Old Deerfield is one of the best-preserved 18th-century streetscapes in New England. Most of what there is to do centres on The Street — the mile-long main road lined with period houses — and the museums and historic buildings that line it.
The Historic Deerfield museum complex occupies most of the significant buildings, and an admission ticket gives access to 11 furnished houses along The Street. Beyond the museum, the town has a history that goes back to one of colonial New England's most violent episodes: the 1704 raid in which French and Native American forces attacked the settlement and killed or captured most of the population. Memorial Hall Museum holds the most direct artifacts from that event. For those wanting to get outside, the Pocumtuck Ridge to the east offers hiking with good views over the Connecticut River Valley.