Little City with a Big Heart

In 1788 Vergennes was Vermont's first city. Today it’s not the only city, but it is the smallest city - just two square miles in size – and one of the prettiest downtowns around.

Much like it was in the old days, the 1897 City Hall and Vergennes Opera House is the center of Vergennes' business and cultural life. Beautifully restored and acoustically superb, the Opera House presents a year-round schedule of music, theater and film. City Park, graced by stately shade trees, hosts summer band concerts; outdoor markets; and community festivals.

Traditional businesses mix with the new in the three-block downtown, including great restaurants and specialty shops. Revitalization has attracted lively, new, locally owned shops and destination restaurants to become neighbors of deep-rooted Vergennes businesses. Main Street's exceptional architecture includes buildings made of local stone and eye-catching window displays that entice people to stop and explore. Vergennes strives to be a friendly, welcoming place, with outgoing shop keepers and colorful sidewalk flower gardens that burst forth in summer.

It is a very walkable community, too. A detour down side streets takes one past houses that speak of the city's 19th century prosperity with stately Federal homes, Greek Revival cottages, and Mansard-roofed and bracketed dwellings. The nearby Otter Creek Falls and Basin Park invites pedestrians with parks, paths, and walkways where you’ll likely meet someone who has arrived by boat from Lake Champlain, and is headed to town for a meal or to replenish supplies.

For more information, visit Vergennes Partnership or call (802) 877-1163.