Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods. skip the rest.

Oh please, as a lifelong Connecticut resident, I wouldn't send my worst enemy to Foxwoods or Monhegan. Talk about a scourge on a beautiful state. If you ask me, those are the WORST the state has to offer!

The Northwest corner of the state is lovely, with lots of nice inns, The Boulder in New Preston and The Mayflower in Washington come to mind. Kent, Litchfield, Lake Waramaug, Salisbury is a beautiful area for a long weekend. Eat at Oliva in New Preston or at Hopkins Inn overlooking Lake Waramaug. It's beautiful.

What about Mystic Seaport? We are taking a family vacation with a historical theme. Is Mystic worthwhile?

The shore is nice also. Mystic is a great day trip, Guilford has wonderful fish n' chips and Essex has been voted the best small town in America (I think that's what it was). CT has a wine trail and farms with homemade ice cream. There's a lovely drive through Pomfret (NW area) with atique stores and shops with fresh-baked muffins. There are some nice hikes if you're into the outdoors as well. You can probably find more at a CT Chamber of Commerce website. Try www.tourism.state.ct.us

Mystic and surrounding area are great to visit. Don't miss the aquarium there too. Great fun! Enjoy!

Another vote for the shore towns. Born and raised in Fairfield County, so I do also have a soft spot for Greenwich, Wesport, Southport, Darien..all those towns with their great proximity to NYC.

Nina! hey! how are you,missed seeing you around

I highly recommend the northeast corner of the state. Stay along the scenic (farms, hills, stone walls) Rt 169 (I think)that goes through Brooklyn. It's designated a national scenic byway and has a lot of antique shops. There are many B&Bs in the area. This is close to the Mystic area so you could visit the shoreline too. You could have dinner at Randall's Ordinary in N. Stonington. They prepare dinners colonial style, in the fireplace. Get more info about the state at www.connecticutmag.com or www.visitconnecticut.com/nect/ For the "Conn." experience, please avoid the casinos. (But if so inclined, they are not far from Brooklyn.) I hope you have a great trip to the Constitution State.

Yes, Mystic is a great family day trip, as well as neighboring Stonington. I just highlighted what my first choice without kids would be!

Thanks c, We just got back from a family vacation to Disneyworld and Universal. My husband went begrudgingly and ended up having as much fun as the boys!

Loved the historic old Griswold Inn in Essex. There's also a nice place in Westport on the river as I remember.

The inn in Westport is the Inn at National Hall, it's VERY nice, I go by it almost everyday!

I forgot to mention one of my favorite restaurants - the Golden Lamb Buttery in Brooklyn CT. A hayride on the 1,000-acre property can be followed by Châteaubriand, roast duck,
medallions of lamb or salmon. They often get awards for Best Overall, Most Romantic and Best Service in the county. Open for lunch Tues-Sat and dinners Fri-Sat.

How come nobody has mentioned the Goodspeed Opera House? It's been many years since I went to school in CT (make that many, many years), but Goodspeed was always one of my fave places. i forget the name of the little town it's in, but it was lovely. And that little ferry boat to get there....... I need to get back there one of these days.

The Goodspeed is in East Haddam along the CT River. Very scenic. They had the original "Annie" before it went to Broadway. Also in the area on the river is Gillette Castle (state park) which reopens this spring after 2 yrs of refurbishing. The medieval castle was built in 1919 by William Gillette, a stage actor known for playing Sherlock Holmes.

Had a very good stay at the Simsbury Inn in suprise, Simsbury Ct.

Very nice town and area. Would love to start a NE leaf tour from there one year.
Kal

I second the Griswold Inn. What a pretty place. THe whole shoreline.. Old Lyme, Essex, Mystic. etc.. You can't go wrong. Enjoy!

Kal, I live in Simsbury -- walking distance from the Simsbury Inn! You're right, it's a lovely area to live in -- and come early October, there is a beautiful "leaf" route almost any direction you choose to go. And don't forget plenty of good restaurants around the Farmington Valley, and the wonderful Hilstead Museum in Farmington. I could go on, but you get the idea...

WARNING: during summer months I-95/Rt 1, i.e., access to all those shore towns, is a vertial parking lot -- bumper to bumper traffic. Those who live in those towns just simply do not leave home on Sat & Sun.

