Berkshire Area Attractions

Sheffield offers an abundance of fine antiquing, the oldest covered bridge in Massachusetts and Bartholomew's Cobble- a 170 acre wildlife preserve.

Music & Dance

Tanglewood

Tanglewood, the idyllic Berkshire summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, offers classical, jazz and popular concerts daily June through Labor Day. >Lenox

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

The premier festival of ballet and modern dance, currently celebrating their 70th Anniversary. "The Hub & Mecca of Dancing in North America" - Time. >Becket


Art

Norman Rockwell Museum

The largest collection of original Norman Rockwell art, with changing exhibitions of other illustrators and Norman Rockwell's studio. >Stockbridge

Clark Art Institute

Art museum and research center with French impressionist, Old Master and American paintings, and excellent special exhibitions. >Williamstown

MASS MoCA

The country's largest contemporary art center featuring a vast array of performances and exhibitions housed on a 19th century factory campus. >North Adams



Dining

Aegean Breeze

Med/Greek cuisine w/casual dining. Lunch/dinner/chef owned. Souvlaki, seafood, gyro, pasta, steak, chicken. Open 7 days 11am-11pm. Daily specials. >Great Barrington

Barrington Brewery & Restaurant

Recommended by Zagats, AAA, Frommers. Recipes in Bon Appetit 50th Anniversary Edition. Inexpensive kids menu, hand crafted beer, outside dining. >Great Barrington

Berkshire Co-op Market

Natural foods store & café featuring local & organic produce, meat & seafood, prepared foods & extensive wellness department. Open to all! BerkShares. >Great Barrington

Market Place Cafe

At the MARKETPLACE CAFE' you can enjoy a variety of our signature sandwhichess made fresh, custom-made oven baked flatbread, pizzas refreshing hand tossed salads; and plenty more to smile about while you sip our carefully prepared Lattes.

a 3 minute walk from Staveleigh House, a great place to shop for picnic foods.

Route 7 Grill

Locally raised foods, from-scratch preparation. Smoked BBQ/grilled specialties/traditional roadside fare/bulk BBQ. Full bar/patio dining/catering. >Great Barrington

Stage Coach Tavern

Zagat Survey quoted " This 'time stood still' tavern in a stately Federalist farm house is a winner among city weekenders. Reasonably priced American vittles are simply prepared but delicious ! Just what comfort food should be."
'our favorite retauraunt"  Ali and Harry


Theatre

Berkshire Theatre Festival

Professional performances in the Berkshires on the historic main stage, Unicorn Theatre and BTF Plays! Theatre for Young Audiences. May through October. >Stockbridge

Shakespeare & Company

Artistic Director Tina Packer. The Silver Anniversary season presents 12 plays in 3 new theatres in Lenox Center through November. >Lenox

Colonial Theater

Presents a wide variety of dramatic and musical performances. >Pittsfield

Barrington Stage Company

Presents the best in summer theater. >Pittsfield


History

Sheffield Historical Society

The Sheffield Historical Society was organized in 1972 by a group of local residents who sought to preserve the story of the oldest town in Berkshire County. It is a volunteer driven, nonprofit corporation, actively involved in local historical research that also offers a variety of educational programs for every age group. >Sheffield

Chesterwood

Beautiful estate and home of Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial. Visit the studio, garden, woodland walk, museum shop. May-Oct, Daily 10-5. >Stockbridge

Hancock Shaker Village

200-year-old original Shaker village. 21 historic buildings, Shaker furniture, round stone barn and craft demonstrations. Informative tours daily. >Hancock

