On a crisp autumn morning not too long ago, I walked out the front door of my room at the Red Lion Inn just off Main Street and headed in the direction of a forest, where in 10 minutes I’d be hiking along the Housatonic River.

It seemed like a wild idea, exploring the area so freely without four wheels. I was in a small town called Stockbridge in the middle of the Berkshires, a place that had long epitomized car-dependency. My parents had raised me on stories of adventure, including those 1970s Charlemont road trips to a perfect cabin in the woods. I had envisioned their car (I think it was a Volvo station wagon), regularly stocked with wine, beef, and friends, as the way to escape city life. Taking a car never seemed like anything but the only option to get to the Berkshires

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When it’s summer in the Berkshires, all eyes (and ears) are on Tanglewood. Come September, after the final note has been played and the seasonal crowds disperse, it’s time to explore some of the area’s equally appealing cultural and culinary attractions.

Stockbridge may be best known for the Norman Rockwell Museum, which houses the world’s largest collection of original Rockwell art, and as the longtime home of the artist. Born in New York, Rockwell moved to Stockbridge in 1953 so his wife could receive psychiatric care at the Austen Riggs Center; he set up his studio nearby and lived in town for the last 25 years of his life. That studio now sits on the grounds of the museum, where current exhibits include a dive into the midcentury divide between abstract and realist art and a look at Rockwell’s more than 300 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. It’s well worth a visit, but art lovers shouldn’t neglect the Schantz Galleries, a smaller Stockbridge gem featuring glass works by more than 50 contemporary artists, including Dale Chihuly. Elegant, exuberant and brilliantly colorful, these museum-quality showstoppers are beautifully presented in the multi-level gallery, and well-heeled patrons of the arts can even commission installations for their private, corporate or public collections. Read more

Our area is not only a summer cultural paradise that lure tourists from all over the world, but being only an hour or so drive to the Berkshires of Massachusetts permits us to be tourists ourselves. The cultural riches of that area multiplies the bounty found at home.

The Berkshires offers great theater, wonderful classical, chamber, and the Boston Pops with great pop guest artists. There are a number of great museums like the classic Clark Institute, the contemporary MassMoCA, Norman Rockwell Museum and others. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra and the 2017 season opens On July 7 with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. It closes on Aug. 27 with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. BSO artistic director Andris Nelsons will be on the podium for both. In between those events there will be music by the world’s best composers and guest artists and conductors. Read more