So, tell me all about Hartford/Windsor!
 

DD has graduated from college (yay!) and gotten her first job (double yay!). Her company is sending her to Hartford/Windsor for three 2-week training sessions between now and the end of April, and she leaves for the first one February 7th, just a few weeks from now.

We know nothing at all about this area so would love to hear more about it. We are assuming her company will make her lodging arrangements, but some suggestions on restaurants, interesting sights to see (if any) and the like.

She is also considering a weekend trip to New York and possibly Boston (a cousin lives there) so any info about traveling to these cities would be most welcome. Thanks!

She can drive to New Haven and take Metro North to NYC. check the website as there are more stops. New Haven is the last stop.

Will she have a car?

Would recommend the Mark Twain House in Hartford. Could do a day trip to Mystic. Manchester / South Windsor is a huge mall area with tons of chain restaurants. Enfield has another big mall area with most of the same restaurants but not as busy.

What type of food does she like? There are a few beer breweries around that I like (Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield, City Steam in downtown Hartford)

Check to see what events are going on at the XL Center (formerly the Hartford Civic Center).

Thanks...we don't know if she will have a car or not...if I had to guess I'd say no as she is pretty young (22) so to rent a car, if possible, would be pretty expensive.

Mystic is a good idea.

We were checking Amtrak for train schedules...are there other options? We are clueless!

Amtrak is cost prohibitive to NYC. but maybe take it to New Haven then Metro-North (http://www.mta.info/mnr/) to NYC. You need a car to get around Hartford, especially if staying in Windsor. Maybe have her check with her company as some get agreements with rental car agencies.

Agree with Tchoiniere, about the train. If she doesn't have a car, it will be expensive to even get to her meetings unless she is staying in the same hotel that they are being held at. There are busses but not like in a larger city. For Boston, the bus would probably be the least expensive way to go. I know this may sound crazy, but there are bus trips to/from the casinos and Boston, NY and probably Hartford that are very inexpensive. That might be a way to get to the cities for less money even if she just used the casino as a place to pick up a bus. That said, perhaps there will be others at her training sessions who have cars and would like her company on her jaunts.

Hartford has a nice little art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum, if she likes that sort of thing: www.wadsworthatheneum.org/

Does the Hartford/Windsor area have a lot of cabs that would be an option if necessary?

And the cost of the train tickets is kind of secondary as she is probably only going to do each trip once...convenience is more of an issue.

Not a lot of cabs either. usually have to call to get one and even then it may be tough.

Amtrak would be more convenient as there is a train station in Windsor, assuming the schedule is conducive to her schedule. As a side note, they are trying to use the $ from the stimulus to run Metro North to Springfield, MA. Would be a great thing to do...That would fix this issue - assuming ticket costs are reasonable.

She really ought to check with her company as she probably isn't the only person coming for the training so they may be able to pair her up with someone to either share the cost or maybe even has a car. Agree with emalloy about the buses.

Had forgotten to include the Wadsworth.

A car is necessity for evening and weekend jaunts around Windsor and Hartford. In addition to the Wadsworth Atheneum, there's excellent professional theater at Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks in downtown Hartford. Two miles away are the Twain House Museum and its next door neighbor, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. Restaurants are just as expensive as those in New York and Boston, but there are some lesser-priced ethnic joints of all kinds in neighborhoods not frequented by tourists. For events, check out the web sites for the region's daily, the Hartford Courant (courant.com), and free weekly, the Hartford Advocate (hartfordadvocate.com), and the Greater Hartford Arts Council (letsgoarts.org).

There aren't cabs all over the city as there are in New York City, for instance, but she can call ABC taxi service if she needs transportation from Hartford to New Haven for the trains if she decides not to use Amtrak or if she needs transportation from the airport to the hotel:

http://abctaxihartford.com/

When we need a cab to get to the airport, we just call 666-6666. She can check out the bus schedule for the Bolt Bus to New York City and also to Boston. Providence is a funky little city too and worth a visit. It's often been compared to Hartford but I think Providence is more vibrant and accessible.

Hartford has some great restaurants. (Restaurants in the northeast tend to be expensive, but Hartford restaurants are generally less expensive than those in NYC and Boston) She'll want to check out Trumbull Kitchen, Feng, and The Wooden Tap. City Steam is a comedy club in downtown Hartford that serves typical pub grub but is a great night out for a group of young professionals. She should make sure she brings her i.d. with her. The Tunxis Grill in Windsor has great food and a fun vibe on the weekends, but they're always busy.

There are some decent Italian restaurants in the South End but that's not a place I would want to be wandering around in. She should exercise caution whenever she's walking around in Hartford anyway, just as she would anywhere else in the world.

In fact, I have never perceived Hartford as particularly 'user friendly' as so many every day needs require one to drive. The downtown areas have always had a deserted feel.

Hartford has tremendous unrealized potential.

I have to say though, she'll really need a car to get around especially if she's staying in Windsor (a sleepy suburb near the airport). West Hartford is an upscale Hartford suburb that's def. worth a visit, but a car is needed to get there. There are buses, but it just isn't convenient in my opinion.

You're right that a car rental may be costly because many rental companies have an age minimum.Perhaps her company has a corporate account that'll work for her. She should ask.

I live close to Hartford for part of my year (I have for years) and I'm amazed that Hartford still closes up after the rush hour traffic clears out. There isn't a movie theatre within walking distance of downtown Hartford. Pathetic, right? I think so too. There isn't a true grocery store downtown either..it makes me crazy.

West Hartford is a really cute, boutique kind of town next to Hartford, but is it's own entity. In Hartford itself, you need to know where and where not to go.

My favorite restaurant in Hartford is Hot Tomatoes. The location is a little away from anything, but it's always busy with a business/upscale crowd.

Jaya wrote: <<In Hartford itself, you need to know where and where not to go.>>

Exactly right.

Thanks for all the wonderful tips! I will print them out and pass them along to her. As she is part of a training class of new employees from all over the country, I predict they will spend a lot of their "downtime" as a group, so transportation may not be as big a problem as I thought. And thank you to Bowsprit for the taxi info...that could be quite helpful in case there is somewhere she can't take the hotel shuttle to.