Of all the elite Ivy League colleges in New England, Dartmouth College (603/646-1110, www.dartmouth.edu) is the only one not situated in a city. Founded by Puritan minister Eleazar Wheelock under a royal charter in 1769, Dartmouth is one of nine colleges in the country founded before the revolution. Its obscure location for the time stems from the fact that it was originally hatched by English clergy members as a college to educate Native American youth.

That dream was scuttled almost from the very beginning, however, when Wheelock steered the college towards educating the descendents of Englishmen. The college has graduated a slew of notable alums over the years, from Daniel Webster to Dr. Seuss. Unlike most liberal arts colleges, however, Dartmouth distinguishes itself by a hard lean to the right politically—a source of tension at times with the surrounding community.

The college campus is beautiful, with many Georgian and Federal-style buildings situated around a vast green known as The Green. The information booth there distributes brochures with a self-guided walking tour to the area. Among the highlights are the 1782 Dartmouth Hall, the 200-foot bell tower of Baker Library, and the Romanesque Rollins Chapel.

More formal student-led tours leave from the Admissions Office (McNutt, 603/646-2875, tours 11:15 a.m. Mon.–Thurs., 11:15 a.m. and 3 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m. and noon Sat., Sept.–May; call for summer hours).