Springfield stinks! Stay out of town in someplace like Northampton. It's not a far drive at all to get to the basketball hall of fame from there. You zip down Rt. 91. Northampton has a very vibrant downtown, similar to Harvard Square. Lots of cafes/shops/restaurants/etc. And Amherst is a few miles down the road from here, too. And you'd be that much closer to the Yankee Candle factory up rt. 91 in Deerfield, and historic Deerfield. If you're going to be out there for a few days, then you could probably do a trip to a place like historic Stockbridge, maybe an hour ride west on the Pike?? I went to UMASS/Amherst and that region Northampton/Hadley/Amherst/Sunderland/Deerfield is so beautiful!

I work in Springfield and there are many places to eat that are great.

Max's Tavern next to the Hall of Fame is excellent but pricey.

On worthington is a restaurant called the Student Prince (Also known as the Fort) which serves German food.

The HoffbrauHaus in West Springfield is Excellent as is the Storrowton Tavern. The former is German food, the latter is American food.

If you are looking for other things to do and see, there is the new England Air Museum in Suffield CT (about 20 minutes away), There is Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield, MA. There are also great College Basketball games at UMASS Amherst or UConn at the Hartford Civic Center.

Walking around Northampton about 20 minutes north is also excellent. There is great food and a college town atmosphere up there.

Hope this helps.

--Evan Marks

I grew up in Springfield and I agree with everything Powie said. Do not stay there. Stay in Northampton or Amherst. Trust me, it's worth the drive.

Worthington St. (Springfield) has good restaurants and Max's Tavern is supposed to be great. However Northampton and Amherst are even better for food. You're pretty much guaranteed a nice meal wherever you go in the central areas of both of those towns. There's this place called Judie's in Amherst and it is absolutely fantastic, she does very creative American cuisine. La Cazuela in Northampton has REAL mexican food = excellent.

A good few days in the area would definitely consist of staying in the Northampton/ Amherst area, driving down to the Hall of Fame for a day, and also like Powie said, historic Deerfield and Yankee Candle are great places to visit. Yankee Candle is actually in South Deerfield and there are hotels to stay near there, too. I've heard Stockbridge is very cute, they have the Normal Rockwell Museum. Stockbridge is about an hour west of Springfield on the Mass Pike (90).

Oh yeah, and stay at the Hall of Fame till it's dark. It's all lit up at night on the outside, and looks really cool.