Hi - DH and I booked 3 nights in Lenox, driving from Phila on Thursday afternoon (not looking forward to the traffic). Staying at the Hampton Inn to use up points. We are looking for a mixture of relaxation and sight-seeing, and are thinking of: Rockwell museum, Ventfort Hall Mansion, Berkshire Mountain Bakery... what else do you recommend? It Deerfield worth the hour drive? We enjoy architecture, wandering neighborhoods, great coffee and cocktails, outdoor markets, history, cafes, people watching, art especially outdoors, concerts. Will also visit exceptional churches, museums, shopping, castles, etc, to a limit.

Appreciate any recommendations!

We visited both The Mount (Edith Wharton's home) and Naumkeag last summer and both are very interesting estates with lovely gardens. It looks as though Naumkeag has a daffodil festival going on

Hancock Shaker Village is another really interesting place for both architecture and history.

I would save Deerfield for another trip. It is definitely worth seeing.

I was going to recommend Herman Melville's house, Arrowhead, in nearby Pittsfield, but I see tours don't start up again until May 20th

Opening Day at The Mount may not be until 5/11. I had checked and it said open May to October but under events there is mention of the 5/11 date. Confusing!

thanks Fra and VT -- will look into all!

In case anyone else is following, I called The Mount and learned that their first day is May 11. Guided tours included in admission are every hour on the hour starting at 11 (they are open 10-5). No reservation needed and tours do not cap out at a certain capacity.

Does anyone have experience visiting the Bellamy-Ferriday estate in CT? https://www.ctlandmarks.org/bellamy-ferriday
I searched this board and didn't get any hits. My interest stems from reading the novel, Lilac Girls https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...93-lilac-girls

It's about an hour from there to Amherst, which has Amherst college and a cute little downtown area. It also has Emily Dickinson's home and museum as well as her brother's home, both of which you can tour. I love Emily Dickinson so adored this trip. The college is super cute, and the downtown area has some cute little coffee shops and places to eat. We parked at Emily Dickinson's home and could walk to everything.

thanks for the tip re Amherst - we usually enjoy college towns and will definitely keep it in mind.

any recs for cute cafes for lunch and places for dinner on a Friday or Saturday?

When we visit the area about once a year we usually stop for lunch in Lee. There are a couple of cafes right along Hwy20 as it passes through town. Last trip we enjoyed a quiet lunch at the Starving Artist Cafe.
For dinner we've eaten at Mint (Indian) twice. First time was great, 2nd time meh.
For takeout or sandwiches we've liked prepared foods from Guido's market, just up the road from the Hampton Inn.

Thank you! The Starving Artist and Guido's look perfect.

If you want a good view, drive (or hike) to the top of Mt Greylock (highest point in MA).

Leaves are just now budding across the area so you'll have lots of shades of green. Hiking trails are muddy (unless stone or paved). Mosquitos are out, but it's not quite black fly time yet. As long as you're not out in the woods at dusk bugs should be ok.