All the "country" suggestions in CT can be matched & perhaps outdone by VT, NH -- without the high "use" tax -- just very unfairly increased for a small portion of residents.

Miss All of CT.

A Born & Bred CT Yankee, who beginning April 1st will be boycotting all CT restaurants, etc., outside the Casino.

sonia,
Thx for the addtl info. We ate at the Inn a couple of times and the food was great. We also went to an nearby, old restaurant that was haunted that had GREAT deserts.

I believe there may be an ice rink there where world class figure skaters practice.
Nice area. I believe they also grow the good cigar wrap leaf "Conn. shade" in the vicinity.

please don't pay any attention to MHS (not that you were going to I hope!) I live in CT and have no idea what he/she is talking about...except that he/she must be a smoker and upset about tax raising on 4/1 and to recommend the casinos??? I would recommend to you eithher the Litchfield area (the hopkins is nice and great food!) or the griswold inn in essex. Both areas have lots to do. I would skip the mystic aquarium, I found it really boring and a waste of $ (kids thought so too!) (and those of us living on shoreline do leave our houses on weekends in the summer!)

Do come to CT. I've lived here 17 years and never get bored. We always find new places to explore. Go see the Casinos (just for the heck of it) but stay at the Norwich Inn and use their spa. From there check out Mystic, Essex, Chester & Haddam (lovely towns). If you prefer beautiful scenery, lakes, mountains, historical homes & a laid back atmosphere, head to Litchfield County. Try The Mayflower Inn (in Washington, CT), it is the top-rated Inn in CT. From there head to Woodbury, CT for great antique shopping. Kent has a great town center. Fairfield County is also worth a drive (if for only to view mansions & expensive shops). I also love the shoreline (since I live here), Old Saybrook, Madison, Guilford, Branford have lovely scenery but I must admit there probably isn't a lot to do except enjoy the ocean scenery/beach, eat fish & boutique shop. You may want to stay at the Saybrook Inn & Spa or the Griswold Inn (Essex). New Haven has it's pros & cons. There's Yale, Peabody Museum, great restaurants and nice shops. I wouldn't recommend staying there though. I can't recommend Hartford even though I live only 45 minutes away. I rarely go there for anything. Farmington Valley (Simsbury, Avon, Farmington) is also nice but I'm not sure what there is to do there. I believe others may have commented on that in earlier responses. I was married at the Simsbury Inn and highly recommend staying there. It is a large grand place, not your usual small Inn. We also travel considerably throughout the rest of New England and I believe CT has a lot to offer.

For a bit of a counterpoint from someone who spent 7 years in CT - its a fine state, but is mostly suburb. It really can't compare with the rest of New England. If you must go there, the above suggestions are good (though I'd give a complete miss to the shore, with the exception of Mystic and Stonington).

But I'd skip CT and do Mass or Maine if you want to Branch out from VT and NH.

You can in any case completely and happily miss Hartford and the Naugatuck valley, unless you are fascinated by post industrial decaying mill towns.

I stayed at the Silvermine Tavern in Norwalk it is lovely and not far from NYC. If you like JAzz it has it Friday and Saturday night.

I also went to Kent, CT mainly for the Belgique Pâtisserie & Chocolatier amd was disappointed to see it was closed for one month. Many stores close for short periods so call ahead if tyou have your heart set on something.

We are planning two days in Mystic CT,driving down from Boston and staying at the Marriott Mystic Groton, and then doing two days at the Newport Marriott, late April, early May. We will probably stop at Foxwoods for a couple hours of gambling fun, but other than that have no plans. With two days in the area, is the Mystic Seaport one of them? Where should we spend the second day at that time of year? Thanks, Fodorites...NannyJan

Another one of those mysterious threads pulled up after 5 years... how/why does this happen?

(Yeah, go to Mystic).

I think what happens is people don't notice the dates that come up when they do a search...I sure didn't! And if you sumit a brand new post asking a general question, you are gently guided to the search tool. I only saw in the left hand column, the date of the previous post which was 1/28/07, so I automatically assumed this was a current topic...so there's one explanation. Perhaps I will post this as a new topic...NannyJan