One of the more charmingly "lived-in" river villages along the Lower Hudson, Nyack is a bedroom community of New York with a laid-back life all its own. The town has a smattering of antiques shops, cafes, booksellers, and restaurants. The American realist painter Edward Hopper was born and went to high school in Nyack, and his mid-19th-century Queen Anne childhood home, today the Hopper House Art Center (82 N. Broadway; tel. 845/358-0774; Thurs-Sun 1-5pm), is preserved as a small museum of the artist's life and career and gallery space for temporary exhibitions. The Runcible Spoon (37-9 N. Broadway; tel. 845/358-9398) is a great little bakery and favorite rest-stop for cyclists who make the 50-mile round-trip from New York City.