Montpelier's main landmark, the gold-domed capitol building, is open year-round for guided tours with volunteer guides; there are also self-guided audio tours in English, French, Spanish and German. The front doors are guarded by a massive statue of American Revolutionary hero Ethan Allen, and the base supporting the gold dome was built of granite quarried in nearby Barre in 1836. Don't miss the fossils embedded in the lobby's black-and-white checkerboard limestone floor.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Vermont History Museum

0.1 MILES

Near the Vermont State House, Montpelier's Pavilion Building houses an excellent museum that recounts Vermont's history with films, exhibits and re…

2. Hope Cemetery

5.37 MILES

Barre's cemetery, 1 mile north of US 302 on VT 14, celebrates the artistic prowess of generations of local and immigrant stone carvers. The whimsical…

3. Rock of Ages Quarries

8.56 MILES

The world's largest granite quarries, 4 miles southeast of Barre off I-89 exit 6, cover 50 acres, tapping a granite vein that's a whopping 6 miles long, 4…

4. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory

10.08 MILES

In 1978 Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield took over an abandoned gas station in Burlington and, with a modicum of training, launched the outlandish flavors…

5. Seyon Lodge State Park

13.97 MILES

The only park of its kind in Vermont, Seyon Lodge (about 30 miles east of Montpelier) offers private rooms in its rustic lodge on the shores of Noyes Pond…

6. Helen Day Art Center

14.84 MILES

In the heart of Stowe village, this gently provocative community art center has rotating exhibitions of traditional and avant-garde work. It also sponsors…

7. Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum

14.97 MILES

Located in an 1818 meeting house that was rolled to its present spot by oxen in the 1860s, this museum is an inspired tribute to skiing and snowboarding…

8. Stowe Craft

15.03 MILES

Stowe has no shortage of galleries and fine craft shops with artists of local and international renown; this one offers some of the most adventurous,…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/new-england/montpelier-and-barre/attractions/state-house/a/poi-sig/498524/362069",
      "position": "superzone"
    }