Montreal, an hour's drive to the north, offers a taste of Europe right across the border. The Burlington Free Press , in a May 1993 report, called Burlington the country's least stressful metropolitan area for children. The report actually was the culmination of a study of 828 U.S. cities and metropolitan areas. And the Lamoille and Winooski rivers enter Lake Champlain, making Burlington a water sport-oriented city throughout both the summer and winter months. Because winters here tend to be long and somewhat harsh, Vermonters have adapted.
Life goes on, and locals remain active in their sporting activities.
Burlington proper is home to several major corporations. The list includes IBM Microelectronics, IBM Burlington, Rossignol Ski Company, IDX Systems Corporation, Lockheed Martin Armament Systems, and Orvis. Along with history comes renovation, a responsibility the city has assumed in recent years. The historic buildings that line Battery Street have been converted for commercial and industrial use, and more than 200 residential properties have been restored in Burlington's King Street Neighborhood Historic District. Part of Burlington's central business district was converted in the late 1970s to the Church Street Marketplace, a pedestrian mall filled with restaurants and specialty shops.