The city of Burlington, built on a hillside overlooking the lake, has a cosmopolitan flair that is complemented by one of the lowest crime rates and best air-quality measures in the nation. The region boasts excellent dining, diverse cultural events, bountiful shopping, and plentiful outdoor adventure and recreational activities in an unparalleled landscape.

Lake Champlain, often called the sixth Great Lake, stretches for more than 120 miles between Vermont, New York, and Quebec. In concert with the rugged Adirondack Mountains and beautiful Green Mountains that surround it, the lake sets the stage for outdoor festivals, historic exploration, and everything from swimming, sailing, and fishing, to hiking, mountain biking, and skiing. Its mountain backdrop is one of the reasons that author and world-traveler Rudyard Kipling said Lake Champlain was one of the most spectacular places in the world to view a sunset.

Burlington, Vermont, offers an outstanding quality of life that boasts a vibrant downtown with world-class shopping, restaurants, and cultural amenities, and a natural playground for outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, sailing, hiking, biking, and, of course, skiing. With its abundant festivals, events, attractions, and tremendous quality of life, Burlington and the Lake Champlain region are repeatedly recognized as one of America’s most desirable places for living, working, and visiting.

Reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from 50 FABULOUS GAY-FRIENDLY PLACES TO LIVE (www.FabCities.com) © 2005 Gregory A. Kompes. Published by Career Press, Franklin Lakes, NJ. 800-227-3371. All rights reserved.