More and more people are making Burlington their “base camp” for winter ski and snowboard vacations, enjoying lodging in Burlington and then making day trips to sample conditions at the five major ski resorts that surround the Queen City. Those five resorts provide almost infinite variety of challenge, terrain, and facilities. Burlington, for its part, provides equal variety in off-slope and apres-ski activities.

Centerpiece of Burlington’s winter delights is the Historic Church Street Marketplace, eight cobblestoned, pedestrian-only blocks. Visitors stroll and sightsee along Church Street, which has been likened to Washington’s Georgetown and Paris’ boulevards. They shop at boutiques, dine, and drink at fine restaurants and clubs, browse bookstores, and take in the local color.

The historic Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, on lower Main St., offers up more formal entertainment—world class performing artists like Leo Kottke, Lewis Black, and the Broadway production of “The Full Monty.” A number of clubs in Burlington present a wide variety of musical entertainment as well. Best-known is perhaps Higher Ground, which will reopen in December and continue to present some of the top artists on the popular music scene. There’s no shortage of higher cultural offerings, either, given Burlington’s rich assortment of galleries, including Phoenix Gallery, The Robert Hull Fleming Museum, and the Church and Maple Glass Studio.

Every traveler has her or his personal favorite style of lodging, and Burlington has enough rooms to satisfy everyone. Hotels like the Wyndham Burlington, the Sheraton Burlington, and the Best Western Windjammer Inn provide full-service care. Inns like the Willard Street Inn and Lang House offer a more intimate, Vermont-flavored stay.

And economical hostelries like the Econo-Lodge and Clarion Suites allow families to stay in town without busting the budget. Search the Lodging section of our Travel Planner for these and more great establishments in the Lake Champlain Region.