It's surrounded by the Monadnock Mountains , and two rivers, the Contoocook and the Nubanusit , meet in the center of town. Stately 19th-century buildings make for an elegant streetscape lined with hip eateries, shops, and galleries. So what makes this town in southwestern New Hampshire stand out from other postcard-pretty New England burgs? In a phrase, a world-class arts scene.
Visitors face tough choices on weekends: Take in a play at the Peterborough Players ? Settle back for a concert at the Town House? Groove to a live band at Harlow's Pub ?
Peterborough's artistic abundance flows from the MacDowell Colony , a century-old summer haven for composers, writers, visual artists, architects, and filmmakers. The list of past colonists -- now more than 5,500 names -- is a veritable who's who of American arts and letters. Here Willa Cather and Thornton Wilder labored at their desks, Leonard Bernstein composed his "Mass," and DuBose and Dorothy Heyward penned "Porgy and Bess." Colonists still find their way into town, sometimes permanently. ("They dress kind of odd," says Peterborough year-rounder Jeff Brown. "You can pick 'em out right away.") Contra dancing, local theater, and big-time folk music keep the culture going after the Players' final curtain in mid-September.
Rest
Peterborough's Grandma Moses landscape conjures visions of a homemade quilt folded at the end of the bed, sloping pine floors, and a mound of hot muffins on the breakfast table -- in short, a real New England bed-and-breakfast. Peterborough has two, both on the outskirts of downtown: Three Maples Bed & Breakfast (442 Route 123 at Mountain Road, 603-924-3503, www.threemaples.com, double $85-$125 ), a 210-year-old Colonial with two working fireplaces and pastoral views, snugs into the slope of a mountain.Apple Gate Bed & Breakfast (199 Upland Farm Road, 603-924-6543, www.virtualcities.com/ons/nh/m/nhm19010.htm, double $75-$90 ), a restored 1832 farmhouse with a wraparound porch, is 2 miles from the center of town in the midst of an old orchard.
Prefer to stay downtown? Peterborough Manor Bed & Breakfast (50 Summer St., 603-924-9832, www.peterboroughmanor.com, double $95, no children under 7) and the Jack Daniels Motor Inn (80 Concord St., Route 202, 603-924-7548, www.jackdanielsinn.com, double $119) offer clean, comfortable lodging. In foliage season, rooms are scarce and rates are slightly higher.
Harlow's hub
Harlow's Pub (3 School St., 603-924-6365, www.harlowspub.com ) is the place to go for a little night music of the more raucous kind, from acoustic Gypsy jazz to ``awesome high energy funk, rock & reggae," as Harlow's puts it, adding that ``dancing is allowed and encouraged." Munch bar food (lunch and dinner, $7) and quaff a local brew. All shows are $5 and start at about 9:30 p.m.Fuel
Dining options run from meat-and-potatoes fare at the authentic 1950s Peterborough Diner (10 Depot St., 603-924-6710, www.peterboroughdiner.com, breakfast $5, lunch $6, dinner $12) to eclectic American fine dining at Acqua Bistro (Depot Square, 603-924-9905, www.acquabistro.com, entrees $15-$25).Craving a touch of lemongrass? Head to Pearl Restaurant & Oyster Bar (1 Jaffrey Road, Route 202, 603-924-5225, www.pearl-nh.com, entrees $11-$17) for imaginative, Southeast Asian-influenced cuisine. Pick up gourmet picnic fixings or homemade gelato (saffron-fig, anyone?) and sorbetto (try the pink grapefruit-honey) at Twelve Pine (Depot Square, 603-924-6140, www.twelvepine.com, sandwiches $6-$8, gelato and sorbetto $3.75-$6), a gourmet cafe and market in a former railroad warehouse.
Or enjoy a casual gourmet breakfast or lunch on a deck over a waterfall at the Cafe at Noone Falls (50 Jaffrey Road, Route 202, South Peterborough, 603-924-6818, www.labonnetable.com, www.labonnetable.com/cafemenu.html, breakfast $6, lunch $7.50), managed by La Bonne Table Culinary School.
On a rainy day, it's hard to beat dunking a fat cookie into a triple cappuccino while sinking into a new book at Aesop's Tables Cafe (12 Depot St., 603-924-1612, this repast $6.25) inside the Toadstool Bookshop.
Spend
A stroll around Depot Square, a spiffed-up retail area on the site of a former rail yard, takes in an accomplished selection of fine arts and crafts, from high-end paintings to affordable handmade jewelry, at five galleries. While in the square, don't miss Toadstool Bookshop (603-924-3543, www.toadbooks.com), a sprawling space with chairs, a great children's section, a newsstand, and Aesop's Tables Cafe. Clothing and gift shops dot the square and the adjoining downtown streets. Pick up a bottle of water at a well-stocked mom-and-pop convenience store, Roy's Market (20 Main St., 603-924-7931), also known as ``Little Roy's," to distinguish it from a full-service supermarket of the same name.Play
It's no accident that Eastern Mountain Sports' flagship store is in Peterborough (1 Vose Farm Road, 603-924-7231). With this gorgeous terrain of mountains and rivers, land and water trails abound. Among the area's many hiking options, the only one not recommended is Mount Monadnock, reputedly the most-climbed mountain in the world. For hard-core hikers, a section of the 49-mile-long Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, connecting mounts Monadnock and Sunapee, or the 21-mile Wapack Trail on North Pack Monadnock in neighboring Greenfield offer a more remote experience. For young hikers, follow the level Old Railroad Trail beside the Contoocook River 2 1/2 miles north to Forest Road in Hancock.A little-known place to swim, paddle, picnic, birdwatch, and hike is Edward Macdowell Lake (www.nae.usace.army.mil/recreati/eml/emlhome.htm ), a dammed stretch of the Nubanusit River 4 miles west of downtown. Paddlers enjoy probing the marshy channels off the lake, and a sand beach provides pleasant swimming.
When snow flies, skiers and snowboarders flock to Crotched Mountain Ski Area (www.crotchedmountain.com) in nearby Bennington, with the cross-country crowd hitting the trails in surrounding state forests.
Do
Daytime outings, especially with kids, should include Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center (26 Main St., 603-924-4555, www.mariposamuseum.org, $5 adults, $3 ages 2-16 ), an unusual collection of artifacts, clothing, and hands-on exhibits from around the world.Next stop (May to Columbus Day) is Rosaly's Garden and farm stand (www.rosalysgarden.com) on Route 123. Pluck a bouquet from dazzling rows of flowers, pick organic fruit, veggies, and exotic herbs, or just load up at the open-air stand. Some of the best views of Mount Monadnock can be had from Rosaly's picnic tables.
Autumn brings the Annual Dublin Open Studio Art Tour (Oct. 7-8), a spectacular self-guided drive through Dublin, Marlborough, Jaffrey, Peterborough, Sharon, Harrisville, and Hancock in peak foliage season. (Get more info and maps at www.dublinartcolony.org.)
On Oct. 21, the Town House, as residents call their town hall, hosts the annual Fall Ball (www.thedancegypsy.com ), a 12-hour contra-dance fest sponsored by the Monadnock Folklore Society.
When night falls, the curtain rises at Peterborough Players (www.peterboroughplayers.org). The Players stage five or six professional productions from May through mid-September and share their playhouse in the off-season with the local Actors' Circle Theatre (www.actorscircletheatre.org) and the Peterborough Folk Music Society (www.acousticmusic.com/pfms), featuring such heavy hitters as Greg Brown, Odetta, and Boston's own Chris Smither.
