89 Best Sights in Connecticut, USA

What began as a two-room home around 1675 evolved into a pre-Revolutionary War tavern; by 1776, it was the elegant home of a local patriot that has since been lovingly restored by the Society of the Founders of Norwich. The house is furnished with Early American artifacts, and interpreters explain the architecture of the house and the lifestyle of those who lived or frequented the home over the centuries.

In this well-regarded museum, seven neatly organized galleries highlight family life and work during the 50 years following the American Revolution. The extensive reference library has information about the town's historic buildings, including the Sheldon Tavern where George Washington slept on several occasions and the Litchfield Female Academy where, in the late 1700s, Sarah Pierce taught girls not only sewing and deportment but also mathematics and history.

Housed in a neoclassical granite building that overlooks the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Long Island Sound, this museum was founded in 1932 with funds bequeathed by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her whaling merchant father, Captain Lyman Allyn (1797–1874). Inside is an impressive collection of more than 15,000 objects covering a span of 5,000 years. Works also include contemporary, modern, and Early American fine arts; American Impressionist paintings; Connecticut decorative arts; and European works from the 16th through 19th centuries. The 12 acres of surrounding grounds includes a sculpture trail.

Early-season trout fishing (license required) is superb at 2,300-acre Macedonia Brook State Park, where you can also hike and cross-country ski. The Blue Trail crosses several peaks, and you can see as far as the Catskills and Taconics in neighboring New York State. The expansive mountain views are amazing year-round; the leaves are magnificent in the fall.

The Mohegan Tribe, known as the Wolf People, operate this casino west of Ledyard and just south of Norwich, which has more than 300,000 square feet of gaming space, including 6,000 slot machines and more than 250 gaming tables. Also part of the complex: the Kids Quest family-entertainment center, a 130,000-square-foot shopping mall, more than 40 restaurants and food-and-beverage suppliers, and a 34-story, 1,200-room luxury hotel with a full-service spa. A 10,000-seat arena, home to the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, draws major national acts, while a swanky 300-seat cabaret hosts intimate shows and comedy acts. Mohegan After Dark is a 22,000-square-foot complex with three nightclubs.

The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, known as Wolf People, opened this casino just south of Norwich in 1996; today, it has more than 300,000 square feet of gaming space in three casino areas, totaling nearly 5,000 slot machines and more than 300 gaming tables. Also part of the complex: the Kids Quest/Cyber Quest family entertainment center, a shopping mall with 32 retail stores, 43 dining options, 19 bars and lounges, and two high-rise luxury hotels—each with a pool and a full-service spa. The 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, home to the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, draws major performances; bands play in the Wolf Den nearly every night; Comix Roadhouse presents comedy acts, as the name implies, and country music; and the 175,000-square-foot Earth Expo & Convention Center holds events.

Bordered on its west side by the Yale campus, the New Haven Green is a fine example of early urban planning. Village elders set aside the 16-acre plot as a town common as early as 1638. Three early-19th-century churches—the Gothic Revival-style Trinity Episcopal Church, the Federal-style Center Congregational Church, and United Church—have contributed to its present appeal. For a year, from September 1839 to August 1840, survivors of the slave ship Amistad were incarcerated in a jail on the east side of the green and were brought out of jail to exercise there. An Amistad memorial now resides at the site of the former jail. Besides being a pleasant urban park, the Green is also the venue for festivals and events throughout the year.

This 18th-century farmhouse is the birthplace and childhood home of Noah Webster (1758–1843), the famed teacher, lawyer, early abolitionist, and author of the first American dictionary. Inside you'll find Webster memorabilia, period furnishings, and a one-room schoolhouse theater.

This Federal-style building with an elaborate cupola and roof balustrade was designed in the early 1700s by Charles Bulfinch, architect of the U.S. Capitol. It served as Connecticut's state capitol until a new building opened in 1879, when it became Hartford's city hall until 1915. In the 1820 Senate Chamber, where everyone from John Adams and Abraham Lincoln to Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush has spoken, you can view a portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart; and in the Courtroom, you can find out about the trial of the Amistad Africans in the very place it began. In summer, enjoy concerts and a farmers' market (which dates back to the 1600s).

This pink board-and-batten Gothic Revival-style house was built in 1846 as a summer home for New York silk merchant, publisher, and abolitionist Henry C. Bowen and his wife, Lucy. The house and outbuildings (including a carriage barn with the nation's oldest indoor bowling alley) hold a prominent place in history, having hosted four U.S. presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, William Henry Harrison, and William McKinley. The parterre garden features 21 flower beds surrounded by 600 yards of boxwood hedge.

With 11 miles of hiking trails, this 1,147-acre property—a mixture of forests, meadows, wetlands, ponds, and streams—provides myriad hiking opportunities. The visitor center shares its space with small hawks, an owl, and other animals in the live-animal display in the Natural History Exhibit Room; in the Children's Adventure Center, kids learn about the importance of water quality and watersheds, crawl through a tunnel to a beaver lodge, and look for various fish and other sea life in the large aquarium.

Sheffield Island is a prime spot for a picnic and some bird-watching; the lighthouse, built in 1868, has 10 rooms on four levels that you can explore. A ferry departs from the Sheffield Island Dock on N. Water Street for the 3-hour excursion, including 1.5 hours on the island. Clambakes are held Tuesday evenings June–August. 

Oxen, sheep, pigs, and other animals roam this 118-acre New England farmstead. Once the estate of Henri Bendel, the property includes a Tudor Revival stone mansion housing exhibits on natural history, art, and Americana. Nature trails wind through 80 acres of woods—perfect for a daytime hike year round or on a summer evening. Special experiences include maple sugaring in February, a farm market on summer Sundays, and apple cidering on fall weekends.

