Recommended Places to Visit: Franklin

Recreation

Arts and Crafts
Sarapaan
21 East Central Street

Museums
Franklin Historical Museum
80 West Central Street

Children's Museum of Franklin
157 Cottage Street

Water Bodies
Spruce Pond
333 King Street

Spring Pond
395 Washington Street

Hiking
Recommended:
DelCarte Open Space
459 Pleasant Street

Tried:
Franklin State Forest
End of Forge Hill Road


Beaches

Chilson Beach
450 Beaver Street

Architecture

Monuments

Ladybug Cultural and Historical Trail

Town Common
Union Street and High Street

Soldier Statues
Outside Franklin Senior Center at 10 Daniel McCaHill Road

Franklin Sculpture Park
Edwards Street near Panther Way

Places of Worship

St. Mary's Church
1 Church Square

Franklin Federated Church
171 Main Street

Franklin United Methodist Church
82 West Central Street

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
91 Jordan Road

Schools
Dean College
99 Main Street

Franklin High School
218 Oak Street

Remington Middle School
628 Washington Street

Town Facilities
Public Library
118 Main Street

Fire Department
40 West Central Street


Commerical Buildings
Hockomock Area YMCA
45 Forge Hill Road

Historical Buildings
Hayward Manor
195 Main Street

Franklin Landings
301 Union Street

Ginley Funeral Home
131 Main Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Indian
Guru Bar and Grill

30 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Keema Naan
Shammi Kebab
Goat Musullam
Coconut Soup
Panir Koliwada

The Curry House (chain)
418 West Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Mango Lassi
Tomato Soup
Cucumber Salad
Garden Salad
Vegetable Pakora
Vegetarian Samosa 
Chicken 65 
Chicken Tikka Masala
Balti Kadai Paneer
Chana Masala 
Navrattan Korma
Tandoori Chicken 
Garlic Naan 
Rogini Naan 
Gulab Jamun
Kheer

Dessert
The Cake Bar
17 East Central Street
Recommended Dishes:
Mini Cupcakes
Cupcakes
Frosting Shots


Italian

Incontro Restaurant and Lounge (closed)
860 West Central Street
Recommended Dishes:
Pan Seared Lump Maryland Crab Cakes
PEI Mussels and Wellfleet Clams Fra Diavolo
Line Caught Cod


Tried:
Western
Cole's Tavern
553 Washington Street
Recommended Dishes:
Buffalo Wings
French Dip
Baked Stuffed Shrimp

Spruce Pond Creamery
370 King Street

Recommended Dishes:
Double Baked Ice Cream
The Kite
Eggs-Ben-Edict

Mediterranean
Franklin Cafe (closed)
418 West Central Street

Recommended Dishes:
Waffles
Moussaka

April 11th 2026: Children's Museum of Franklin, Franklin

 Today, after having a Brazilian rodizio lunch at the fancy but expensiveAlma Gaucha in Worcester, 

we passed through Grafton,

Grafton High School

 

Grafton Middle School

and Northbridge

Northbridge Fire Department

before heading into Franklin

Franklin Landings

Ginley Funeral Home

to check out the Children's Museum of Franklin. Pretty small place in my opinion, glad I got in for cheap.

While in Franklin, we stumbled onto ladybug sculptures from the Ladybug Cultural and Historical Trail.

Library Ladybug

Zentangle Quilt Ladybug

Definitely coming back for the rest of them.

February 18th 2018: Lunch Buffet at The Curry House, Franklin

After a day of shopping, we decided to stop by The Curry House, an Indian restaurant in Franklin that has taken the place of Franklin Cafe, which I visited a long time ago.

Along with the Mango Lassi we got,

the buffet spread was pretty good, consisting of things like Tomato Soup (Cream of tomato cooked with exotic Indian spices),

Cucumber Salad, Garden Salad (Fresh garden vegetables (tomato cucumber, red onions, carrot) and greens tossed in lemon and herbs, served with Indian or Italian dressing), Vegetable Pakora (Fresh marinated vegetables deep fried in a chickpeas batter), Vegetarian Samosa (Homemade turnovers stuffed with diced potatoes and peas or seasoned minced lamb), the Chicken 65 (chicken in a medley of spices), Goat Curry (Pieces of goat meat cooked with onion, ginger and freshly ground spices), Chicken Tikka Masala (Boneless white meat of chicken marinated in yogurt with herbs and spices, grilled to perfection in tandoor), Balti Kadai Paneer (Homemade cottage cheese simmered with green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and freshly ground spices), Chana Masala (Chick peas cooked gently with onions, tomatoes and herbs), Navrattan Korma (Nine selected vegetables with nuts and fruits cooked in a cream sauce), Tandoori Chicken (Spicy Chicken marinated in masala yogurt. baked in tandoor until tender and juicy), Garlic Naan (Freshly baked bread with a touch of garlic and cilantro), Rogini Naan (Freshly baked and buttered bread), Gulab Jamun (Homemade cheese balls dipped in honey) and Kheer (Indian rice pudding).

Really good stuff. Can see why they have another location in Chelmsford.

Later on, we were at the Natick Mall, and we decided to get some tea to go from David's Tea, getting the Green Passionfruit (green tea, pineapple and passionfruit) drink.

No sugar, but still flavorful. Pretty good  and creative tea here, better than Teavana.

