Montpelier's main landmark, the gold-domed capitol building, is open year-round for guided tours with volunteer guides; there are also self-guided audio tours in English, French, Spanish and German. The front doors are guarded by a massive statue of American Revolutionary hero Ethan Allen, and the base supporting the gold dome was built of granite quarried in nearby Barre in 1836. Don't miss the fossils embedded in the lobby's black-and-white checkerboard limestone floor.
State House
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory
10.08 MILES
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28.48 MILES
The brainchild of Shaun Hill, known for his uncompromising adherence to creativity and quality, this unassuming-looking brewery down a remote dirt road –…
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24.96 MILES
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16.2 MILES
One of Vermont's most legendary beers, Heady Topper, was born at this microbrewery, which recently expanded operations into a spiffy new Stowe Visitors…
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Green Mountain National Forest
26.6 MILES
Occupying roughly 6.5% of Vermont's total land area, this beautiful national forest encompasses a large swath of the Green Mountains, the state's…
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8.56 MILES
The world's largest granite quarries, 4 miles southeast of Barre off I-89 exit 6, cover 50 acres, tapping a granite vein that's a whopping 6 miles long, 4…
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Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum
14.97 MILES
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29.73 MILES
Home to one of America's oldest art galleries, this elegant public edifice was initially founded as a library by Horace Fairbanks in 1871. Comprising 9000…
Nearby attractions
0.1 MILES
Near the Vermont State House, Montpelier's Pavilion Building houses an excellent museum that recounts Vermont's history with films, exhibits and re…
5.37 MILES
Barre's cemetery, 1 mile north of US 302 on VT 14, celebrates the artistic prowess of generations of local and immigrant stone carvers. The whimsical…
8.56 MILES
The world's largest granite quarries, 4 miles southeast of Barre off I-89 exit 6, cover 50 acres, tapping a granite vein that's a whopping 6 miles long, 4…
4. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory
10.08 MILES
In 1978 Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield took over an abandoned gas station in Burlington and, with a modicum of training, launched the outlandish flavors…
13.97 MILES
The only park of its kind in Vermont, Seyon Lodge (about 30 miles east of Montpelier) offers private rooms in its rustic lodge on the shores of Noyes Pond…
14.84 MILES
In the heart of Stowe village, this gently provocative community art center has rotating exhibitions of traditional and avant-garde work. It also sponsors…
7. Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum
14.97 MILES
Located in an 1818 meeting house that was rolled to its present spot by oxen in the 1860s, this museum is an inspired tribute to skiing and snowboarding…
15.03 MILES
Stowe has no shortage of galleries and fine craft shops with artists of local and international renown; this one offers some of the most adventurous,…