Burlington to Newport
 

I am travelling to Newport, VT via Burlington airport in early July. Looking for some advice/help with the following:

It looks like there are 2 routes from the airport to Newport that appear to have similar travel times (1) 89 to 105 and (2) 89 to 100. Does anyone have advice about which route to take? We arrive on a Tuesday evening and will probably grab dinner in Burlington or a nearby town on the way to Newport. Any suggestions for restaurants in Burlington or on way to Newport that shouldn't be missed? I will warn that we have 2 small children in tow, but both are very well behaved and go out to dinner frequently.

We are contemplating driving to Montreal for a day and I was informed that the Jazz festival is going on during our trip. Has anyone been to Montreal during this festival? Think it will be too crazy for us to tackle with small children?

Based on my research so far, there doesn't appear to be too much "to do" in the Newport area other than enjoy the beautiful lake and scenery (which is fine by us). If there is any particular "don't miss" activity, please let me know. It will be difficult to do any strenuous hikes, but we do plan to enjoy the outdoors and hopefully do some swimming/boating on the lake. Also, any restaurant recommendations in the Newport area are also welcome!

Thanks in advance for your help - researching past forums has been very useful!

There isn't much to do in Newport itself, though the downtown business district has a walking area along the edge of the lake which is pleasant enough. The Newport Natural Market and Cafe is a health food store in this downtown area that also makes sandwiches and such -- a good place for lunch. Another good place is the East Side Restaurant and Pub, right on the lake a short drive from downtown -- if memory serves, it's possible to get tables that have a view of the lake there.

I'm assuming you have a car, as I don't think it's possible to reach Newport via public transportation. If you do, you could also see the Haskell Library and Opera House in nearby Derby Line; it straddles the US/Canada border and is an attractive enough building -- the visit would be a brief one. You can also drive to Lake Willoughby to the southwest of Newport, a gorgeous glacial lake surrounded by small mountains that some liken to places in Switzerland.

Sorry, I meant "southeast of Newport" for Lake Willoughby.

How old are the small children?

Burlington is a lovely pedestrian friendly city with LOTS of good places to eat, most of them downtown. There is a wonderful old time diner near the airport but you will have to ask for directions locally and I don't know if they are open for dinner.

If the kids are old enough, the Shelburne Museum south of Burlington is a museum of folk art, farm machinery, a land-locked boat, antiques, and lots of room to run. We took oour kids to Montreal when they were 7 and 9, and I think they enjoyed it, though not as much as Quebec City. The best part was laughing at Dad trying to speak French at the gas station and at MacDonalds.

The Canadian area north of Newport is worth a trip. Probably easier to explore this part of Quebec than to try to get to Montreal. The abbey of St Benoit du Lac on the western shore of Lake Memphremagog is in a beautiful spot. Magog at the northern tip of the lake has some nice park areas near the lake. The Lake, like lake Champlain, is rumored to have a "monster"

Granby with a zoo is not far away, and there are orchards and vineyards to visit.

Either Burlington/Shelburne or Montreal would be long drives.

Thanks so much for all the advice. Looking forward to the trip tomorrow!