sf7307

We'll have 4 or 5 days after being in New Haven in August. We like quaint towns, poking around shops (think Carmel, CA, or Gruene, TX, or King Street in Charleston), good local restaurants (not fancy, and prefer not to break the bank -- we're not that into food!). We like restorations like Greenfield Village and Williamsburg, and love old houses (even from the outside, like along the Battery in Charleston or the King William district in San Antonio). We're not into antiques, and at art museums we do what Art Buchwald used to call the "Three-minute Louvre". We're usually "go go go" --- 3 or 4 hours in a town is usually enough (for example, one day last spring, we left San Antonio in the morning, reached Gruene and spent a few hours poking around, drove to Austin, watched about half of a college baseball game, then went to the Capitol and then downtown, and had dinner at the Salt Lick - a perfectly well-spent day!). We do love to find a local coffee-house in each city to sit and people-watch and rest our feet!

What can you recommend that isn't too far from New Haven (since we'll have to return to fly back to California -- likely from JFK, actually.

china_cat

well, I'd consider the Berkshires. Lenox or Great Barrington. Its not too far, there are lots of old houses and nice scenery, fun towns to walk around in. Great Barrington, in particular, has some funky shops and nice restaurants. Lots of cultural possibilities too, like Tanglewood, Jacobs Pillow, Shakespeare Company, theater at the Mount. Plenty of things to do, no matter your interests.

ksucat

Litchfield is a lovely quaint town..
Have fun SF!

www.litchfieldct.com

tchoiniere

Agree with the Berkshires. Or Mystic.

yk

I also agree with the Berkshires in MA. My in-laws live in Litchfield County in CT, and the towns are cute but fairly tiny. Great if you like hiking as there are lots of hills and trails and state parks in that part of CT.

Don't forget to stop by the NE Carousel Museum on your way:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...sel-museum.cfm

I know you're not into museums, but have you been to the Mark Twain House in Hartford? It's high on my list of places to go... Also, while in Hartford, the Wadsworth Atheneum should be quite fantastic as well; and currently they have a Ballets Russes Special exhibition.

http://www.marktwainhouse.org/
http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/index.php

sf7307

I know you're not into museums, but have you been to the Mark Twain House in Hartford? It's high on my list of places to go... Also, while in Hartford, the Wadsworth Atheneum should be quite fantastic as well; and currently they have a Ballets Russes Special exhibition.

yk, actually, these are the kinds of museums we LOVE -- we just love artifacts and history more than paintings LOL!

yk

I just realized the Ballets Russes exhibition ends in mid-July, so you'll miss it when you go in August. But I think the Wadsworth Atheneum is still supposed to be a great museum (I haven't been yet, but will go before the Ballets Russes show closes).

Of course, I just remember the Yale Art Museums. The building by Louis Kahn is quite famous.
http://artgallery.yale.edu/pages/col...uild_kahn.html

There is also the CT Art Trail (haven't been to any of those)
http://www.arttrail.org/index.htm

milemarker0

Newport, RI (www.gonewport.com)

bachslunch

Will vouch for the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford as being an excellent art museum of manageable size and well worth a visit. Elsewhere in the city, the Mark Twain House is well worth seeing as is the State Capitol Building, and the Old State House is a pleasant pop-in as well. This could all be done easily in a day.

Newport, Mystic, and Providence (the RISD Art Museum in this last is first-rate and not too large) seem like good choices as well.

Only problem with Hartford and Providence is that they're definitely not "quaint." Newport is a better fit here, and I understand Mystic also might be a good example.

Weadles

Will you have a car? I totally agree with all the recommendations above, but if you're willing to travel a little father, you'd have time for a quick visit to Cape Cod. I'm guessing that it would take you a little less than three hours to get there from New Haven, since it takes us a little over four from Westchester County, New York. We have often visited Chatham for the weekend, and it has almost everything you're looking for- great town to poke around in, historic areas close or in town, wonderful beach both in town and in surrounding areas, etc.

You could also consider Boston which is about 2+ hours from New Haven on Amtrak; a little less by car ( depending on traffic, time of day). Plenty to do there to keep you occupied for five days, and you could hop on the ACELA ( faster train) back to NYC's Penn Station. The ride takes about 3+ hours on the ACELA.

Have a wonderful time, whatever you choose!

sf7307

Thanks all. Weadles, we were in Boston very recently (although it wasn't really a sightseeing trip) and have been there before. Cape Cod is a great idea - never been there.

Time to start more in-depth research!

yk

I would avoid Cape Cod on weekends in August... I think it'll be okay if you're going M->F. You don't want to sit in traffic forever (I frequently hear 6 to 8-mile back-up to Cape Cod on the traffic report on summer weekends.)

sf7307

Yikes, we will definitely avoid the weekend. We have no particular plans yet so can really arrive and depart anytime.

Centralparkgirl

sf7307 - wherever you decide on, do mid week. Summer weekends are a traffic nightmare. Will you have any time in NYC before catching your flight home (hint, hint!)?

janie

Old Sturbridge Village? I haven't been there in years, but if you like restored villages http://www.osv.org
Also look at Deerfield, Massachusetts http://www.historic-deerfield.org

On a much smaller scale, and less of an "packaged" village field, I found the historic buildings of Wethersfield Connecticut charming http://www.wethhist.org.

Along the Connecticut coast, close to New Haven are Guilford and Madison,towns with some interesting buildings, shops and restaurants. Cool coffee shop just off the town green in Guilford that looks like an airplane hangar and has some original airline seats! http://www.cafegrounded.com
Take a boat ride of the Thimble Islands from Stony Creek http://www.thimbleislands.com

Lots of other little towns along the coast(along RT 1) or from New Haven an easy drive up RT 91 into northern CT and Massachusetts

yk

I'm sure you have thought of this already... if you plan to head North towards RI or coastal MA, it's probably easier to fly home from BOS instead of returning to JKF.

Anonymous123

I vote for Newport, RI.
(actually, after New Haven anywhere will look good)

Centralparkgirl

yk has a good idea. You could do Newport and Providence and then Boston is one hour north.

Weadles

The poster above is absolutely right. You don't want to drive to the Cape on an August weekend. YIKES. Even Thursday night can be bad. We have usually driven on a Mon-Wed, either during mid-morning hours, or right after dinner, and been fine. Unfortunately, the same potentially bad traffic pattern for summer weekends can apply to almost any major tourist area/city along 95- in either direction.

If you do head to the Cape or Newport, it would make more sense to fly home out of Boston.Are your tickets already booked?

Fra_Diavolo

If you like restorations, you'd probably enjoy Mystic Seaport. It features 19th century shops and ships, craft displays, etc. (Not to be confused with Old Mystic Village which is merely a shopping center!) Newport, as mentioned, is probably just what you're looking for, but it is very crowded and expensive at that time of year.

The most beautiful village in New England is within driving distance, but is still pretty much unknown, and this being a public forum, you won't get it from me!