

I'll be buggered, that's a good one.

Biddeford, ME is known for it's French Canadian heritage, although it's dying out. They still have their La Kermesse festival in June, which celebrates Franco-Americaine tradition.

Go to Quebec. New England's French heritage has long faded, and the Quebecois immigrants have been integrated for nearly three generations.

Also, Quebec City is one of the hidden jewels of North America, and is only a five and a half hour drive from Manchester. You will love it.

I have been to Montreal! Haven't wanted to travel up there though unless necessary.

If you haven't been, Montreal is so awesome and hip. Quebec city is a bit further but straight up feels like a small french city. It's absolutely beautiful and they don't speak much English lol. Very romantic city too with lots to do. The cafes and bakeries are phenomenal

franco-American center Manchester NH OP-also a French museum in manchesta

The only person I ran into in Quebec City that didn’t speak English was a very nice person at Subway. They did their best in broken English and I did my best in broken French and we had a giggle. Everyone else was super nice and spoke great English.

Brockton, MA has a large French speaking population and the Papa Gino’s also serves french fries I hear.

Interesting. That is right around the corner from my office too.

This is not true. I’ve never had an issue in Quebec

A nice bakery/cafe, a museum of some sort. My wife is Ukrainian but really enjoys French things so I wanted to at least see if there is somewhere local we could take a trip to.

I have a passport. I'll consider it.

Manchester's West Side. Chez Vachon is a French Canadian restaurant here. It's amazing! Classic gorton, poutine, you name it. The West Side is known for its French-Canadian roots.

https://www.tfcg.ca/history-french-canadians-manchester-nh

I just spit my coffee out when I read that

Beecher Falls VT

You won’t find much French or Quebecois spoken in public. Parts of Northern Maine speak Chiac, which is a pidgin of French, but is mostly spoken at home. Even some border towns in QC don’t seem very French. Get your passport and go to Montreal or Quebec City. Warning though, most French speakers from Quebec DO NOT like Americans and may refuse to speak any English with you even though it’s a bilingual province.

All of that will require at least 5 Dunkin Donuts...

Agreed. While Canada does have some rules for entry, it's an easy trip and Quebec is pretty neat.