An eclectic, independent streak runs deep here

With plenty of places to stay, one well-known option is the Hotel Northampton ( 36 King St., 413-584-3100, www.hotelnorthampton.com,$140-$285 with continental breakfast). This grand old inn was built in 1927 and is home to the Wiggins Tavern, a circa 1786 structure that was relocated from New Hampshire and reassembled next to the hotel in 1930. Many famous visitors have passed through the hotel’s doors over the years — David Bowie and Melissa Etheridge among them. The rooms are spacious enough, and decorated with down-home country New England charm. There’s Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and an exercise room on the second floor. You can reserve a room online through the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America website (www.historichotels.org).

Northampton’s pride festivities are held the first weekend of May, and plenty of other interesting events take place throughout the year. Last month the Miss Trans New England pageant was held at the Academy of Music Theatre and the city hosted Queer Carnevale: Mardi Gras in New England, featuring performers like Melissa Ferrick, All the Kings Men, and the Pioneer Valley Gay Men’s Chorus. The Out! For Reel LGBT Film Series — billed as the largest LGBT film series of its kind in the country — is based in Northampton and will kick off its third season Oct. 23 with a screening of “The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister’’ at the Academy of Music Theatre.

The town is known for its art galleries. While we were there, R. Michelson Galleries ( 132 Main St.,413-586-3964, www.rmichelson.com) was showing a collection of large-scale photographs by Leonard Nimoy. The exhibit runs until Oct. 31.

Quirky attractions abound. Ye Ol’ Watering Hole & Beer Can Museum ( 287 Pleasant St.,413-585-0990,www.yeolwateringhole.com) houses an extensive collection of beer cans. Started by a previous owner in 1970, it has grown to more than 4,000 cans, some of which date to 1935.

Dorina ( 7 Old South St., 413-341-3229), a “spiritual reader adviser,’’ specializes in palm and tarot card readings. Palm readings cost $20, tarot cards $50, psychic analysis of your future $50, and a full life reading $90.