Dutchess County is one of the original counties of New York. It is located midway between New York City and Albany and is accessible by train, car and air. Dutchess County is nestled in the Hudson Valley and its natural landscape creates breathtaking vistas.   

This feast for the eyes is second only to the feast food-lovers experience at the Culinary Institute of America, located in Hyde Park. Great chefs of the future are trained at the CIA and diners are happy to be their test-palate at one of the CIA’s five student run restaurants. Dutchess may be one of the few counties that has “Culinary Ambassadors” --  great local chefs, farmers, and restaurateurs who promote the importance of food, farms and agriculture in our daily lives. 

History buffs can re-live their favorite historic periods in Dutchess, from the early exploration of Henry Hudson to the Gilded Age of the Vanderbilt’s and the New Deal ideals of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. On the cultural scene, Dutchess County is a mecca for the arts with visual, performing and dance at venues such as the Frances Lehman Loeb Center, The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck and Half Moon Theatre to name just a few.

If relaxation is your goal, Dutchess County has charming bed and breakfasts, antique centers and specialty shops to help you while away the day. The gardens in Dutchess, such as Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield and the Rose Garden at Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, offer solitude, beauty and repose.

 Here is a birds-eye look at Dutchess County