Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/847264
AACreditUnion.org | | 19 THE FRENCH CONNECTION: Burlington & Montreal BURLINGTON — Vermont's largest city (population just more than 42,000) — brims with enough colonial history and collegiate energy to fill several picturesque New England border towns. Originally settled by the French, the close Quebec neighbor and home to the University of Vermont warms visitors with its bevy of bookstores, bars, eateries and mid- summer street happenings like Festival of Fools along its pinup pedestrian mall, Church Street Marketplace. For a scenic shoreline ride, cycle the 7.5 mile Burlington Bike Path, which traces the edge of Lake Champlain with gorgeous Adirondack chair views. A few miles from town, the Shelburne Museum houses one of the nation's most extraordinary collections of art, design and Americana on a vast estate with 37 exhibition buildings. 95-MILE BORDER HOP TO … MONTREAL has been called "Canada's Cultural Capital" by Monocle magazine, appointed a "City of Design" by UNESCO and was recently tapped as one of the two best places in the world to live by The Economist. Clearly, this eminently fun, fashionable town and its famous European-style charm draws nearly eight million annual visitors for too many reasons to tally. High among them are the alluring cobblestone streets of Old Montreal (the site of the original city), the intriguing living ecosystem replicas of the Montreal Biodome and an amazing lineup of Canada's top festivals and street fairs. Major events during the summer include the world-famous Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (June 29–July 9) and Just for Laughs (French: Juste pour Rire, July 16-31) — drawing one of the world's largest congregations of A-list musicians and comedians, respectively. Old Montreal, Canada City Hall, Buffalo Space Needle, Seattle