Quintessential New England from Vermont's Lake Champlain to Massachusetts's Berkshires

U.S. Route 7, from the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain to the Massachusetts Berkshires, goes through hamlets with neat village greens bordered by historic inns, white-steepled churches, and small but stately town halls. Several world-famous liberal arts colleges bring a sophistication to the region that blends happily with the pastoral landscape.

The route may seem familiar even to first-time visitors. You've imagined these places as you read the poetry of Robert Frost or looked at Norman Rockwell paintings. Drivers in these towns are polite and law-abiding; they habitually stop and give the right of way to pedestrians. No blaring billboards interrupt the views of dairy farms, maple orchards, ski slopes, and meandering rivers.

In most states it would be a middle-sized town; but Burlington (pop. 38,900) is Vermont's largest city. Lake Champlain mirrors the changing seasons: the Adirondacks are soft green in spring and summer; brilliant yellow, orange, scarlet, and wine-red in autumn, and sparkling white during the long weeks of winter. Ethnic restaurants, bookstores, chic boutiques, world-class museums, symphony concerts, and Shakespeare performances give Burlington all the advantages of big-city life along with an aura of a village.

Not too far away, the unusual Shelburne Museum in Shelburne contains such a wide assortment of memorabilia, even the most finicky traveler should find something entertaining. From old to modern New England, from fine to folk art, they have it. Visit a New England lighthouse, an apothecary, or browse the collections of weather vanes, quilts, or decoys.

Middlebury is the home of two-century-old Middlebury College. Local art is exhibited at Vermont Folklife Center. An unusual eatery located in the basement of the Baptist Church, Neil & Otto's Pizza Cellar offers a large choice of pizzas. The Morgan Horse Farm is a few miles north of town. It is a working farm with guided tours for visitors. A video presentation traces the heritage of the first horse breed developed in America.

The town of Proctor was named for a 19th-century governor of the state who founded an international marble company. Public buildings and sidewalks in town are built of native marble. Vermont marble was used for the U.S. Supreme Court and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The Vermont Marble Exhibit tells the story of this important industry. Sculptors at work demonstrate their skill.