RUTLAND

Rutland is Vermont's third-largest city and the commercial center of the Killington Valley. Its downtown grid of tight neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, and brick commercial blocks gives it a density that most Vermont towns lack. Two dozen painted murals and ten marble sculptures line the streets, a nod to the marble quarrying industry that drove the city's growth after 1850.

The Paramount Theatre, a restored 1912 Art Deco landmark, hosts concerts, theater, and film screenings as the anchor venue downtown. Merchants Hall on Merchants Row operates as a flexible event and performance space, booking live music series, theater, installations, and lectures in an intimate room where the stage sits at the center. Between the two, you can catch polished touring acts and local performers in the same week.

Rutland has a walkable downtown with independent shops and restaurants clustered around Center Street and Merchants Row. Depot Park hosts Vermont's largest year-round farmers market, and Pine Hill Park offers 325 acres of trails on the edge of the city. The audience here is local and consistent — this is not a tourist-driven scene.

Tip: The Paramount and Merchants Hall are both downtown and within walking distance of each other. Center Street Marketplace connects the two areas and has restaurants for pre-show dining.

Neighborhoods: Downtown • Center Street • Merchants Row • Southside • Northwest Rutland