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The Berkshires
Rated in Top 10 Best Destinations
by
National Geographic Destination
Survey
About the Survey -- 133
Places Rated
A List by Scores
" This survey—our sixth "places rated" list—isn’t
a popularity contest. It is an assessment of authenticity and stewardship, evaluating the qualities that make a destination
unique and measuring its "integrity of place." Thus the remote islands of the Grenadines can rate notably higher than popular
St. Maarten.
Because evaluating an entire destination involves such
unquantifiables as aesthetics and cultural integrity, we decided the best measure would be informed human judgment. We therefore
assembled a panel of 437 well-traveled experts in a variety of fields—historic preservation, site management, geography,
sustainable tourism, ecology, indigenous cultures, travel writing and photography, and archaeology.
We asked the panelists to evaluate only the places with
which they were familiar, using our customary six criteria, weighted according to importance: environmental and ecological
quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality
of tourism management; and outlook for the future.
Experts began by posting points of view on each place—anonymously,
to ensure objectivity. After reading each others’ remarks—a variation of a research tool called the Delphi technique—panelists
then filed their final scores.
The resulting Stewardship Index rating represents the
average of informed judgments about each place in all its manifestations—as a whole. Like the scores posted by Olympic
judges, our experts’ ratings reflect both measurable factors and intangibles (style, aesthetics, culture). And like
Olympic athletes, each of the destinations rated here has an opportunity to improve."
Destination Scorecard
133 Rated Places -- The List by Score
Note: There are multiple entries
for some scores, thus the number
rating from 84 down to 31
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BEST RATED PLACES
81 Kootenay/Yoho National Parks, British Columbia
80 Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec
80 South Island, New Zealand
79 Ancient Kyoto, Japan
78 Vermont, U.S.
78 Slovenia
78 Kakadu National Park, Australia
78 Medieval Granada and the Alhambra, Spain
77 Bavarian Alps, Germany
77 Columbia Gorge Region, Oregon-Washington,
U.S.
77 Yorkshire Dales, England, United Kingdom
77 Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom
77 Torres del Paine, Chile
76 Berkshires, Massachusetts, U.S.
76 Douro Valley, Portugal
76 Engadine Region, Switzerland
76 Wales, United Kingdom
75 Bruges Historic Center, Belgium
75 Corsica, France
75 Brittany, France
74 Fujisan (Mount Fuji), Japan
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PLACES DOING WELL
73 Cappadocia, Turkey
73 Pantanal, Brazil
72 Central Copenhagen, Denmark
72 Northern Coast, California
72 Coastal Area, Maine, U.S.
72 Tuscany, Italy
72 Salzburg Historic Center, Austria
71 Ring of Kerry, Ireland
71 Eleuthera, Bahamas
71 Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
71 Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
71 Yellowstone/Grand Teton Region, Wyoming-Montana-Idaho, U.S.
71 Amsterdam Historic Center, Netherlands
71 Laurentian Highlands, Quebec, Canada
71 Upolu, Samoa
71 Serengeti Plain, Tanzania
71 Delphi, Greece
71 Santa Barbara to Monterey, California, U.S.
70 Taos and the Enchanted Circle Tour, New Mexico, U.S.
70 Kruger National Park, South Africa
69 Seychelles
69 Lake District, Italy
68 Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown, Virginia, U.S.
68 Cornwall, England, United Kingdom
68 Copán, Honduras
67 Waterton-Glacier "Crown of the Continent" Region, Alberta-Montana-British Columbia
67 New Caledonia
66 Colorado Rockies, Colorado, U.S.
66 Bluegrass Country, Kentucky, U.S.
66 Grand Canyon/Tusayan, Arizona, U.S.
66 Qin Emperor Mausoleum, Xi'an, China
66 Dalmatia's Coastal Isles, Croatia
66 Patagonian Andes Region, Argentina
66 British Virgin Islands
65 Arches/Canyonlands/Moab, Utah, U.S.
65 Yosemite Area, California, U.S.
64 Inside Passage, Alaska-British Columbia
64 Rajasthan, India
64 Hue, Vietnam
64 Vanuatu
| NORTHEAST MOUNTAIN RANGES |
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PLACES IN THE BALANCE
63 Traverse City & Lakeshore, Michigan, U.S.
63 Sonora Desert Region, Arizona, U.S.
62 The Grenadines, Caribbean
62 Costa Rica
62 Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, U.S.
