The Berkshire Museum and Other Neighborhood Attractions

Shaker Village Music Festival Rockwell Museum Berkshire Museum Theatre Festival

Staying at the outstanding Ramada Limited Inn & Suites affords guests comfortable accommodations, superior service and a host of activities that are within just a few miles of our front door. Enjoy everything from the Berkshire Museum to the Colonial Theatre to Herman Melville’s Arrowhead. Of course, that’s just the beginning of Berkshire area attractions. Below is a list of our favorites.

Hancock Shaker Village. Hancock Shaker Village is a beautifully restored village, set on 1,200 acres of farm, woodland and pasture. Home to the premier collection of Shaker buildings and artifacts, the Village comes to life through vibrant programs, tours, exhibitions and hands-on activities. Talk with artisans on a tour focused on Shaker daily life. Learn about the heritage breeds of animals that roam the pastures and the heirloom crops in the gardens. Children can even take a lesson with a Shaker schoolteacher (costumed staff). For more information, visit www.hancockshakervillage.org.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance. Travel just under 20 miles and experience an extraordinary place to see dance - Jacob’s Pillow Dance. Enjoy world-class dance performances as part of the 10-week Festival. Explore the Archives with rare holdings encompassing 90 years of dance, video-viewing stations, library, and exhibit galleries. Attend free outdoor showings for the whole family. For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.  [Top]

Tanglewood Music Festival. Situated on a 210-acre estate in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, the Tanglewood Music Festival is the oldest and most acclaimed music festival in the United States. The summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood offers not only concerts by the orchestra, but also jazz and pop performances, an expanded schedule of concerts, chamber music and recitals. Since 1940, visitors from all over the world have spread out a picnic blanket, feasted on gourmet goodies and embraced live music under the stars. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.tanglewood.org.

The Colonial Theatre. The recently restored Colonial Theatre is destined to become a vital cultural force in Pittsfield and Berkshire County. Year-round entertaining will begin this summer (2006) and programming will include comedy, jazz, blues, folk and rock concerts, dance, Broadway shows, foreign and classic films, lectures by authors and world-renown speakers, family entertainment, as well as country, gospel, and classical performances. For more information, visit www.thecolonialtheatre.org.  [Top]

Norman Rockwell Museum. Come experience the world’s largest and most noteworthy collection of original Rockwell art. Highlights include long-time favorites from Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers, the powerful “Four Freedoms,” and the nostalgic “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas.” Marvel at the Norman Rockwell Archive, which contains more than 100,000 photographs, letters and other rare mementos. For more information, visit www.nrm.org.

Bousquet Skiing Resort & Family Fun Center. Each winter, skiing, snowboarding and snow-tubing are in full swing at Bousquet Skiing Resort & Family Fun Center. When summertime comes around, it’s time for water slides, go-karts, miniature golf and wall climbing. Fine family fun is just one mile from the hotel. For more information, visit www.bousquets.com.  [Top]

The Berkshire Museum. This is one eclectic museum. Enjoy everything from fine art spanning an impressive breadth of time periods to highly-interactive science exhibits to an aquarium featuring living corals and other invertebrates, fish, insects, spiders, amphibians and reptiles. For more information, visit www.berkshiremuseum.org.

Herman Melville’s Arrowhead. The home of Herman Melville from 1850-1863, Arrowhead was where he wrote his most famous work, “Moby-Dick,” along with three other novels, “Pierre,” “The Confidence-Man,” and “Israel Potter,” a collection of short stories entitled “The Piazza Tales,” all of his magazine stories and some of his poetry. Arrowhead is now a house museum where visitors can get an up-close-and-personal interpretation of what life was like for the Melville family in the Berkshires. For more information, visit www.mobydick.org.  [Top]

Berkshire Theatre Festival. At 78 years old, the Berkshire Theatre Festival has the unique distinction of being the longest running cultural organization in Berkshire County and one of the first established regional theatres in the United States. This season’s productions include “Amadeus,” “The Night of the Iguana” and “The Heidi Chronicles.” For more information, visit www.berkshiretheatre.org.

Clark Art Institute. With its intimate galleries and stunning natural environment, the Clark Art Institute is one of the most respected art museums in the world. One of the few institutions in the United States that combines a public art museum with a complement of research and academic programs, including a major art history library, the Clark is now a leading international center for research and discussion on the nature of art and art history.For more information, visit www.clarkart.edu.  [Top]