A Taste of Merry Old England at a Tudor-Style Inn

Since its founding in 1793, the town of Stowe, Vermont, has reinvented itself numerous times, from its early days as a potash-farming enclave to its brief stint as a Canadian smuggling outpost during the War of 1812. Today, Stowe's streets and buildings are rife with American history, and the town thrives as a mountain retreat with an artistic soul and an outdoorsy spirit. Just north of Stowe’s Main Street is Ye Olde England Inne, a sprawling Tudor-style manor that welcomes guests with a taste of merry old England. Straight-backed armchairs sit beside a roaring fire in the lobby, where English prints and paintings hang on the walls and crimson carpets call to mind old redcoat uniforms.

The inn’s Bluff House suites cushion guests in English-manor elegance with four-poster queen beds. Each suite features a fireplace, a lounge with wing chairs and cherry-wood furnishings, and a spacious bathroom outfitted with a jacuzzi tub. Private decks or patios connect to most suites, affording views of the village, Mount Mansfield, and the Green Mountains. Most feature rooms contain Victorian-style wallpaper and bright bedspreads atop brass beds.

The onsite Mr. Pickwick's Gastropub and Steakhouse packs its cellars with several thousand bottles of wine, rare cognacs, more than 150 varieties of ales and lagers, and 70 single-malt scotches. An arched stone entryway leads to the pub's Old-World interior, where beer steins dangle from the rafters. More than just a watering hole, the restaurant also serves inventive seafood, fowl, and steak dishes.

Stowe, Vermont: Quiet Village Flush with Outdoor Adventure

The quaint town of Stowe is nestled in the quiet countryside of northern Vermont. State law bans billboards, ensuring unobstructed views of the sugar maples and hemlock covering the Green Mountains along the roadways. Hiking opportunities abound on mountainside trails that range from steep vertical climbs to flat sprawls. Stop by a local sport shop to rent bikes or motorized mountain goats for exploring the Stowe Recreation Path, a paved 5.3-mile-long avenue that winds along the sparkling West Branch River and through Stowe's main commercial strip. The strip is lined with independent shops and roadside diners and stands out for its lack of chain franchises. Like the sun's light or a toddler's interest in physics, the bustle of downtown evaporates by 10 p.m.

About 12 miles south, the town of Waterbury is home to a Ben & Jerry's ice-cream factory. Visitors can watch as machinery zips the famous pints from one end of the facility to the other during a factory tour, which ends with a sampling of the flavor of the day.

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