If You Have One Day in Vermont

Plan to stay in a wonderful inn or bed and breakfast to experience the true Vermont way of life. Wake up in time to sip a hot cup of coffee on the front porch before you sit down to a hearty and friendly breakfast, served by hospitable innkeepers. Consider the South Shire Inn in Bennington, a striking Victorian home commissioned in 1880. It is a great starting point for exploring southwestern Vermont.

 

After breakfast, spend some time exploring downtown Bennington, Vermont’s third largest city. It was the site of the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Bennington, which is remembered by a 306-foot obelisk shaped monument made of blue limestone. The city is also home to Bennington College. Vermont son, Robert Frost, is buried in the First Congregational Church cemetery.

 

As you depart Bennington, head north on route 7a (not route 7, the faster highway). This meandering road is full of antique stores, farm stands, and historic buildings. Sure, you could get where you are going faster, but that isn’t the point when visiting Vermont.

 

Arlington, Manchester, and Dorset are a cluster of towns just off the rolling hills of the Green Mountains. Skip Arlington unless you are a Norman Rockwell fan and want to view the Norman Rockwell Exhibit. Head instead to Manchester, a resort town for the well-to-do back in the day. Full of stately Federal architecture, Manchester is home to Hildene, the 24-room Georgian Revival mansion built by Robert Todd Lincoln (son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln). Enjoy the tour and follow it with lunch at Little Rooster Café, near the outlet center.

 

At this point you can leave time to shop the Manchester Center outlets or continue your way north to visit the village of Dorset. Filled with green and black shuttered white-clapboard homes, Dorset is American architecture at its best. It is not as outwardly impressive as Manchester, but charming in its own way instead.

 

Head back to Manchester to stay the night. Consider Chantecleer for one of New England’s finest dinner offerings or Mistral’s at Toll Gate for lovely French fare. In terms of lodging, Manchester boasts two of Vermont’s best choices: the 1811 House and The Equinox. A more reasonably priced option in Manchester is the Barnstead Inn, where the rooms are located in a 1830s hay barn.