Experience the best of The Berkshires

The Berkshires fill the western edge of Massachusetts, against the borders of New York, Connecticut and Vermont, a region of wooded ridges, lakes and small towns. Lenox, Stockbridge, Great Barrington and Williamstown are among the best-known villages. Mount Greylock, at 1,064 metres, is the highest point in the state, and the Appalachian Trail crosses the county on its way north.

Tanglewood in Lenox is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jacob's Pillow in Becket stages dance, and Edith Wharton's home, The Mount, stands near Lenox. The Norman Rockwell Museum is in Stockbridge, the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, and MASS MoCA, a huge contemporary art museum in a former factory, in North Adams. Hancock Shaker Village near Pittsfield preserves a 19th-century religious community.

Farm stands sell apples, cider, maple syrup and cheese, and many inns serve food from local farms. Summer is the season for concerts and lakes, autumn colour usually peaks in the first half of October, and winters are snowy, with downhill and cross-country skiing. Spring is muddy but green.