Amere

Thanks for all the amazing suggestions!
Schedule is coming together.
2 nights in Providence - WaterFire will be going on while we are there - sounds cool!
Pick up friend from train and head to Litchfield area for two nights at a b and b.
Then to Hartford for a night - want to take in Mark Twain home and hopefully HB Stowe home as well.Have not reserved a place to stay yet.
Then heading down to beaches for a night - have not reserved a place to stay here yet.
Our friend goes home Thursday afternoon - so two of us will still have Thursday afternoon and Friday to explore - not sure where we should spend that time - if we should head back to Providence or go somewhere new.
Getting excited!

seafox

Make it easy on yourself and stay at the Hilton downtown - you can walk to fine restaurants and it's a 5 minute drive to MT and HBS homes.... they are next to eachother. If time permits you can also walk to the Wadsworth Atheneum - at the moment, despite some large renovations, most all of the Hudson River School collection is on display on the main level - it's the best collection owned by any museum....many are original purchases from the artists.

Kwoo

Amere,
If time permits, would you consider spending 2 nights in Hartford? We did that several years ago & really enjoyed our visit. We toured Mark Twain's house, Harriet Beecher Stowe home, and spent at least half a day at the Wadsworth Atheneum, which we LOVED!!! One night we saw a play & the second night we saw a performance at the Bushnell by the CT Symphony. We also enjoyed walking around West Hartford (very pretty) and had dinner there as well.

Another idea - Watch Hill in RI, near Misquamicut. Or have you thought of Narragansett for beaches? Or Ocean Beach, New London?

LindaBrinck

Instead of PRovidence, consider flying into HPN - White Plains NY airport. It is literally on the state line with Connecticut. Rent your car there and begin exploring.
You can easily head into Litchfield County, head over to Hartford, south into the coastal area (Stonington, Lyme, Mystic) and then into Providence. Return home for Providence if you wish.

Amere

Thank you for the Hartford suggestions.Plane tickets are already booked. We did look in to flying into White Plains - but the times did not work out and it was more expensive.
On Connecticut coast there were recommendations to stay in Essex area and also New London area - any b and b you would recommend?

Unfortuntely we only have time for 1 night in Hartford, but hopefully we will be able to fit a lot in.

odie1

New London is not a place that I would think would have charming B and Bs. It is a developed sort of gritty town.

In Essex there is the Griswold Inn, which is in the heart of the village and has a lot of charm, a great bar with fun bands and a decent restaurant or a more hip wine bar.

There is the Copper Beech Inn, also in Essex but out of the village, that has a great restaurant and bar. It is about 1/2 mile to the Ivoryton Playhouse.

seafox

One night in Hartford will be fine - enjoy