Things to do / Travel Guide
Vermont and New Hampshire are quintessentially New England: Rolling hills and grizzly mountains, trees seasonally displaying every color you can imagine, towns and small cities bearing generous amounts of Victorian houses and steepled churches; and ponds and lakes reflecting all the drama. The beautiful countryside should be the focus for any trip to the region, but for a romantic getaway, it's as natural as the maple syrup. Get ready to be overwhelmed, you and your loved one, by these quaint towns, and the gorgeous woods enclosing them.
Romantic Accommodations in New Hampshire and Vermont
Where to stay is perhaps the most important decision you'll have to make for your romantic trip. There are so many excellent lodgings choices in Vermont and New Hampshire, it's difficult to pick one.
Are you looking for a place to spend a quiet cozy honeymoon or anniversary? The town of Woodstock is one of Vermont's centers of romance. For such a small town, it surely knows how to host, as there are a large amount of bed and breakfasts within and in the surrounding area. Just consider the Applebutter Inn, a white Federal-style house, twice gabled, and classically Vermont. It can accommodate anything from weddings to anniversary celebrations - the owners love accommodating any and all your requests. Each of the half-dozen rooms is accented by different colors and styles, but all are populated by charming antiques from the countryside. Some have stoves or a fireplace, some have four-poster beds, some have private porches.
The breakfasts at the Applebutter Inn are nothing short of munificent, with breads and muffins, lemon pancakes, sausages, and bacon, on candlelit tables - and tasty maple syrup. If there's anything to get you two lovers out of bed, it's the variety of berries freshly-picked from the inn's garden.
Cross the border into New Hampshire for more spark-inducing accommodations. Of course the Balsams Grand Resort should rank high on your list: This resort has it all - a great variety of rooms, large grounds for plenty of activities like boating for two, or cross-country skiing. You can even take fun cooking courses together.
A room in an inn in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is next to perfect when it comes to options for a romantic getaway. The Mulburn Inn, in Bethlehem, has served as a hotel for the romantic since its inception, almost a century ago. Sleep in rooms where Cary Grant and New York socialite Barbara Hutton spent their honeymoon, and where Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe came to get away from it all. Hardwood floors frame the large bedrooms and homey rugs adorn them. The beds themselves are all vintage, through of different styles according to room.
Romantic Dining in New Hampshire and Vermont
Throughout the region, whether you're in Vermont or New Hampshire, the restaurants will move you to new levels of sensuality. French-Canadian cuisine stars on the region's most celebrated haunts for a romantic meal. This means plenty of seafood and poultry, and of course, maple syrup. For the latter, prepare for copious amounts during breakfast at any of the bed and breakfasts. For the former, there are ample places to find the perfect clam chowder or lobster.
If the two of you would love a real culinary experience, you might decide on a stay at the Inn at Essex, called “Vermont's Culinary Resort.” Says it all, right? Perhaps the most ambitious choice at this multi-restaurant grand hotel is the Culinary Theater, where you're given a fully blank slate and told (in advance) to create for the chefs a complete five-course menu to be served to you in regal abundance. This option has luxury honeymoon written all over it! And the wine list is one of the best in the country.
Near Essex is another culinary jewel for the two of you. Waybury Inn has been serving guests for more than 150 years. There are four restaurants at the inn, each with a different focus. Perhaps the most romantic of the bunch is the Coach Room. Here's where you can get a fantastic bowl of New England seafood chowder, but there are also plenty salads, steaks, and venison as well. For dessert, how does a lemon pound cake sound? Or exult with some Ben and Jerry's - Vermont's finest.
As in Vermont, so in New Hampshire. If you want good food to set the stage for a romantic evening, look no further than the bed and breakfasts. The Bedford Village Inn is a good choice, and you can eat at that inn's restaurant. They place an emphasis on freshness, so everything, from the lettuce to the sautéed double-breaded goat cheese stuffed with apricots and pine nuts - is completely fresh. The chocolate desserts regularly knock patrons out. The ambiance of the multi-roomed restaurant is also a plus, as you can eat in the French-styled room or the Victorian-styled room, as well as others.
Romantic Excursions in New Hampshire and Vermont
As you're traveling from place to place in this region, you and yours can take romantic mini-excursions to the many covered bridges that characterize the byroads. There's something about covered bridges that sets the atmosphere, and New Hampshire and Vermont is known for them. These bridges, like the one over Pine Brook or at Salisbury Station, were known once upon a time as kissing bridges, since a guy and a gal could have a nice kiss or two in the time it took for their carriage to get from one side of the covered area to the other.
The region as a whole is known for having the best displays of fall colors in the United States. There are dozens if not hundreds of scenic points from which to survey the symphony of reds, greens, browns, and yellows each autumn; from Mt. Washington to Jay Peak to Woodford State Park, your romantic getaway at this time of year will be an unforgettable visual feast.
If things are so sensually scenic from below, imagine how they'll look from above - from a hot air balloon. Hand in hand, breathe in the fresh air; the ambiance only enriched by the pop of the champagne bottle and the fizzing of the juice as you pour it into your tinkling glasses.
Romantic Vacation Ideas in Burlington, Stowe, Rutland and the New Hampshire and Vermont mountains
Romantic-Vacations-Getaways
Vermont's Northeast Kingdom
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