The ColorCoaster, a 27-foot-high kinetic structure in constant motion, is the centerpiece of this hands-on museum with exhibits organized by age. Visit the Energy Lab, where youngsters learn about wind, water, and solar power while splashing around the extensive water play area. The Light Gallery has colorful LED displays; Studio K has a green screen and video feed for real-time "newscasting"; and for babies and toddlers, Tot Town is a safe place where they can play with toys and puzzles, "cook" in a play kitchen, and learn about animals on Old MacDonald's Farm.

After touring this small coastal winery, you can browse the works of local artists in the gallery or enjoy a picnic lunch on the grounds. Whichever you choose, the vineyard's Seaport White, a Vidal-Chardonnay blend, is a nice accompaniment.

The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus was launched and commissioned in Groton in 1954 and spent her 25-year active career as a showpiece of U.S. technological know-how. She is permanently berthed at the Submarine Force Museum, where you're welcome to climb aboard and explore. The museum, outside the entrance to the submarine base, is a repository of artifacts, documents, and photographs detailing the history of the U.S. Submarine Force component of the U.S. Navy, and has educational and interactive exhibits.

In 1774, Judge Tapping Reeve enrolled his first student, Aaron Burr, in what became the first law school in the country. (Before Judge Reeve opened his school, students studied the law as apprentices, not in formal classes.) This school is dedicated to Reeve's achievement and to the notable students who passed through its halls, including three U.S. Supreme Court justices. There are multimedia exhibits, an excellent introductory film, and restored facilities.

A life-size walk-through replica of a 60-foot sperm whale greets patrons at this museum. Located in West Hartford, the museum also has a wildlife sanctuary and a planetarium with real-life images of outer space beamed in from NASA, as well as a hands-on puzzle exhibit that introduces kids to various scientific and mathematical concepts and optical illusions.

This property in the center of town includes the large, antiques-filled, gambrel-roof Georgian Colonial home of Dr. Samuel Seabury—who, in 1783, was elected the first Episcopal bishop in the United States. The house, built in 1740, and its outstanding furniture collection comprise one of the earliest and most authentic house museums in the region. The garden was designed in the 1920s by renowned British horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll. Though small, it's a classic, old-fashioned, English-style garden and the only one of the three Jekyll-designed gardens in the United States that are still in existence.

The exhibits in this small but excellent and thoughtfully arranged collection detail the history and continuing presence of 10,000 years of Native American life in New England, specifically in "Quinnetukut." Highlights include 15 acres of nature trails, a simulated archaeological site, and an authentically constructed 16th-century Algonkian Village with wigwams, a longhouse, a rock shelter, and more. A gift shop presents the work of some of the country's best Native American artists.

This ornate tribute to Victorian decorating, built in 1864 as the summer home of financier and railroad tycoon LeGrand Lockwood, remains one the oldest (and finest) surviving Second Empire–style country homes in the United States. It's hard not to be impressed by its octagonal skylighted rotunda and more than 50 rooms of gilt, frescoes, marble, intricate woodwork, and etched glass. Movie buffs will be interested in knowing that the mansion was used as the location of the Stepford Men's Association in The Stepford Wives—the original (1975) film.

This museum occupies a stone citadel with an attached lighthouse tower originally built in 1823 and rebuilt on higher ground 17 years later. Climb to the top of the tower for a spectacular view of Long Island Sound and three states. Six rooms of exhibits depict the maritime and agricultural history of the small coastal town.

The 100-acre cluster of redbrick buildings you see overlooking the Thames River makes up one of the four U.S. military academies. Visitors are welcome, and security is obviously tight, but being there when the Coast Guard training ship, the barque Eagle, is in port is a special treat. A small museum, located in Waesche Hall on the grounds, explores the Coast Guard's 230+ years of maritime service and includes some 200 ship models, as well as figureheads, paintings, uniforms, life-saving equipment, and cannon.

UConn's large, sprawling main campus offers lots for visitors to see and do. The William Benton Museum of Art's permanent collection includes centuries-old European and American paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and sculptures, and the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts presents a series of 25--30 music, dance, and theater programs during the academic year. The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry has more than 2,500 puppets on display (UConn is one of two colleges in the country that offer a puppetry degree); and, depending on the season, you might catch a Connecticut Huskies football game or watch the amazing women's basketball team play at home.

For a true sample of Wethersfield's historic past, stop by the Joseph Webb House, the Silas Deane House, and the Isaac Stevens House—all adjacent to each other along Main Street and all built in the mid- to late 1700s. These well-preserved examples of Georgian architecture reflect their owners' lifestyles as, respectively, a merchant, a diplomat, and a tradesman. The Webb House, a registered National Historic Landmark, was the site of the strategy conference between George Washington and French general Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau, which led to the British defeat at Yorktown.

Founded in 1831, Wesleyan University is one of the oldest Methodist institutions of higher education in the country. The roughly 2,800 undergraduates give Middletown a contemporary, college-town feel. Note the massive, fluted Corinthian columns of the 1828 Greek Revival Russell House at the corner of Washington Street, across from the pink Mediterranean-style Davison Art Center built 15 years later. Farther along, you'll find gingerbreads, towering brownstones, Tudors, and Queen Annes. A few hundred yards up on Church Street, which intersects High Street, is the Olin Library. This 1928 structure was designed by Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial.

A romantic reminder of the past, this single-lane bridge over the Housatonic River is on Route 128, just east of U.S. 7, in West Cornwall. The 172-feet-long and 15-feet-wide lattice truss bridge was built in 1841 and still carries vehicular traffic. The design incorporates strut techniques that were later copied by bridge builders around the country.

The permanent collection of this museum includes European and American paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and sculptures from the 16th century to the present. Its galleries also host changing exhibitions, lectures, recitals, and readings. The museum has a café and museum shop.