| Since the 1790s, WOODSTOCK, a few miles west of the Connecticut River up US-4, has been one of Vermont's more refined centers and a beautiful place to spend time. Its distinguished houses center around an oval green, now largely taken over by antiques stores and tearooms. It should most certainly not be confused with Woodstock, New York, of festival fame. Woodstock has two main paying attractions. The first is the Billings Farm and Museum (May–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; $7), part of which has been kept as it was on the death of its former owner in 1890 and is a nationally renowned museum of farm life, while the rest is run as a modern dairy farm with afternoon milkings daily at 3pm. The other is the Vermont Raptor Center on Church Hill Road (Mon–Sat 10am–4pm, $7), an educational center and nature preserve that treats injured birds of prey. An information booth on the green in summer (tel 802/457-3555) conducts free walking tours of the village (Mon, Wed & Sat 10.30am), and can help with accommodation. Options include the Shire Motel, 46 Pleasant St (tel 802/457-2211, www.shiremotel.com; $50–75/$75–100), the upscale Village Inn of Woodstock, 41 Pleasant St (tel 802/457-1255 or 1-800/722-4571, www.villageinnofwoodstock.com; $130–160), and the cozy Applebutter Inn (tel 802/457-4158; $75–100), just east on Hwy-4 in Taftsville. You don't have to be a guest at the riverside, nonsmoking Lincoln Inn (tel 802/457-3312, www.lincolninn.com; $100–130), three miles west on Hwy-4, to eat in its reasonably priced dining room (Wed–Sun only), but if you are, a delicious breakfast is included in the rates; in Woodstock itself, Bentley's, 3 Elm St (tel 802/457-3232), has a range of microbrews and upscale bar fare, as well as live music on weekends, while The Prince and the Pauper, 24 Elm St (tel 802/457-1818), serves more expensive continental cuisine in a casual setting. Pane e Salute, 61 Central St (tel 802/457-4882), has the area's best cappuccino and pastries. The nearest hostel is over twenty miles south in Ludlow: beds at the Trojan Horse Hostel, 44 Andover St (tel 802/228-5244 or 1-800/547-7475), cost $15 in summer and $20 in winter.
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