A vibrant and spirited small city, Burlington, Vermont is a different destination for travelers. With a focus on all things local and unconventional, the city is known for its environmental stewardship, the pedestrian-friendly Church Street Marketplace, access to a wide variety of year-round outdoor activities, and a locally sourced culinary scene bursting at the seams.
Recreation
Burlington boasts easy access to five major ski areas less than an hour’s drive from downtown, including Stowe and Sugarbush. Sitting directly on the shores of Lake Champlain, the sixth largest body of fresh water in the United States, Burlington offers an array of water activities from cruises on The Spirit of Ethan Allen to stand-up paddleboarding and sailing. Burlington is a dream destination for the outdoor enthusiast, with proximity to various outdoor activities year-round, from skiing and hiking to fishing, biking, golfing, and more.
Accommodations
Burlington is known for its unique blend of boutique properties and corporate hotels. Visitor favorites include The Essex Resort, Hotel Vermont, the Hilton Garden Inn Burlington, the recently renovated Hotel Champlain, and the newly opened Blind Tiger Burlington. Within the next two years, Burlington’s downtown room inventory is expected to grow by fifty percent, and roughly 350 new rooms will be introduced across two new hotels in the area.
Food & Beverage
Burlington offers more than 100 different restaurants, covering many global influences. With an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients, Burlington’s farm-to-table movement is decades old and stems from the region’s organic farming community. The city’s craft-brewing scene began in the late 1980s and has blossomed into more than fifty breweries across the state, the highest number per capita in the country. Burlington’s Pine Street, running from Church Street down through the city’s South End, is the epicenter of the state’s famous craft beer scene and emerging natural-wine destination, home to top breweries and vendors of organically farmed bottles.
Arts & Culture
Burlington’s thriving music scene features an eclectic variety of genres from local, regional, and national talent. Strategically located between Montreal and NYC or Boston, Burlington welcomes top touring musical acts to the stages of the city’s popular music venues, including Higher Ground Ballroom, Nectar’s, ArtsRiot, and the Flynn Theater.
With endless galleries, studios, and local shops to discover around every corner, Burlington’s vast arts scene is centered in the South End Arts District, a growing hub of the city’s maker-artisan culture. Just outside the city, Shelburne Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of American folk art, putting Vermont’s natural beauty on display alongside a collection of over 100,000 pieces of art and history.
Innovation & Sustainability
Burlington is on track to achieve its net-zero energy goal by 2030, making it the first in the country to make the leap to 100% renewable energy. A growing hub of innovation in environmentally friendly travel, Burlington is also the home base for electric aviation company Beta Technologies, a pioneer on the cutting edge of electric aviation that symbolizes the region’s focus on tech and sustainability.
: @MAGRINOPR