Located in the Pavillion Office building, this museum offers a great primer on the forces that have shaped Vermont. The permanent 5000-square-foot exhibit “tells the story of Vermont’s people from 1600 to the present,” according to the website. “Using Vermont’s motto, ‘Freedom and Unity,’ as its thematic cornerstone, the exhibition shows visitors how Vermonters have always balanced individual freedoms and community.”

This landmark brick building was once known as "The Socialist Labor Party Hall." Samuel Gompers, Eugene Debs, Mother Jones and Emma Goldman spoke here. And stonecutter Elia Corti was shot here in a scuffle in 1903. It's a must-see stop on any tour of Barre.

The forest is never far away when you’re in central Vermont. In Montpelier, there’s a 28-acre reserve on Elm Street. The North Branch Nature Center maintains a network of hiking trails along the Winooski River and through Hubbard Park that links up with a similar system in East Montpelier. Nature programs for all ages include summer camps for kids, lecture series and amphibian monitoring programs.

You can’t miss the gold dome — Montpelier’s “bling” — on the outside, but the inside of the Vermont State House interior is full of treasures, too. Meticulously restored to its original glory, the building is a lesson in architectural evolution, with excellent examples of Neoclassical, Greek Revival, American Empire, Renaissance Revival, Rococo Revival and Aesthetic Movement styles. Phew. The legislative session runs January through May, but the building is open to the public all summer, too. Weekday tours are every half hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, it’s 11 a.m.

The Main Street Museum in White River Junction offers an interesting mix of international and quirky Americana curiosities, such as this summer’s “Tramp and Hobo Symposium.” Want something even stranger? Check out the “Flora and Fauna Collection,” which, according to the museum’s website, represents “invasive species from the infrastructure of an economically marginal Vermont downtown. Our dried cats are not true mummies; they are merely dehydrated.”

The Main Street Museum in White River Junction offers an interesting mix of international and quirky Americana curiosities, such as this summer’s “Tramp and Hobo Symposium.” Want something even stranger? Check out the “Flora and Fauna Collection,” which, according to the museum’s website, represents “invasive species from the infrastructure of an economically marginal Vermont downtown. Our dried cats are not true mummies; they are merely dehydrated.”