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, ; $50-75/$75-100), the upscale Village Inn of Woodstock , 41 Pleasant St (tel 802/457-1255 or 1-800/722-4571, ; $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, ; $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.