Burlington, VT favorites?
 

A friend and I are overnighting in Burlington on our way back from a trip to Quebec. We will have quite a bit of time to shop, sightsee, etc on our last day. We love to bike, but think we would prefer to save that for another visit. What are your favorite things in Burlington?

Thank you.

Depending on the weather I've enjoyed the ferry ride across Lake Champlain.

I lived in South Burlington for three years. Great area! You should definitely walk around Church St...the heart of "downtown" is this cobblestone street - no cars allowed. It's quite charming...shops, food, etc. A fantastic local restaurant is Leunigs - an American Bistro is perhaps the way I would explain it? Very cool and locals love it! You can take a walk in Battery Park and along Lake Champlain. If you are interested in beer, you can tour the Magic Hat Brewery or the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory (not just for kids!) - they are further up Shelburne Road. And depending on your time, you can go "up the road" to Shelburne where you have the FABULOUS Shelburne Farms...check it out online - it will make quite an impression in person, I assure you! Just a few quick thoughts...If I think of more, I will add later!

Thank you so much. I looked into overnighting at Shelburne Farms but it was a two night minimum and this trip is all about Quebec. I have seen several television pieces about it and it is quite interesting.
I had not heard about Leunigs, I will check it out.

I appreciate the help!

You can still visit and enjoy Shelburne Farms if you can't stay there. It's an amazing part of American history. Enjoy the area!

I agree with pupchic that Shelburne Farms is worth visiting even if you can't stay at the inn. It is only about 5 miles south of downtown Burlington.
My husband and I went there for a few hours yesterday afternoon for the first time in years. It was a stunningly beautiful day and we enjoyed walking around the grounds. There are several tours a day and I imagine those are worth taking. While we were there my husband decided we should go back sometime in the fall and stay overnight--even though the inn is only about an hour from our home in central VT.

The inn serves dinner and breakfast to the public as well as guests.

Shelburne also has a vineyard if you prefer wine to beer (Magic Hat brewery mentioned by pupchic)

the other suggestions of strolling Church Street and exploring the Burlington waterfront area make sense

The Ethan Allen Homestead in Winooski is interesting and in another scenic spot (the museum is closed Tuesday and Wednesday--not sure about the trails)

Thank you so much. This is great.

Piggybacking on this post because we are going to rent a house for a long weekend early in Nov in West Addison and are interested in personal favorite restaurants, low key, not fancy, any food style appreciated in and around Burlington.

We also like Leunig's Bistro mentioned by pupchick above. A Single Pebble is good for Chinese. It is on the expensive side for Chinese (at least in this area) so check out the menu/prices to see if you are interested
http://www.asinglepebble.com/

I like Pho Hong for Vietnamese. I am pretty sure it is BYOB (I have only eaten there at lunch when I don't drink)

Seven Days recently awarded its daysies awards (best of) for 2011 so you might want to check out their food and drink listings
http://www.7dvt.com/daysies

We went to Church and Main tonight and it was fantastic!!!! Great town and what a fun atmosphere.

And a vote for Three tomatoes where we had a good lunch. I loved the roasted beet salad.

Special advice, skip dessert and hold out for an ice cream at the Lake Champlain Chocolates. Housemade in small batches, the flavor choice is excellent!

Are you there now? A friend used to bring me back a piece of Bennington pottery from the sale/seconds/factory store in Burlington -
http://www.benningtonpotters.com/store_locations

My favorite is the heart shaped baking dish with the apple in it in this picture -
http://www.benningtonpotters.com/product/339/bakeware

I've never been there, but I loved when he went back home for a visit :-)

some good places for breakfast/brunch are Penny Cluse and Magnolia Bistro

Very pretty, Starrs. Put it on your "places to see" list. Burlington is very charming. We flew home yesterday (at an ungodly hour on different flights and with different routes...thank you, USAIR). Trip report coming up!

My mother collects that same Bennington Pottery style. While there are some seconds in Burlington, a larger selection can be found at the Bennington location as well as at a store just outside of Troy, NY. Another VT craftsman to put on your list if you are ever in the Woodstock/Quechee, VT area is Simon Pearce. BEAUTIFUL glass and pottery, etc as well. I was lucky enough to be there one day when Simon Pearce was signing his glass pieces (amazing to watch him use a tool delicately enough to sign his name on blown glass) - I have a bowl and Christmas ornament signed.

I was surprised there weren't more fiber artists displayed at Frog Hollow. I was told they primarily sold at Farmer's Markets. None were scheduled during our stay.
My personal favorite local craft was the housemade ice cream at Lake Champlain Chocolates. Yummy.

topping for jubilada