Founded 'for the education of the intelligent gentlewoman' in 1875, Smith College is one of the largest women's colleges in the country, with 2600 students. The verdant 125-acre campus holds an eclectic architectural mix of nearly 100 buildings, set on a pretty pond. Notable alums of the college include Sylvia Plath, Julia Child and Gloria Steinem. After exploring the campus, take a stroll around Paradise Pond and snap a photo at the Japanese tea hut.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Smith College Museum of Art

0.1 MILES

This impressive campus museum boasts a 25,000-piece collection. The collection is particularly strong in 19th- and 20th-century European and North…

2. Lyman Conservatory

0.12 MILES

Visitors are welcome to explore Smith College's collection of Victorian greenhouses, set opposite Paradise Pond, which are packed to the brim with odd…

3. Summit House

2.85 MILES

At the summit of Mt Holyoke, a former hotel dating from 1861 is now a museum and visitor center. Old photographs show Summit House as it was in its heyday…

4. Skinner State Park

2.87 MILES

This mountaintop park, at the summit of Mt Holyoke, peaks out at a rather modest-sounding height of 942ft. But that's high enough to earn the visitor…

5. Mount Holyoke College

5.3 MILES

The nation's oldest women's college, founded in 1837, is in the center of South Hadley, the southernmost and sleepiest of the Five College towns. The…

6. Dinosaur Footprints

5.31 MILES

Around 190 million years ago, the Pioneer Valley area was a subtropical swamp inhabited by carnivorous, two-legged dinosaurs, and a large cluster of their…

7. Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

5.38 MILES

Co-founded by the author and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this superb museum celebrates book illustrations from around the world with…

8. Hampshire College

5.49 MILES

The region's most innovative center of learning is Hampshire College, 3 miles south of Amherst center on MA 116. Students here don't pick a major in the…