The Best Holiday Destinations for 2021

The Berkshires, USA
the low key Hampton alternative comes into its own

Published by Conde Nast Traveller, September, 2020
By Lizzie Pook, Freelance Journalist

Photo Credit GETTY IMAGES / GENEVIEVE HUBA / R’EL DADE / MARCUS LLOYD / JEFF-GOLDBERG /PETER CROSBY

The Berkshires might not have the flashy allure of the Hamptons, but this once down-on-its-luck corner has been slowly reinventing itself, emerging as an arty refuge for creatives from the busy surrounding cities. Thundering across Massachusetts’ undulating western stretches, the mountainous region – a three-hour drive from New York and Boston – is where avant-garde culture meets farm-to-table dining. Once home to free-roaming bison and expansive untapped wilderness, the breezy Berkshires now shelter pockets of farmland, New England autumn foliage and picturesque towns to rejuvenate burnt-out weekenders.

The former industrial cotton-mill city of North Adams is quickly settling into its new creative identity. Home to a sparky food scene, cool new places to stay and art establishments such as Mass MoCA, it also has plans for museums by Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel, a 110-room hotel, a craft distillery and a wave of exciting new restaurants. In nearby Williamstown, you’ll find The Clark Art Institute, where classic Renaissance pieces rub up against outré modern sculptures. One of the coolest places to stay in North Adams is Tourists, a mid-century motor lodge turned contemporary rustic-chic hotel, with a restaurant serving up food inspired by Native American, Welsh, Italian and Lebanese cultures. Just out of town, life has been breathed back into Greylock Works, a former mill now hosting yoga classes, farmers’ markets and DJs, with a hotel to come.

Click here for all 18 Holiday Destinations for 2021.