October 11th 2017: Hiking in Franklin and Wrentham

I had another day off today, and this time I started out in the town of Medway,

Medway Police

William H Cary House, 2 Barber Street

then the town of Franklin,

Hockomock Area YMCA

where I went on a hike to find the water bodies of the Franklin State Forest. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything much to see here after spending so much time.

From here, it was on to another hike at the Wrentham State Forest in Wrentham, where the path I took here to explore the top half of the area is shown below in pink.

The views from the top of the Pinnacle on the Warner Trail were pretty good,

but nothing much else to see here in the area I explored. Will be back to explore the other areas here in future.

With that, I called it a day after hiking in Franklin and Wrentham.

November 28th 2015: Shopping on a Rainy Day

While shopping on a rainy day at the Wrentham Premium Outlets in Wrentham, we stopped by the Godiva Chocolatier there, getting a Strawberry Trufflelata,

which was one of the highlights of this dreary day.

Lunch was at Cole's Tavern, a small bar in Franklin, where we got Buffalo Wings (oven roasted, deep fried then tossed in hot sauce. served with carrots celery and blue cheese for dipping),

Baked Stuffed Shrimp (tender black tiger shrimp served in a casserole dish covered with our seafood stuffing then baked to perfection and served with rice and vegetable),

and the French Dip (freshly sliced roast beef, served on our soft  roll with au-jus for dipping).

The wings were crispy, but pretty bland, while the shrimp were too salty. The sandwich was nothing extraordinary either. Definitely not coming back again.

Our final shopping stop for the day was at the Natick Mall in Natick, where we were lucky enough to get a parking spot, and the Christmas decor were all up.

We took a break at Melt Gelato, which I visited a long time ago, this time getting a Pineapple Paradise (pineapple, coconut and banana) drink,

which was a refreshing end to a long day of shopping.

March 8th 2015: Exploring Swansea

I started out really late today, heading to Franklin for lunch at Spruce Pond Creamery. This place looks much like a pizza takeout place with an ice cream shop on the side, but with a cafeteria area as well.

With my deal, I got a scoop of Double Baked Ice Cream,

the Kite Flatbread (Diced wood-oven roasted "Bell & Evans" chicken breast, on a base of organic garlic-infused extra-virgin olive oil, organic fresh herbs, organic cheeses, topped with sun-dried tomatoes. )

and the Eggs-Ben-Edict flatbread (Eggs cooked over organic spinach with garlic on a base of organic extra-virgin olive oil, topped with blend of organic cheeses and organic Roma tomatoes, with With Organic Prairie Black Forest ham).

The ice cream was pretty creamy, while neither of the pizzas weren't really appealing to me, not sure why, probably because of the weird ingredients on them.

From here, it was on to the Little Red Shop Museum in Hopedale, which was finally open for me to visit today.

It was a little messy on the inside as they were having some storage issues, but I still got a gist of the history of the town from one of the volunteers there, which was basically the history of the Draper Corporation which made looms for the textile industry for over 130 years. I did not manage to take any pictures here though.

From here, it was on to my meetup event for the day, held at Chocolate Therapy in Framingham. This place is apparently one of the best chocolatiers in town,

complete with a lifesize chocolate goat on display,

and the Mint Hot Chocolate I got was a pretty good testament to that.

I decided to get a box of truffles for my friend as well, consisting of the Milk Chocolate Truffle (creamy smooth milk chocolate, soft center), Sea Salt Caramel (milk chocolate, Tahitian Vanilla, Topped with Sea Salt), White Chocolate Truffle (white chocolate, white chocolate ganache,black specks of cocoa butter), Raspberry Gemme (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, raspberry puree), Pom Balm (dark chocolate, pomegranate), Sweet Potato Truffle (white chocolate, sweet potato, cinnamon, fall spices, covered with dark chocolate shell), Buzz Mallow (marshmallows infused with raw honey, covered in milk chocolate, topped with bee pollen), Strawberry Balsamic (strawberry puree, balsamic vinegar, dark chocolate), Vitamin C (milk chocolate infused with lemon, lime, orange), My Bubbly Heart (milk chocolate, champagne, splash of Grand Marnier, dusted with gold), Blueberry Lemon Basil, and the Root Beer Float (milk chocolate, white chocolate, root beer).

Hope she likes them. I'll find out in a few days time.


I did not have plans for the rest of the day, so I decided to drive all the way to Swansea to do some sightseeing till sundown.

Abundant Life Assembly of God

First Baptist Church

St. Dominic's Church

First Christian Congregational Church

Joseph G. Luther School

Senior Citizens Center

South Swansea Baptist Church

Fire Station #2,

50 New Gardner Neck Road

St. Francis of Assisi Church

Village Memorial Green, 29 Gardners Neck Road

Swansea Public Schools

Joseph Case High School

Lewin Brook,

Main Street and Hortonville Road

Swansea Town Hall, 81 Main Street

Public Library

Christ Church

Swansea Town Hall Annex,

68 Stevens Road

St. Louis de France Church

By the time I got to the Swansea Mall, all the stores were closed. I was still able to walk around for a bit though.

I ended my day with dinner at Vickie's Swansea Chinese Restaurant, a Chinese takeout place right next door, getting the Fried Baby Shrimp

and the Mango Chicken.

The shrimp were nothing special, although the chicken was pretty delicious, sliced thinly and a little crispy, and full of the tangy mango flavor.

A pretty productive day, despite the late start.