Alex and Lara Kheruze take a last look toward the Berkshires on the Tanglewood grounds before heading home to Boston.

TPN / STEPHEN DUNN

More than just a famous collection of hills and mountains, the Berkshires of western Massachusetts are chock-a-block with world-class cultural offerings and natural beauty — and a great place to go leaf-peeping right about now.

It’s possible to carve out a day of sightseeing that includes taking in a Monet exhibition, a Shakespeare stage production and a bike ride through the woods, topped off with a deep-tissue massage and dinner at a AAA five-diamond restaurant.

With its raw material of panoramic mountains, streams and unspoiled lakes, it’s no surprise that the Berkshires have long been a draw for painters, poets, philosophers, writers and singers.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The House of Seven Gables in a cottage outside Stockbridge; Norman Rockwell spent the latter part of his life there; and for the past several years, James Taylor has called the Berkshires home.

Possible destinations include:

GREAT BARRINGTON

Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, this Berkshire County town includes the villages of Van Deusenville and Housatonic, but at its center, you’ll find a college town (Bard College at Simon’s Rock is there) filled with progressive boutiques, a triplex movie theater, art galleries and restaurants (the town is known for its sushi joints).

There’s also the Great Barrington Historical Society and Museum and the newly restored Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, which offers live performances and films year-round.

Be sure to check out: Karen Allen Fiber Arts at 8 Railroad St. (www.karenallen-

fiberarts.com). When the Indiana Jones actress semi-retired from the world of films, she took up a second act as a fiber artist. Her boutique features an impressive selection of handmade sweaters, hats, scarves and jackets.

LENOX

Its crown cultural jewel is Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Lenox is also home to the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum and the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, with seven miles of trails through meadows, wetlands and the hardwood forests along the slope of Lenox Mountain.

Be sure to check out: The Mount Estate and Gardens. Built by novelist Edith Wharton, The Mount is set on acres of elegantly manicured gardens and is considered one of Lenox’s grandest “cottages.” The Mount has been in the news as one of America’s historic house museums that’s experiencing financial troubles, but it is definitely open for public tours through October. ( www.edithwharton.org).

NORTH ADAMS

This small city is known as the home of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art ( www.massmoca.org), the largest contemporary art museum in the country. MASS MoCA is on a 13-acre campus housed within renovated factory buildings. In addition to more than half a dozen traveling and ongoing exhibitions, the museum has a full performing arts schedule encompassing theater, music and dance. North Adams is also home to Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. At 3,491 feet, the summit offers dramatic 90-mile views. Access by car is closed until 2009, but visitors can hike or mountain bike to the summit.

Be sure to check out: The Western Gateway Heritage State Park, an urban park housed in a former railroad yard that pays homage to the history-making and perilous construction of the Hoosac Tunnel, considered to be one of the great engineering feats of the 19th century: 4.75 miles of tunnel dug through Hoosac Mountain ( www.mass.gov/dcr/

parks/western/wghp.htm).

PITTSFIELD

The Colonial Theatre has become a centerpiece of the city since it was restored to its gilded-age glory several years ago and now offers plays, film and live music, including the fourth annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival going on all this week: www.pittsfieldcityjazz.org/

2008/jazz-around-pittsfield-

oct-10-19-2008/. There’s also the highly acclaimed Barrington Stage Company, and the Berkshire Museum, a combined art, history and the natural world museum, offering everything from antique dolls and Native American artifacts to ancient mummies and a “Dino Dig” exhibit, where visitors can dig for replica dinosaur bones.

Be sure to check out: King Cone at 133 Fenn St., a legendary ice-cream stand known for its towering twists. It may still be open now, “depending on the weather,” a spokesman said.

STOCKBRIDGE

For such a small town, Stockbridge is loaded with cultural offerings, including the Berkshire Botanical Garden and the Berkshire Theatre Festival, where Gene Hackman, Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino have performed. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival ( www.jacobspillow.org) is nearby, but Stockbridge is probably best known for the Norman Rockwell Museum ( www.nrm.org) and the place where the artist lived for the last 25 years of his life. The museum holds the largest and most significant collection of Rockwell’s works, including 750 paintings and drawings and 150,000 photographs, letters and other materials.

Be sure to check out: The Red Lion Inn ( www.redlioninn.com). A Berkshire landmark for more than two centuries, the inn is known for its welcoming front porch and rows of rocking chairs, and more recently, the cuisine of chef Brian J. Alberg, who designs seasonal menus using organic, local produce from the Berkshires.

WILLIAMSTOWN

Aside from Williams College, Williamstown may be best known for its Tony Award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival, which presents more than 200 summer performances annually. Paul Newman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Christopher Reeve, Alec Baldwin and Christopher Walken are just some of the stars who got their start or honed their skills on the stages of Williamstown.

The festival ended last month, but there’s no shortage of imaginative shopping and dining in this picture-postcard New England college town. Be sure to check out The Clark Art Institute ( www.clarkart.edu), arguably one of the finest small museums in the world. It features French Impressionist and American paintings, Remington sculptures and monthly family activities.If you go:

Check out the Berkshire Visitors Bureau at www.berkshires.org for lots of useful visitors’ information, including maps, suggested itineraries, and an updated foliage report. Or call the bureau at (800) 237-5747 with specific questions or to request its printed Official Visitors’ Guide through the mail.