Ithaca

Cornell University occupies the hill above Ithaca and enrolls roughly 25,000 students, giving the city an intellectual density unusual for a population of 31,000. Ithaca College is on a separate hill to the south. The result is a city that sustains independent bookstores, experimental restaurants, a serious coffee culture, and a farmers market that has been producers-only since 1975 without feeling like it is performing any of these things.

The Ithaca Farmers Market at Steamboat Landing is the best single argument for spending a Saturday morning in the city. Over 130 vendors, Cayuga Lake visible from every stall, strict producers-only policy: if you sell it, you grew it or made it within 30 miles. The Commons pedestrian mall downtown hosts an independent retail and restaurant scene. The gorges are the other reason to be here: Cascadilla Gorge runs from the Commons to Cornell's Arts Quad, a 400-foot climb past six waterfalls on stone staircases. Buttermilk Falls State Park and Robert H. Treman State Park are within five miles of downtown. Base in Ithaca for the southern wine trail and gorge days; Aurora for the east shore and heritage corridor.