I’m getting married in September and we’re going away for a few days’ honeymoon (we’re postponing something more extensive until a later date). We want to stay in a town in Vermont where there are things to do in town (i.e. a few good restaurants within walking distance, maybe a book store, art gallery, nice park, etc.). Not a big city, not a really tiny town with nothing to do, not in the isolated countryside.
What are some favorite towns? And if you have a favorite B&B in the town, what would that be?
Heh, that’s not really a problem. Burlington is the “Big City” in VT with something like 40k people. And it’s probably the place to go if your looking for museums, restaurants and art galleries (Shelburne Farms and Museum are a few miles south and fun to visit, and there’s a lot of restaurants and music in town) and the like. It’s not up in the mountains, so if you’re going mainly to hike then I’d choose Montpelier or one of the towns up in the center of the state, but really anywhere that isn’t Burlington is going to be a “tiny town” by most peoples measures. And there are plenty of nice natural areas near Burlington.
Springfield!! It’s a hell of a town!
Is your SO a Simpsons fan? Springfield, Vermont won the “official city” contest. Scroll down and see on Wikipedia that a notable resident is former Senator Ralph Flanders…
I’ll go along with Burlington too, but if you want to revise your criteria a bit, and enjoy more scenery and atmosphere, think about Stowe or Woodstock. Small but charming, great scenery, and nothing is all that far away from any other place in the Green Mountain State.
If you stay at either village, drive toward the other on Rt 100 and really see the beauty of the state.
I’ll recommend the Inn at Essex, which adjoins the New England Culinary Institute restaurants, as a great place to stay. It is part of the “Greater Burlington Metro Area”. Here’s the web addresss http://vtculinaryresort.com/
Brattleboro and Manchester seem to also come close to the OP’s criteria. I can’t really speak to any B&B’s in Manchester (although I think the Inn at Ormsby Hill has a good repuation). In Brattleboro, the Forty Putney Road B&B is a good one, and the Latchis has a very convenient location.
I don’t know Bennington well enough to speak on it, and have never been as far north as Burlington.
If you’d hadn’t already decided on Woodstock, I’d suggest Burlington, if only because the Ben & Jerry’s factory (with a factory tour and free samples) is not very far away. But it’s only an hour or so from Woodstock, so you could still visit.
Frankly, VT is small enough that no matter where you stay, you can see pretty much the whole thing. I would have recommended Burlington, but you already decided on Woodstock, which is a bit too small, IMO, but pretty nonetheless. Make sure you swing by Montpelier at some point. The Lake Champlain islands are also a nice drive.
I was going to suggest Woodstock but you already picked it and that is great. It is one of the prettiest small towns in the U.S. and has plenty to do around. See the nearby Quiche (sp?) Gorge.
Yep, Quechee Gorge (there’s a gradual trail down to the water; feel free to take a dip), and on the way through stop at Simon Pearce. Beautiful glass and other crafts, and they serve an excellent lunch overlooking the mill waterfall. There’s also a diner at the shopping area at Quechee Gorge that’s been rehabbed as a Farmer’s Diner striving to use mostly locally-grown foodstuffs.