62 Maui, Hawaii, U.S.
62 Great Barrier Reef, Australia
62 Prague Old Town, Czech Republic
62 Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
61 Grenada
61 Island of Hawaii, U.S.
61 Hill Country, Texas, U.S.
61 Mount Rushmore/Badlands, South Dakota
60 Petra, Jordan
60 Stonehenge, England, United Kingdom
60 Kerala Backwaters, India
59 Bali, Indonesia
59 Port Antonio Area, Jamaica
59 Reef and Islands, Belize
59 Valparaíso, Chile
58 Borobudur, Indonesia
58 Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.
58 Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
58 Lake Titicaca, Bolivia-Peru
57 Azure Coast, Turkey
57 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia
57 Athens Acropolis, Greece
57 Santorini, Greece
57 St. Lucia
55 Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Peru
55 Tikal/Flores, Guatemala
55 French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), France
54 Niagara Falls Area, Ontario-New York
54 Rio de Janeiro Beach Districts, Brazil
54 Chiang Mai, Thailand
53 Masai Mara, Kenya
53 Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia
53 Sanibel/Captiva, Florida
| APPALACHIAN TRAIL | GA to ME |
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PLACES WITH TROUBLES
52 Lalibela and Rock-Hewn Churches, Ethiopia
52 Northern Coast, Honduras
52 Agra Area (Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri), India
51 Long Island Shore (Hamptons to Montauk), New York, U.S.
51 North Coast, Crete, Greece
51 Venice and Lagoon, Italy
50 Tahiti, French Polynesia
50 Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
49 Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina-Tennessee, U.S.
49 Lijiang and Three Parallel Rivers, Yunnan, China
48 Everglades and Big Cypress, Florida, U.S.
48 Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
48 Luxor (Thebes, Valley of the Kings), Egypt
48 Beijing Historic Districts, China
47 Andorra
47 Sinhalese Coastal Regions, Sri Lanka
46 Angkor/Siem Reap, Cambodia
45 Pyramids, Giza, Egypt
45 South Beach, Florida, U.S.
45 Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet, China
44 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
44 Dead Sea, Israel-Jordan
44 "Riviera Maya," Caribbean Coast, Quintana Roo, Mexico
43 Algarve, Portugal
42 Costa Brava, Spain
42 Chesapeake Bay, Maryland-Virginia, U.S.
WORST RATED PLACES
35 Grand Bahama, Bahamas -- Defective Link
| BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MA |
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Optional Text or Photos
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CATEGORY
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Real Estate Offices
Alton and Westall Agency
Ashmere Realty, Inc.
Barb Hassan Realty
Barnbrook Realty
Barrington Brook
Benchmark Real Estate
Berkshire Country Homes
Berkshire Property Agents
Berkshire Woods Realty LLC
Burnham Gold Real Estate
Cohen & White Associates
Corashire Realty, Inc.
Dennis G. Welch Real Estate, Ltd.
Elyse Harney Real Estate
Friday & Co. Real Estate
Harsch Associates
Helen Mullany Real Estate LLC
Isgood Real Estate in the Berkshires
Jan Perry Realty & Associates, LLC
The Kinderhook Group
L.J. Stark & Company Real Estate
Lance Vermeulen Real Estate
McLean Realtors
The Pines - Lenox Woods - Devon Meadow
Pond Pasture
Roberts & Associates Realty
Southern Berkshire Realty
Steepleview Realty
Stone House Properties
Talbot Real Estate
Tony Blair Real Estate, Inc.
Tucker Associates
Tucker Welch Properties
William Brockman Real Estate
William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty
Wheeler & Taylor Realty
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MLS CLASSIFICATION
| Berkshire County Massachusetts North-Central-South |
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SOTTILE PARK
In the Heart of Downtown
In The True Heart of The Berkshires
Pittsfield Massachusetts
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| WHITE 750 |
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