TAKE A DAY TRIP

Melrose, N.Y. is a hamlet nestled in Rensselaer County, located in the beautiful Hudson-Mohawk Heritage area of New York’s Capital Region. For those coming to Artifacts from New York City or other parts of New York State, Pennsylvania, New England, or elsewhere, it’s the perfect jumping-off point for a great day trip.

Here are a dozen suggestions for adventurous daytrippers!

• Visit Troy, N.Y., known as the “Victorian City” because it has some of the finest examples of 19th-century architecture in the United States. Cinematographers have chosen the city for filming in movies such as The Age of Innocence, Scent of a Woman, and Ironweed.

• Take a self-guided walking tour to see Troy’s beautiful Tiffany windows. The city has one of the highest concentrations of these works of art for a city its size. The walking tour and other visitor information are available from Troy’s
RiverSpark Visitor Center.

• A picturesque 35-minute lovely drive from Artifacts, you’ll find Saratoga Springs, known as “The Spa City” for its mineral springs. In Saratoga’s downtown, you can shake off the chain-store blues by browsing a collection of charming local stores and art galleries.

• Saratoga Springs was blessed with natural mineral springs that sparked its rise as an elegant spa resort in the 19th century. Visit Saratoga Spa State Park, which contains bubbling springs, pavilions, pools, mineral bathhouses, golf courses, and the semi-enclosed Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

• Attend a performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the site of many other cultural events.

• Explore American history at the Saratoga National Historical Park. It commemorates the site of the Battle of Saratoga, fought in the autumn of 1777. It was an important victory in the American Revolution.

• Walk Troy’s riverfront park or sample one of the city’s many fine restaurants. Enjoy a cultural event at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, renowned for its acoustics, or at another venue in Troy’s downtown arts center.

• Visit the Bournebrook Antique Center in Troy, where you’ll find a wide selection of vintage and antique merchandise. Bournebrook is located at 172 River Street in the heart of Troy’s Antique District.

• Take your kids to the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy, and watch one of the shows at the state-of-the-art Lally Digital Dome Planetarium.

• Hike or bike in the beautiful outdoors of Rensselaer County, which stretches along 30 miles of the Hudson River. The county has thousands of acres of parks and hundreds of lakes and ponds.

• Take part in Troy’s Victorian Stroll in December, an annual holiday tradition in the city’s downtown. See top performers from the region, such as musicians, dancers, and magicians, feast on holiday treats, enjoy the craft show, and do some holiday shopping.

• Architecture lovers can revel in Saratoga County, which boasts more than 1,000 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The storefronts, homes, and mansions of Saratoga Springs are an excellent mix of architectural styles, including Greek Revival, Gothic, and Bungalow.