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Connecticut is so easy to get to, whether you fly in to Boston, New York, or as from 2007, direct to the state capital of Hartford, via Amsterdam. And once you are there, easy is still the right word for this small state that has a bit of everything: glorious coast with beaches and picture-pretty harbors, rolling hills, thick with woodlands, and bustling cities crammed with art galleries and museums, theaters and shops. Then there is the Connecticut River that splits the state down the middle, with a host of attractions on both banks. There are many elegant B&Bs and country inns, with excellent, award-winning restaurants everywhere.
Although Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn enjoyed their adventures elsewhere in the USA, they were created in Hartford. Visit the Mark Twain House & Museum to learn about one of the world’s wittiest authors. The talented Twain also helped design the Victorian mansion where his family lived in the late 1800s. A few steps away is the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, home of the author of the influential anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). Her house is crammed with letters and personal memorabilia. Nearby is Elizabeth Park, the first municipal rose garden in the USA. Gardeners flock here in summer to see 900 different varieties blooming on 14,000 rose bushes. Hartford has also redeveloped its waterfront: see it on a cruise down the Connecticut River aboard Lady Katherine Cruises, named for Connecticut native Katherine Hepburn.
Sophisticated New Haven is best known as the home of Oxbridge-like Yale University, so the students give an extra buzz to the old town. Take a free student tour and stroll round the vast 16-acre Green. This is the focus of historic buildings, such as the United Church, a bit like St Martin’s in the Fields, Center Church, with Tiffany stained glass and Trinity, pure Gothic Revival. Add in top-class theatres, excellent restaurants and world-class museums and New Haven is a destination in its own right.
State Route 169 in eastern Connecticut may only be 32 miles long but this is quintessential New England. It runs straight through The Last Green Valley, a National Heritage Corridor that extends from Connecticut into Massachusetts. Red barns peek over dry stone walls; churches guard greens; and white clapboard homes date back to Colonial days. In the fall, the maples turn fiery red and gold. As well as rivers, forests and farmland, the Corridor includes towns such as Canterbury and Brooklyn, Pomfret and Woodstock.
Go back in time in Mystic, where Mystic Seaport is an authentic recreation of a 19th-century seafaring village. With its tall ships and historic craft all afloat, its craftsmen and women demonstrating traditional skills, this is the USA’s leading maritime museum. Nearby, at Mystic Aquarium, the white beluga whales vie for the ‘most popular’ title along with the Institute for Exploration’s renowned Titanic exhibit.
The Litchfield Hills are a hideaway for the rich and famous. With picture-pretty villages, fine restaurants and inns, this lovely region is well worth exploring. There are antiques stores galore and the Litchfield County Antiques Show (June) is a must for treasure hunters.
In south-eastern Connecticut, two of the world’s biggest casinos (yup, bigger than Vegas) are the Mohegan Sun, operated by the Mohegan tribe, and Foxwoods Resort Casino, operated by the Mashantucket Pequot tribe. As well as the gaming, you can eat at top-class restaurants, play golf and see pop superstars in concert. Don’t miss the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, the world’s largest devoted to Native American history, with life-size dioramas and live cultural performances.
Founded in 1701, Yale University in New Haven is America’s third oldest university. On a free student-led tour, hear about famous former students, from actors, such as Jodie Foster, to US presidents.
Shopping is easy in Connecticut and locals have a huge choice. Find all the latest fashions near New York City, in the Gold Coast towns of Greenwich, Westport and Stamford. For stylish bargains, head for Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets, whose 70 stores include Calvin Klein, Barneys New York and Coach. Just south of Hartford is Westfarms Mall in Farmington, with 160 shops, including Nordstrom, Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. Westbrook’s Tanger Outlet Center has 65 brand name manufacturer and designer outlet stores, from Bass to Wilsons Leather Outlet.
Board the Glastonbury-Rocky Hill ferry, south of Hartford and you cross the Connecticut River the way folks have since 1655: it’s America’s oldest ferry. A few miles downstream, the five-minute Chester-Hadlyme ferry has saved time for locals since 1769.
In East Haddam, Gillette Castle looks like a medieval castle, with its hidden compartments and secret passages. Built 100 years ago, it was home to actor William Gillette, who made his fortune playing Sherlock Holmes on Broadway. All over New England, old railway lines have been converted in to cycle trails. Pedal the scenic Air Line Rail Trail for 50 peaceful miles across north-eastern Connecticut, through picturesque towns with very English names: East Hampton and Colchester, Windham, Putnam and Thompson.
Explore a segment of the 407-mile long Connecticut River: combine the Essex Steam Train trip with a steamboat cruise; learn about the river’s history in picture-perfect Essex, at the renovated Connecticut River Museum.
America’s oldest family theme park is Lake Compounce, near Bristol. Teenagers love the roller-coaster rides, such as Boulder Dash and Thunder n’ Lightning. Little ones have their own rides: Zoomer’s Gas n’ Go! and Garfield’s Circus World. There’s also a water park for hot summer days.
Bridgeport’s Beardsley Zoo is surprisingly varied. As well as the New England Farmyard, there are 300 animals from North and South America, ranging from bison to prairie dogs. There’s even a South American rainforest.
A fishy view of what goes on in Long Island Sound is provided by the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. See sharks, sea turtles and otters, seals and jellyfish. In summer, the educational cruises are popular with youngsters.
Connecticut’s traditional farmers have expanded their repertoire and now grow grapes to make wine. Muscat, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel, pumpkin wine and blueberry dessert wine are waiting to be sipped at the 15 vineyards on Connecticut’s Wine Trail. Stop at McLaughlin Vineyards in Sandy Hook during the eagle season (January to mid-March) and you can combine bald eagle viewing at Shepaug Dam with wine tasting. Visit Heritage Trails Vineyard in its 18th-century farm on Route 169, one of America’s most scenic roads, and try an award-winning Quinebaug White. At Sharpe Hill Vineyard, you can take a tour and eat in the Fireside Tavern, a gourmet restaurant. Near Warren, on Lake Waramaug, the family-owned Hopkins Vineyard dates back to 1979, and now offers wine tasting as well as a wine bar and picnicking.
You could spend a whole holiday exploring art galleries in Connecticut. Start at Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum, rated among America’s best museums, with works from Picasso to Jackson Pollock. Focusing only on American talent is New Britain’s revamped Museum of American Art, with sculptures by Sol LeWitt and paintings by Andy Warhol. What a contrast with the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, where the star attractions are the French Impressionists, such as Degas, Manet and Monet. America had its own Impressionists, and they were based at the Old Lyme art colony. See their romantic works at the intimate Florence Griswold Museum. In New Haven, the finest British collection outside the British Isles is at the Yale Center for British Art, with works by Hogarth and Turner, Gainsborough and Reynolds.
Edging towards its 100th birthday, New Haven’s Shubert Theater has been called the ‘Birthplace of the Nation’s Greatest Hits’. Over 300 shows opened here before going on to New York. But the theatre also presents international classical music and ballet, jazz and opera. Concentrating on musicals, the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam has an equally impressive reputation. A lovely old Victorian theatre on the Connecticut River, this is where shows such as Annie, Shenandoah and Man of La Mancha first brought audiences to their feet. Jazz is hugely popular, especially the outdoor summer concerts: Litchfield Jazz Festival (early August); New Haven Jazz Festival (August) and the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz (late July).
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