Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Burlington is Vermont's largest city, yet it feels like a lively college town that happens to sit on one of the loveliest lakefronts in New England.
The city is compact and walkable, so you can park the car for most of your stay. Beyond downtown, a short drive brings you to the Gilded Age estate of Shelburne Farms, the vast collections of Shelburne Museum and the Green Mountains.
Few small American cities pair urban life and outdoor space as neatly as Burlington. You can browse independent shops in the morning, cycle a causeway into the middle of Lake Champlain at lunchtime and watch the sun drop behind the Adirondacks from a waterfront park in the evening.
Culturally, Burlington punches above its weight. The Flynn hosts touring shows and concerts, the Discover Jazz Festival fills the streets each June, and the South End arts district is packed with studios and breweries.
Most visitors spend their first day between Church Street and the lake, a walk of only a few blocks downhill along College or Main Street.
Four blocks of Church Street are closed to traffic, creating a brick-paved pedestrian mall lined with shops, restaurants and outdoor seating.
Tip: side streets such as Bank, Cherry and lower Main Street hold many of the most interesting independent shops and cafes, so step off the main strip.
Church Street Marketplace is a pedestrian mall at the heart of downtown Burlington. Photo: Beyond My Ken, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
At the foot of College Street, Waterfront Park offers a grassy promenade, a boardwalk and swings facing the lake. It is the city's favorite sunset spot and the stage for summer festivals.
Allow one to two hours at ECHO and as long as you like on the waterfront.
ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, is an aquarium and science center at the foot of College Street. Photo: Cbcrowley74, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The Burlington Bike Path runs along the lakeshore from Oakledge Park in the south past the waterfront and North Beach to the Winooski River.
Allow a half day to cycle out to the causeway and back. Bikes can be rented near the waterfront.
The Colchester Causeway follows the bed of a former railroad far out into Lake Champlain. Photo: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
North Beach is the city's largest public beach, with sand, a grassy picnic area and lifeguards in summer. At the south end of the bike path, Oakledge Park has rocky shoreline, picnic shelters and wooded trails.
Tip: Lake Champlain stays cool well into summer, and water quality advisories are sometimes posted after heavy rain or algae blooms, so check signs before swimming.
Oakledge Park sits on the southern Burlington shoreline at the start of the lakeside bike path. Photo: Niranjan Arminius, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Up the hill from downtown, the University of Vermont campus centers on the University Green, framed by historic buildings.
Tip: walk down College Street afterward for one of the best views of the lake and Adirondacks opening up at the bottom of the hill.
The Fleming Museum of Art is the University of Vermont's art and anthropology museum. Photo: Wolcott, Katherine, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
On a bend of the Winooski River north of downtown, the Ethan Allen Homestead preserves the farmhouse where the Revolutionary War leader of the Green Mountain Boys spent his last years.
Allow one to two hours.
The Ethan Allen Homestead preserves the final home of the Revolutionary War figure beside the Winooski River. Photo: Mfwills, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
South of downtown, former industrial buildings along Pine Street now house artist studios, galleries, makers, breweries and food producers.
Just south of the city in Shelburne, Shelburne Farms is a working farm and nonprofit education center set on a lakeside estate laid out in the late 19th century with landscaping by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Allow half a day.
The Farm Barn at Shelburne Farms was built in the Gilded Age as part of a model agricultural estate. Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Shelburne Museum, founded by collector Electra Havemeyer Webb in 1947, displays art, folk art, quilts, decoys and Americana in dozens of buildings spread across its grounds, many of them historic structures moved here from around New England.
Allow at least half a day. Tip: the museum's outdoor buildings are seasonal, so check the official website for which galleries are open before you go.
The steamboat Ticonderoga is one of the historic structures moved to Shelburne Museum. Photo: Storylanding, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
About forty-five minutes east, the village of Stowe sits beneath Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak.
Allow a full day. Tip: the drive is gorgeous in early October, but traffic and parking get heavy on foliage weekends, so start early.
Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest mountain, lies within an easy drive east of Burlington. Photo: Niranjan Arminius, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Burlington eats close to the farm.
The Burlington Farmers Market runs on Saturdays in season near City Hall Park, with produce, baked goods, cheese and international street food; check its website for the current location and dates.
Popular dishes to try in Burlington
Downtown is best for first-time visitors and anyone without a car, with Church Street, the waterfront and most restaurants on your doorstep.
South Burlington and Williston Road have many chain hotels near the airport and Interstate 89, convenient for drivers and short stays.
Shelburne suits couples and families wanting a quieter, more rural base close to Shelburne Farms and the museum.
Where to stay in Burlington
Burlington Telecom is a locally owned fiber optic network provider in Burlington offering high-speed internet, voice, cloud, data, and co-location services.
Wizard Tech is a full-service smartphone, computer, and tablet repair business serving Burlington, VT. Wizard Tech provides repairs for iPhones, Samsung phones,...
Wires Computing is a locally owned tech repair business in Burlington, VT. It provides cell phone, tablet, and computer repair services including screen replace...
Computers for Change is a computer repair and sales business serving Burlington, VT. It provides laptop and desktop repair, sales, and trade-in services.
Synergy Fire and Security is a Vermont-based full-service company providing fire alarm, security, camera, access control, and monitoring solutions for homes and...
PRO IT VT LLC is an IT support and device repair business serving South Burlington, VT, offering phone repair, computer repair, IT consulting, and digital print...
Summer, from June to August, brings warm days, lake swimming, sailing and festivals, including the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in June and fireworks on the waterfront around Independence Day.
Burlington International Airport, a few miles east of downtown in South Burlington, has nonstop flights to several major US hubs.
Downtown is easily walkable, and Green Mountain Transit buses connect the city with Winooski, South Burlington, Shelburne and Essex. Cycling is excellent thanks to the lakeside bike path.
Start with coffee and a stroll along Church Street, then walk down to the waterfront and visit ECHO.
Rent a bike and ride the Island Line Trail out to the Colchester Causeway, stopping at North Beach on the way back.
Drive to Shelburne Farms for a morning on the trails and in the Farm Barn, then spend the afternoon at Shelburne Museum.
Head east to Waterbury and Stowe for the Ben & Jerry's factory, Mount Mansfield and Smugglers' Notch.
Looking for a cafe near Church Street, a bike rental by the lake or a local shop for Vermont-made gifts?
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