To stroll the main street and visit the properties open for viewing, park in one of the lots behind the Historic Deerfield visitor center (across the street from the teeny post office) or the Flynt Center of Early American Life. Begin with a visit to the Hall Tavern (the visitor center), where tickets for guided tours are sold. While there are no charges for walking the neighborhood, the only way to get inside the 13 museum houses is on one of the tours, which depart from here. There's also a booklet that outlines a walking tour of 88 historic locations.

Houses on the guided tour were constructed between 1730 and 1850. They contain furnishings, textiles, ceramics, silver and pewter, and implements used from the mid-17th century to 1850. Included are items made in the Connecticut River Valley during its prominence as an industrial center.

The Flynt Center of Early American Life has galleries for changing exhibitions of textiles, paintings, and decorative arts relevant to the local history. Call ahead for hours, which can vary from the hours of the house tours.

A free attraction is the Channing Blake Meadow Walk. The trail begins beside the Rev. John Farwell Moors House, a Historic Deerfield holding on the west side of The Street. It goes through a working farm, past the playing fields of Deerfield Academy, and through pastures beside the Deerfield River. Along the trail, sheep and cattle are seen up close; for that reason, dogs aren't allowed.

A Museum Store (tel. 413/775-7170) across the street from the visitor center sells a judicious selection of weather vanes, hand-dipped candles, and reproductions of household items found in the village houses.