3 Best Sights in Williamstown, The Berkshires

One of the nation's notable small art museums, the Clark has won numerous architectural awards for its 2014 redesign by Reed Hilderbrand and for the new Clark Center by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Tadao Ando. The polished concrete of the latter visually connects it to the landscape through glass windows and open spaces. The museum has a large collection of Impressionist works, in particular many significant Renoir paintings. Other strengths include English silver, European and American photography 1840–1920, and 17th- and 18th-century Flemish and Dutch masterworks.

The collection at this fine museum spans a range of eras and cultures, with American and 20th-century art as two major focuses. The original octagonal structure facing Main Street was built as a library in 1846, and the painted wall above the stairs is by Sol LeWitt—actually the third mural to occupy the wall. Special events take place on the outdoor patio on Thursday night in summer. Get an inside look at Williams students' experience with Object Lab, a hybrid gallery-classroom curated by faculty to coincide with students' studies.

The centerpiece of this 10,327-acre reservation south of Williamstown is Mt. Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts at 3,491 feet, and the fictional location of Pottermore's North American school of magic, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reservation has facilities for cycling, fishing, horseback riding, camping, and snowmobiling. Many treks—including a portion of the Appalachian Trail—start from the parking lot at the summit in Adams, an 8-mile drive from the mountain's base.