Vermont Fun

Take a tour of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. Learn how the business was started and eat some yummy ice cream. Cool flavors include Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia, and Wavy Gravy. This tour is esp. fun for families.

See glass vases being blown and made at this workshop, which overlooks a river in rural Vermont. You can view the latest items in the Simon Pearce collection, a collection of true craftmanship and artisanship. You should also have a meal at the onsite restaurant, which serves local, delicious fare.

ECHO is a great science museum on Lake Champlain. Bring your family here to enjoy the hands-on experiments and to learn about Champ, the Loch Ness Monster of Lake Champlaign.

This restaurant is great for lunch or dinner. It also serves great pastries, desserts, and drinks. You can dine at the restaurant in the Inn at Essex or visit its outpost at the Church Street Marketplace. Both are good locations (The Inn is romantic while the Church Street Marketplace is much more informal).

This four-block 19th-century and Art Deco walkway has fun shops, restaurants, and a lively atmosphere. You can find unique clothing and jewelry, upscale pastries and chocolates, and fun restaurants and clubs to enjoy in the evenings.

Wealthy Mrs. Electra Havemeyer Webb loved to collect. Her collections of everything, from stuffed grizzly bears she actually shot to rowboats, toy trains, weather vanes, cigar store Indians, mastheads, paintings, and artifacts are housed in 39 buildings set over many acres. This eclectic museum has a great collection of folk art and Americana.

This delicious restaurant is in the Church Street Marketplace. Request a table outside when the weather is good in order to enjoy the lively atmosphere and vibrant sidewalk scene.

This is a fun place to see how a teddy bear is made, and you get to make one of your own as well.

Great for hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter.