LibbyP

We need to use some airline tickets, and from where we live we can fly non-stop to Providence,RI. or Hartford, Ct.? This is quite spur of the moment. We would be interested in good food and sight seeing. What do you think?

Centralparkgirl

I like Providence. Is this for a weekend or longer? Mid week?

Brown University has some interesting exhibitions. The neighborhood around it is charming and historic. There may be walking tours available. RISD (Rhode Island School of Design near Brown) has a very nice art museum that they just enlarged.
There are very good restaurants and I can supply names. Would you have a car?

virginia

i'd pick providence. depending on length of stay:
for short trip drive or ferry out to newport,ri.
for longer trip drive out onto cape cod.

dfrostnh

I vote for Providence. You can drive to interesting spots around RI. I've always expected more from Providence restaurants because Johnson & Wales is there plus Federal Hill Italian restaurants. Several years ago we toured the Johnson and Wales cooking museum with a student guide. I think you have to make reservations for the tour. Interesting collection of stoves and stories. Visit places like Tiverton and Newport or spend the entire weekend in Newport.

sweens66

I live in Virginia now, but that's my old stomping grounds. How long do you have? When are you going? What are your interests? Why Southern New England? (Do you have family there?)

I used to live in Niantic, CT. If you like the shore, from Providence (which is a nice and easily accessed airport) you can easily get to Cape Cod, Narraganssett Bay, Newport RI, Westerly RI, or Mystic, CT.

If you like gambling (I don't), you may want to check out Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods casinos. If you go to the Mystic area, be sure to eat at Abbott's in Noank; it's a quaint lobster-in-the-rough place on the water that's a bit overpriced but memorable, kind of a touristy thing to do. Mystic has lots of great food down by the drawbridge (be sure to try Drawbridge Ice Cream if it's still there). In Groton, there's the Navy Submarine Museum, which is fascinating and well done.

Boston is also within easy reach of Providence. LOTS to do there - take in a Red Sox game (IF you can get tix), visit Fanuel Hall & Quincy Market (pronounced QUIN-zee MAH-ket). Also, you can see great sights like Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution, Boston Science Museum, etc.

Flying into Hartford (Bradley Field or BDL), you're halfway between Hartford & Springfield, neither of which is a great city IMO, although Hartford has made great strides. There are pretty walks along the CT River, and Cabela's opened a couple years ago in East Hartford. There is Talcott Mtn. nearby if you like to hike (hardly a mountain by other standards, but still fun).

For my money, I'd fly into PVD and keep the sightseeing to Southeastern Connecticut (Groton, New London, Mystic) or places in Rhode Island like Narraganssett/Newport.

Hope you have a great time, and say hello to CT for me!

Christina

I was in Hartford for a day and was pleasantly surprised at the city. It was very pleasant, and they have an excellent small fine arts museums, as well as you can tour Mark Twain's house (which is really something). He lived next door to Harriett Beecher Stowe, also. So you could spend a pleasant time there, I think.

yk

IMO, Providence is a "nicer" city than Hartford, but honestly, I think there's more to see and do in Hartford.

Last month, I took a day trip to Hartford and wrote a report here: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...or-9-hours.cfm

There are LOTS of additional sights recommended from various posters.

The aforementioned RISD museum in Providence is quite nice, but depending on when your trip is, the RISD museum is currently CLOSED for the entire month of August, just so you know.

LibbyP

Gosh, this is great but still in a quandary. We will probably be there for a long weekend.(Thursday-Sunday). In fact, it looks like next weekend, yikes! We would like to stay in a nice hotel but not The Ritz. Any more great ideas?

Christina

don't know hotels, this is the museum I was talking about in Hartford, they have a nice exhibit on now on European sacred art, and it's not closed in August.
http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/

That museum is right downtown and on the main street to get to Mark Twain's house, as I recall. At least not far.

dfrostnh

I've stayed in the Providence Biltmore only once but I liked the hotel better. It's old and interesting. I usually stay at the Westin because of convention rates but got an even better rate last year using Hotwire (hint, the Westin has a pool). I don't really care for the Westin but it's connected via skywalk to the Providence Place Mall.

ladystack

I would suggest Providence and head directly to Newport RI -- it is summer!! Beautiful mansions to explore, great Cliff Walk along the ocean, lively bar/restaurant scene, short sailing/harbor sightseeing cruises -- Hartford is dead in the summer, Providence will be busy with college move-in scene.