I'm with giro. Except that I'd include the whole five college area of the Pioneer Valley. By the way, giro, you forgot Hampshire College!

giro also forgot Smith College, which is one of the Five Colleges; Williams is not in that area.

Here's a fun fact on a related topic. Does anyone know what the largest college town in Illinois is?

The Chicago loop (downtown) with over 52,000 college students. This would also place it among the largest college towns in the country.

Anonymous, I did notice the Smith, Williams thing. But was more focused on Hampshire as my daughter goes there!Speaking of Smith, I would definitely put Northampton on the top of my list. And, although Williams is not one of the Five Colleges, it's a very nice campus, beautiful area.

And, no offense flamingomonkey, but , much as I love Chicago, no matter how many students there are in the loop, IMHO, it's not a "college town". To me a college town is a place where everything revolves around the college or colleges in the area. Or at least a place where the college is the major employer, focus of business, etc.

ok amwosu, that's good enough for me.

Bridgewater, VA

Hanover, NH (Dartmouth), Palo Alto, CA (Stanford), and Bloomington, IN (IU) are my favorite college towns. I love college towns! They have so much energy, and not to mention the cute little coffee shops and galleries, too.

I second Oxford, Mississippi, as a great college town in which to live. I taught high school there for 20 years before moving to the Ms. Gulf Coast, and I still miss the beauty of Oxford.

Boston is THE definitive college town

I grew up in Chapel Hill and it is a college town. Even though now not everyone in town is affiliated with the school. But most things run in conjunction with the college schedule. Beautiful campus, esp. now in spring with all the blooms.

Duke University in Durham also has beautiful campus. But Durham isn't a college town.

There was a super long and argumentative thread about this subject 2 ore 3 years ago, I believe.

Regardless of how many students are in that particular city, big cities just don't seem to revolve around the college and college life itself. Berlin in Germany when I visited in 1983 was in the 70 percentile of college students for their entire population at that point, but I still would not have described it as a college town.

Champaign/Urbana, Madison, WI, Ann Arbor, MI are some nice ones in my neck of the woods. Bloomington, IN. I don't know if I would consider Columbus Ohio a college town or not. What do you think? We have so many in IL. Macomb, DeKalb, Edwardsville, Carbondale, and the college does add much to the life of the town.

When I was younger I used to visit every college town I could. Now I find that I don't gravitate to them as I once did. Possibly it is because of overkill (I am on college campus 75% of my day light hours anyway). But maybe not. I wouldn't be able to say anything about "best". For what! For whom? Sometimes not for the local townpeople or tax paying citizens in that town, sometimes maybe. I had a friend move from Madison WI after 10 years there just because of college repercussions. It's not always a plus situation.

Some of these places mentioned by other posters are quite stunning visually. Most college campuses are absolutely worth a tour, because landscaping / asthetics/ atmosphere are often first rate- and sometimes in the very smallest hamlet towns in IA or KS.

Iowa City, IA (U of Iowa) is a great college town. So is Lawrence, KS (KU).

Westwood, CA (UCLA) is pretty cool...but my fav is Chapel Hill. So much so that we are retiring to the area in June after 30+ years in DC and MD. (Well, my DH is an alum of UNC, so that was the initial draw.) We like the Charlottesville campus but the town isn't much. The wineries in the surrounding countryside are outstanding, and you're not far from the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Plus it isn't too far a drive to Dulles airport. So there are many draws to C'ville.

But Chapel Hill won us over because not just UNC, but Duke, NCState, and a number of other schools are all located within half and hour of each other.

A midwesterner myself, I can't get excited about my the home of my own alma mater, Purdue (West Lafayette, IN -- even if you combined it with Lafayette). I also know Champaign-Urbana fairly well, but it's not particularly lovely, either. I hear good things about Miami, Ohio (Miami U of Ohio) and the town where Ohio University is located (which escapes my memory at the moment.) Clemson, SC might also be one to check out.

Asheville, NC. Oxford, MS. (I love Square Books, too!) Madison, WI. Northampton, MA. BLoomington, IN. Athens, GA. Chapel Hill (actually, entire research triangle area), NC.

Volcam: if you like Square Books in Oxford, take a look at Lemuria Books in Jackson, MS. It was they who started the signed first editions club that Square Books modeled theirs after. I've been collecting books since I graduated in the mid-1990s and it's been so rewarding! Wonderful place--it's an oasis in a city that has otherwise mostly sold its soul to chain stores.

JJ5: "Regardless of how many students are in that particular city, big cities just don't seem to revolve around the college and college life itself"

I would respectfully disagree. For approximately 300,000 students, Boston is the ultimate college town. The city is a hub of cultural, educational and social activity geared not only to the general population, but to students as well.

Claremont, CA (Pomona) and the education is first tier too.
M

Nope, not a troll. I know my posts so far have been a little general, but really I'm just someone that loves to travel that likes talking about travel stuff on my lunch break at work. I think questions like these (and my road trip questions) are perfect for Fodor's forums. While some of us come here for specific info, a lot of us just like to participate in smart dialogue about places in general.

But back to the point of my thread...
My favorite college towns feel both sleepy and alive at the same time. And they seem to sort of make me nostalgic for college life even if I didn't go there.
The Burlington comments really interest me. I've heard from some other people that Burlington is an amazing place to live-- and maybe not burdened yet with being too popular for its own good.
Anyone ventured to Oxford or Cambridge? From my experience, few universities in Europe have structured campuses--- While these two schools look like few schools here because of their architecture, I got the same feeling strolling their grounds that I was entering a microcosm of young people doing exciting things.

East Lansing, MI. Home of Michigan State University!! Great neighborhoods, shops, restaurants, and your college bars. I love MSU & I miss it very much!

Notre Dame's campus is actually beautiful, but the town of South Bend and the college don't have a lot of connection, IMHO.

And yes, Urbana/Champaign is sprawly- but it is certainly not unlovely nor is the college town at all on disconnect. The campus itself is too big to walk easily- a bike comes in handy.

Actually the countryside around and some parts of the Carbondale SIU campus are spectacular- they are right into the Shawnee National Forest. Hills, creeks, lakes, -just a beautiful surround. You can do lots of outdoor activities at Carbondale and for much of the year, much milder winter than Northern IL.

There are probably many hundred beautiful small campuses that vitalize the economy and are are central to the town itself in the USA.

Utica, NY.
(but who cares, really?)