Come for the Art and Stay for the Holiday Weekend!
New England's most uncommon destination is definitely Northampton; it surprises you with its sophistication, diversity and eclectic flavor, its small-town ambiance and big-city features, all housed within typical New England clapboard and masonry architecture. This city possesses a unique downtown 'walking Main Street', with one-of-a-kind boutiques, galleries, restaurants, antique stores and art theaters - certainly not the ubiquitous chain stores that make downtowns all over America look and feel the same.

Each of Northampton's small businesses brings a unique vision to this city of 30,000, from high-style clothing to sophisticated crafts, from a choice of five different sushi restaurants to your friendly neighborhood tattoo parlor.

There's More!
If you have extra time - perhaps you're here for more than a weekend - check out some of the quirkier sites and museums too - like the new Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Historic Northampton, the Springfield Quadrangle museums, the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, the Fiber Art Center in Amherst, the Hadley Farm Museum, the new Sojourner Truth statue in Florence, the dinosaur footprints in Holyoke and the Botanical Garden and Conservatory at Smith College.

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Northampton...The Cultural Heart of New England

Ten Outstanding Museums - In One Gorgeous Place!
The Museums of the Five College Area (MOFCA), consist of eleven museums and galleries and boast world-class collections and major exhibitions throughout the year. Northampton has the Smith College Museum of Art, well known for its Impressionists and Post- Impressionists, and now in the forefront of contemporary art. Just seven miles up the road, in Amherst, you can visit Amherst College's newly refurbished Mead Art Museum or the Pratt Museum of Natural History. Drive another mile or two for the outdoor sculptures at Hampshire College Art Gallery, take the kids to the new Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and browse the fascinating and unique National Yiddish Book Center. Without leaving town, stop by the University Gallery in the Fine Arts Center at UMass and Emily Dickinson's Homestead. Head 15 minutes north to Historic Deerfield for a tour of 14 perfectly preserved 18th and 19th century houses filled with decorative arts. Just over the river is Mount Holyoke College, with its own world class Art Museum.

Take it Outdoors!
Walk to the Northampton Airport from the show to skydive, parachute, take a hot-air balloon ride over the sparkling vernal countryside, white-water raft on the Deerfield River, hike to the top of Mount Sugarloaf for the spectacular view of the Connecticut River that has inspired artists for nearly two hundred years, take advantage of miles of bike paths through farmlands, woodlands and along the river, hike the Holyoke Range, rent a pontoon boat for a family cruise on the Connecticut River, picnic and play in Northampton's two beautiful city parks, or take your clubs to The Orchards in South Hadley, home of the United States 2004 Women's Open.

For more information about the Valley, its regional arts, and history, visit:
www.explorenorthampton.com, www.valleyvisitor.com,
www.historic-northampton.org, www.virtualcities.com/ons/ma/p/as/map71a13.htm


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