For more than half a century music has drawn thousands of visitors to festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, The New England Bach Festival, The Yellow Barn Music Festival, The Friends of Music at Guilford, The Brattleboro Music Center and the Vermont Jazz Center. We are a noted book town region, with more than 12 bookstores in our county alone. The entire spectrum of the creative arts makes for a rainbow of year-round festivals, down home fairs and old-fashioned parades, art exhibitions, performances and readings, antique emporiums and flea markets and living history events. From the banks of the Connecticut River to the inviting Green Mountains- there is plenty for the entire family to enjoy. You'll feel the difference as soon as you enter southern Vermont. It's one of those rare places where you feel you've "come home".

Just as we do, you'll breathe a sigh of relief with the clean air wafting across wide open meadows, scenic farms and the winding country roads meandering along river valleys into the mountains - and NO traffic jams. Every tiny village and town is worth a visit. That's why we're here! We want to share with you our appreciation for our hometown's treasures and attractions. There is no better time than now to stop by to discover why Brattleboro has been included in The Best Small Towns in America and why readers of American Style Magazine voted Brattleboro to be one of the top 25 art destination cities under 100,000 pop. in the United States in 2007, 2008 and 2009. You will find boutiques, galleries, restaurants and bistros, two micro-breweries, coffee houses, and our favorite 1930's era movie palace, the Latchis Theater. You'll want to stay for awhile. The area has a full array of top-notch accommodations, including some of the country's most famous and historic bed and breakfasts - each with its own special charm.

Join us for Gallery Walk on the first Friday of each month from 5:30-8:30 PM when visitors stroll from gallery openings to artists' studios. The lively mix of residents, visitors, retailers and professionals creates an atmosphere of vitality and diversity which is both a pleasure and a unique experience.

Brattleboro has long been a magnet for creative folks. Rudyard Kipling wrote some of his most renowned books while living here. Many equally well known and emerging artists continue to make their way here and foster the area's reputation as a genuine artists' colony. The vitality of this strong cultural community, that is "hip" without being pretentious or over-commercialized, makes every visitor feel at home.

Explore the area! No matter in which direction you head, you will find the Vermont you are looking for: Putney, Guilford, Vernon, Marlboro, Dummerston, Newfane, Townshend and Grafton offer the collective experience of charm and warmth with scenes which reflect the genial people who inhabit the countryside. All four seasons hold undiscovered riches for you. The autumn is a riotous garden of enormous proportions known throughout the world. Summer is relaxed, verdant and lush beyond compare, hence our name: Vermont, or "Green Mountain". Winter glistens with crystalline brilliance and is silent and awesome in its frozen coat. Spring's awakening is punctuated by the steam of maple sugaring rising from farms across the state.

Wherever you go, back road or main highway, you will find Brattleboro and the surrounding area have a feeling all their own. And that feeling is one you'll want to make a part of your stay in Vermont - every time you come to the Green Mountain State.