African American Heritage Trail

African American Heritage Trail encompasses 29 Massachusetts and Connecticut towns of the upper Housatonic valley.  The trail celebrates African Americans who played pivotal roles. W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Reverend Samuel Harrison, James Van Der Zee. Elizabeth Freeman also known as Mum Bett who was born into Slavery Circa 1744 and came to the Sheffield home of Col. John Ashley (visit the John Ashley House).  Upon hearing the Declaration of Independence read aloud in the village of Sheffield, Mum Bett determined that she, too had the inalienable right to freedom. She was granted the right of freedom after her famous meeting with Theodore Sedgwick (Sedgwick house in the Sheffield village, a short walk from the Staveleigh House Inn). The successful suit was instrumental in ending slavery in Massachusetts 2 years later. >Sheffield


Schools

Berkshire School

The mission of Berkshire School is to provide young men and women with the intellectual and moral foundations and the leadership skills that will enable them to flourish as members of a family and a community as they confront the challenges of college and beyond. >Sheffield

Bard College at Simon's Rock

All of our 400 students come to us after 10th or 11th grade in high school. We give them a broad-minded, paradigm-shifting education; faculty trained in the country’s best universities; inspired and inspiring classes; first-class facilities for the sciences, the arts, and athletics; and an astonishing range of opportunities for conducting specialized research and gaining hands-on experience. >Great Barrington

Hotchkiss School

The Hotchkiss School is an independent boarding school located in Lakeville, Connecticut. Founded in 1891, the school provides an education of unsurpassed quality to 587 students in grades 9 through 12, and to a small number of postgraduates. Students at Hotchkiss come from across the United States and 31 foreign countries. Graduates attend many of the most selective universities and colleges. >Lakeville, CT

Salisbury School

Salisbury School has entered its second century of educating boys. The School’s founder and first headmaster, The Reverend George Emerson Quaile, began with a fundamental mission and philosophy, and we celebrate and hold true to these ideals more than 100 years later. We are a boys’ school that values loyalty and honor. We are a small school that strives to develop a boy’s mind, body, and spirit. Finally, we are a school founded in the tradition of the Episcopal Church and seek to instill in each boy a moral compass that will guide him during his college years and in the world thereafter. >Salisbury, CT


Outdoor Activities

Ski Butternut

Winter Family Skiing, XC Skiing, Summer Concerts, Arts Festival, Fireworks, Berkshire Mountain Music Festival, Berkshire Jazz Festival & more. >Great Barrington

Ski Catamount

You might not believe that you can find so much great skiing and riding so close to home. But you can, right here in the Berkshires- at Catamount! >Hillsdale, NY

Catamount Adventure Park

An aerial forest rope course consisting of platforms that have been installed in the trees with ropes and cables connecting them to form "a bridge". The objective is to move from tree platform to tree platform walking over the different secured bridges to complete the course. >Hillsdale, NY

Berkshire South Recreation

Hiking, canoeing, fitness center, swimming pools.

October Mountain State Forest

At 16,627 acres, nearby October Mountain is the largest state forest in Massachusetts. Great for hiking, fishing and canoeing.

Berkshire Visitors Bureau

Additional information on all Berkshire attractions are available at this site.

 

Shopping

Prime Outlets - Lee

Nestled in the hills of Western Massachusetts, Prime Outlets – Lee features tax-free outlet

shopping at the scenic Gateway to the Berkshires. >Lee

Antiques

Southwestern Massachusetts in general and the towns along Route 7 in particular go back to the colonial times and have become known as very fertile ground for antique hunters. In past times this area was known primarily for American antiques. While we still have a number of long-term and very established Americana dealers among the almost 60 shops strung along the Route 7 area, in more recent times dealers who specialize in antiques from around the world have settled here to take advantage of the tradition. So today you find dealers specializing in French, English, Canadian, Italian, Scandinavian and even Chinese Antiques.

These dealers feature all types of Antiques, from furniture to paintings , folk art to brass candlesticks and from Dutch Delftware to garden ornaments.

The Antiques and Art Association was founded in 1973 and was the very first association of this type in the country. The area has been referred to as "Antiques Mecca" by Leslie and Leigh Keno, the Americana Gurus frequently seen on the television show "Antiques Road Show".