When to Visit - Arts and Events

The Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its first concerts in the Berkshires in August 13, 1936 at Holmwood, a former Vanderbilt estate, later the Center at Foxhollow. That winter, Mrs. Gorham Brooks and Miss Mary Aspinwall Tappan offered Tanglewood, the Tappan family estate, with its buildings and 210 acres of lawns and meadows to the orchestra as a permanent summer location. The offer was accepted and the concert has been held here ever since.

With the Boston Symphony Orchestra's acquisition in 1986 of the Highwood estate adjacent to Tanglewood, the grounds were expanded by some 40 percent and today, Tanglewood annually draws more than 300,000 visitors. The season offers not only a vast quantity of music but also a vast range of musical forms and styles; all of it presented with a regard for artistic excellence that makes the festival unique.

Lenox Dining

There is an amazing choice of restaurants in this small Massachusetts town, with a number earning a mention in The New York Times and Gourmet magazine. As you would expect there is a wide selection of regional wines, beer and liquor to compliment each exquisite meal.

Lenox Tipping Advice

Throughout America tipping is more or less compulsory. In restaurants waiters expect around 10 to 20 percent, as do taxi drivers and hairdressers, while porters and bellboys anticipate around one US dollar or two US dollars per piece of luggage. You are not expected to tip in fast-food restaurants or cinemas.