<p>My son will be visiting UMass one day this fall for their annual open house but since we can only spend one day we think we might stop for one day this upcoming week on our way to NH to get a feel for the surrounding area. Any suggestions on what to see/not miss in the town of Amherst or North Hampton (which town would be where students go the most for off campus activities)? Also any suggestions for this one day trip of where to stay that is near a college Main Street type area? Thx Our plan is to get to know the university during the fall visitation and the area on the way through to NH. We can stay 1 night each visit.</p>
<p>The center of Amherst is pretty charming, although small, there are a bunch of quirky stores and restaurants. If you like pizza, go to Antonio’s, I’ve never seen the variety of slices they have there anywhere else.</p>
<p>Northampton is quite a more hoppin’ (and much larger) than the center of Amherst, tons of good restaurants and cool pubs and stores. It’s about a 30 minute bus ride from UMass though, so my S doesn’t go there very often.</p>
<p>I live close enough that I’ve never needed to stay overnight, so I can’t really help you with hotels. I know there are a bunch of chains on rte 9 between Northampton and Amherst, they are not that near the center of Amherst:</p>
<p>[hotels</a> - Google Maps](<a href=“http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hotels&hl=en&ll=42.346112,-72.560749&spn=0.089065,0.131664&sll=42.347634,-72.560749&sspn=0.085891,0.131664&gl=us&radius=4.03&z=13]hotels”>Google Maps)</p>
<p>There is also a hotel on the UMass campus, I’ve been in meeting rooms in there which were ok, but have never been in a guest room.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Do the students actually go to the town of Amherst and if so is there a particular street to check out? Main Street or College Street? So far my son has liked the campuses that have an adjacent town across the street from the campus. When we visited NC State the street where the students hang out is called Hillsborough Street and he loved it there. I would like him to find a few schools that he will love. I was an exchange student at UMass in 1981 and loved it there. I dont remember a lot about the surrounding areas except for the beautiful campus. I do feel he would be extremely happy there if NC State does not work out
but we do not have the same amount of time to spend at UMass so I want to be sure to show him the best parts.<br>
Do you think we should just go to Northampton (what are some dont miss places there)? Or early day in Northampton and afternoon or evening in Amherst? Again we will be seeing the campus in the fall. Thanks again for any advice you or anyone else can give.</p>
<p>The times I’ve been in Amherst center, there have been a lot of college students. It’s pretty small, you can walk the whole town in < 30 minutes.</p>
<p>I don’t remember the names of the places in Northampton, I think we spent most of our time on Prospect Street, but I don’t really remember.</p>
<p>Students go into the town of Amherst all the time. The street is called North Pleasant St and within walking distance of campus… there’s some bars, a few shops, and a TON of restaurants, as well as the Amherst common.
Must sees: Antonios (pizza by the slice, really strange toppings)
LimeRed Teahouse, if you like bubble tea</p>
<p>Personally I love Northampton, but it does take awhile to get there on the bus so most students don’t go there for fun. I usually only go when my friends from other schools come to visit and I need a way to kill an afternoon with them.
Must see: Faces (novelty store that sells things you never knew you needed)
Herrell’s Ice Cream (literally the best hot fudge I’ve ever had in my life)
Raven Used Books</p>
<p>Students hang out in downtown Amherst all the time. It’s easy to walk there from campus, but during the school year several free bus lines run from campus to town, so it’s a pretty convenient option. Realistically, you can walk from one end of downtown to the other in less than ten minutes, and everything is concentrated on North Pleasant street, with a little bit on south pleasant, main, and amity streets around the main intersection. </p>
<p>It’ll seem REALLY quiet in the summer, so just imagine 25,000 more people are there. Go to antonio’s for pizza, vera cruzana for mexican, bueno y sano for burritos, Judie’s for a little bit of everything, and ABC (which I think has now officially moved down the hill on Amity street) for good beer and pub food. There isn’t too much in the way of shopping, but there are a few nice stores to look around in. Town should have a decent amount of people around, but campus will be pretty quiet.</p>
<p>Unless your son has a car, he will likely never make it to Northampton all that often. The bus is free during the school year, but can take upwards of 50min or more during peak times. Most undergraduates I know never went more than once or twice a semester, if they even went at all. Mostly this is because aside from a larger selection of restaurants and stores, Northampton doesn’t offer UMass kids anything they can’t get in Amherst (i.e. Amherst has plenty of bars). That said, Northampton is still a really great town, and I think you would do well to visit it too.</p>