Hudson

Understand

Hudson is an important city in the Hudson Valley that gained its wealth in the 19th century from whaling and as a result has a large number of historic buildings; it is also known for its art galleries, antique shops, and boutiques. The historic buildings and shops center on Warren St. but are also present on side and parallel streets for several blocks on either side of that street. If that's not enough, Hudson also features the 19th-century Hudson River School painter Frederick Church's beautiful country house, Olana, and its 250-acre estate, about 3 miles south of the center of town. A single afternoon walking down Warren St is a pleasant interlude, and a few days' visit is well worth the time if you can spare it.

Get in

By plane

• Stewart International Airport, 1180 First St, New Windsor, +1 845 564-2100.
• Albany International Airport, 737 Albany-Shaker Rd, Albany.

By train

• Operator:

• Routes stopping in Hudson:

• Adirondack operating daily between Montreal and New York City including stops along the way in Saint-Lambert, Rouses Point, Plattsburgh, Westport, Ticonderoga, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.
• Ethan Allen Express operating daily between Burlington and New York City including in Middlebury, Rutland, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.
• Empire Service operating twice day between Niagara Falls (New York) and New York City including stops in Buffalo, Buffalo (Depew), Rochester, Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers. Additional daily trips operate between Albany (Rensselaer) and New York City.
• Maple Leaf operating daily between Toronto and New York City, in partnership with VIA Rail Canada. Stops between Toronto and Niagara Falls (New York) include in Oakville, Burlington, Grimsby, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls (Ontario). Stops between Niagara Falls (New York) and New York City are the same as those made by the Empire Service. Border crossing processing takes place in Niagara Falls, where passengers must detrain with their baggage. Train crew members are staffed by VIA Rail within Canada, and by Amtrak within the United States.

By car

US Route 9 is the main road for access to Hudson. State Routes 9G and 23B, which constitute Columbia St. and S. 3rd St. within city limits, are major streets in the center of town. Columbia St. actually forms one end of 7th St. Park, which is the city green. Watch out for traffic along these streets, as they are also truck routes.

A bit south of Hudson, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge traverses the Hudson River and enables access to and from the town of Catskill, on the west side of the river, and the Catskills, further afield.

Get around

The center of town and getting between it and the train station are walkable. To get further, such as to Olana, you will need a vehicle.

Go next

• Rhinebeck, a charming town with pretty historic buildings though smaller and perhaps less spectacular than the stretch along Warren St., is about 35-40 minutes to the south via Route 9G
• Kingston, the state's first capital, has three historic zones and would take more than a day to fully explore. 35- to 50-minute drive to the south and on the other side of the river from Hudson and Rhinebeck.
• The Catskills are to the east, across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge
• Albany, the state capital, is about a 45- to 60-minute drive north
• Troy, about 45-60 minutes to the north, has an impressive ensemble of 19th- and early 20th-century urban buildings; as it was more built-up in its heyday than Hudson, the style of the buildings is considerably different and worth seeing by contrast
• The Berkshires of Massachusetts are about a 40- to 60-minute drive to the east