Adult Summer Camp. Lifelong Learning. Fabulous Resort Vacation.

Chautauqua has it all.

Chautauqua is the perfect destination for a vacation that energizes the mind and body. You can take courses, play sports, attend workshops, talks and concerts … or you can sit on the beach, read a book and meet your friends for dinner and hear about their day of arts, sports and learning.

Chautauqua is a picturesque town on the shore of Lake Chautauqua in upper state New York, about an hour’s drive west of Buffalo.

The Chautauqua movement started in the town of Chautauqua over a hundred years ago as a method of sharing adult education and entertainment with a community. Speakers, teachers, entertainers, musicians and preachers gathered in Chautauqua and gave lectures and performances for families that embraced Chautauqua’s educational summer camp format.

You can have that same Chautauqua experience today. For 9 weeks every summer, you can pick from hundreds of courses in art, music, photography, cooking, religion, philosophy, fitness, dance, history, literature and writing. You can ride bikes, swim, sail, golf and play tennis. You don’t have to camp, like the original participants in the Chautauqua Movement. You can stay in a resort hotel, enjoy lakeside dining and sample local wines and craft beers.

The only thing you can’t do in Chautauqua is drive your car. Chautauqua is a car-free town. The only exception is for hotel check-in and check-out. For the remainder of your stay, your car will enjoy a vacation in a giant parking lot on the edge of town.

We first went to Chautauqua more than twenty years ago. I was so enamoured with the town and its mission of lifelong learning that I decided to go back the next summer. I didn’t make it back the next summer, or the next 20 summers. We went this summer for a day. I fell in love with Chautauqua all over again. The 2019 schedule has just been released and I am making my plans for a week in Chautauqua next summer.

Do you want to go to Chautauqua next summer?

Here is a link to the Chautauqua Institute, the gateway to all the links you need to plan your vacation:

https://chq.org/

The Chautauqua Institute plans 9 weeks of lectures, concerts, plays and musical performances. Each week has a theme.

In addition, you can enrol in hundreds of courses in just about any area that interests you.

Here is the link to a 100-page booklet, describing all the courses that were offered in the 2018 season

https://chq.org/phocadownload/flipbook/flipbook/?page=1

Do you want to proposes a course of the 2019 season? Here is a link to submit your proposal. The deadline is October 1, 2018.

https://proposals.specialstudies.chq.org/

The Athenaeum Hotel has a wrap-around veranda where you can have drinks and dinner

We stayed at the Athenaeum Hotel, an old-world hotel on a hill overlooking Chautauqua Lake. It is the only hotel that is owned by the Chautauqua Institution. The atmosphere in the hotel is a bit ‘days of glory past’ but we had a lovely room overlooking the lake.

Here is a link to the Athenaeum: https://chq.org/athenaeum-hotel

This is a view of the Athenaeum Hotel from the water

There are hundreds and hundreds of sail boats mored along the lake.

If you want to take a course in recreational sailing, here is the link:

https://chq.org/season/recreation/sailing

If tennis is your game, here the link to the tennis center:

https://chq.org/season/recreation/tennis

If golf is your game, here is the link:

https://chq.org/golf

There are four public beaches in Chautauqua with life guards

This beach is bordered by a park and children’s playground. There were lots of artists in the park, sketching the scenery.

We didn’t swim or sail but we still enjoyed the water views

Would you like to live in Chautauqua?

We walked along the shore of Chautauqua Lake, looking at all the beautiful houses.

If you want to live in Chautauqua, here is a link to a house for sale. (There are 19 photos on the listing)

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/96-N-Lake-Dr_Chautauqua_NY_14722_M48448-59567

It can be yours for $2,895,000 (US$). 

A word of warning: Chautauqua is in the snow belt. It gets twice as much snow as Buffalo … and Buffalo is famous for its epic snowfalls.

This is the theatre in Chautaqua

Since we were only in Chautauqua for the day, we walked all around the town. The Chautauqua Institution has many purpose-built building for theatre and music.

This is a magnificent Art Deco theatre that seats 1,500

Music students were busking in the park

Chautauqua is famous for its orchestra and its music camps. We didn’t see many kids on the streets until 5:30 when all the youth camps were finished for the day and hundreds of kids headed over the park in the centre of town

There are no sidewalks in Chautauqua

There is no need for sidewalks in Chautauqua. You can walk on the streets since there are no cars.

All the houses are well maintained in Chautauqua.

This house was designed for a corner lot

This house is beautiful and colourful

With its wrap-around veranda, this is my favourite house

A tree grows through it

This house was built around the tree. The owner was sitting on his veranda, under his tree. He was very friendly and said that the tree was there first.

The town is dotted with lots of charming inns and B&Bs

This inn looks like a southern plantation

This house belongs to the Women’s Club in Chautauqua

I want to stay at the Women’s Club when I go to Chautauqua next summer. It overlooks the lake, right beside the Athenaeum Hotel. It has its own slate of activities for the summer.

Here is the link to the Women’s Club:

https://chautauquawomensclub.org/

After a day of sightseeing, we had a fabulous dinner on the veranda of the Athenaeum Hotel

After dinner, we took in a performance by the Chautauqua Orchestra

There is a large covered amphitheatre in the middle of town. This is where there are morning lectures and evening performances.

I am already making my plans for a week in Chautauqua next summer. I am thinking about Week 6:

Week Six: July 27 – August 2

What’s Funny?

In Partnership with the National Comedy Center

Come learn and laugh with us as Chautauqua Institution again partners with the National Comedy Center for a week exploring how comedy changes us and, in turn, society.

I think I will sign up for Lakeside Yoga and take courses in coloured pencil drawing; outdoor photography; and Adobe photoshop.

Are you ready for the Chautauqua Experience?