Take Your Time, Connecticut — Play Tourist in Your Own Backyard!

Research shows that 7.2 million vacation days go unused in Connecticut every year. Now, with a new nationwide study touting the health benefits of taking more of your hard-earned Paid Time Off (PTO) days, we’ve got a few suggestions on how you can “take your time” — while playing tourist right here at home. 

Featuring: American Museum of Tort Law | Antiques on the Farmington | Argia Mystic Cruises | Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry | Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum | Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library | Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Book Barn | Boothe Memorial Park & Museum | Breck Marshall at Mystic Seaport | Bruce Museum | Butler-McCook House & Garden | Cathedral Pines Farm | Collinsville Canoe & Kayak | Connecticut River Museum | Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo | Cross Sound Ferry Lighthouse Cruise | Custom House Maritime Museum | Deacon John Graves House (c.1685) | Dinosaur State Park | Florence Griswold Museum | G Spa at Foxwoods | General David Humphreys House (c.1698) | Gillette Castle State Park | Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden | Greenwich Historical Society | Harriet Beecher Stowe Center | Hempsted Houses | Henry Whitfield State Museum | Hill-Stead Museum | Historic Ship Nautilus & Submarine Force Museum | Hollister House Garden | Kent Falls State Park | Leffingwell House Museum | Lighthouse Point Park | Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (c.1864) | Lyme Art Association | Mandara Spa at Mohegan Sun | Mayflower Inn & Spa | Mohawk Mountain Ski Area | Mount Southington Ski Area | Mystic Seaport Museum | Mystic Whaler Cruises | Nathan Hale Homestead | New Britain Museum of American Art | New England Science & Sailing | Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society | Ogden House & Gardens | Osborne Homestead Museum | Paddle Mystic-Mystic River Adventure Company | Phelps-Hatheway House | Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort | Project Oceanology | Quinebaug River Trail | Roseland Cottage Museum | S&P Oyster Co. | Saybrook Point Resort & Marina | Schooner Brilliant at Mystic Seaport | Sea Mist Thimble Island Cruise, LLC | Ski Sundown | Sleeping Giant State Park | Stamford Museum & Nature Center | Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods | The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum | The Glass House | The Glass House | The Mark Twain House & Museum | The Spa at Norwich Inn | The Spa at Norwich Inn | The Vanilla Bean Café | Town of Essex | Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art | Water's Edge Resort & Spa | Webb Deane Stevens Museum | Westbrook Outlets | White Flower Farm | White Memorial Foundation | Winding Trails Cross Country Ski Center | Winvian Farm | Yale Center for British Art

Connecticut on Ice: Great Winter Activities

Don’t give the season the cold shoulder! Winter in Connecticut doesn’t need to be spent indoors, pining away for the first signs of spring. In fact, there are scores of activities all over the state for even the most winter-averse.

Featuring: Central Rock Gym | City of Hartford | Connecticut Science Center | Connecticut Trolley Museum | Essex Steam Train & Riverboat | Florence Griswold Museum | Hill-Stead Museum | Keeler Tavern Museum (c.1713) | Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (c.1864) | Mohawk Mountain Ski Area | Mount Southington Ski Area | Mystic Aquarium | Osborne Homestead Museum | PEZ Visitor Center | Phelps-Hatheway House | Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort | Prime Climb Mountain Fun | Railroad Museum of New England/Naugatuck Railroad Company | RoseGarden Ice Arena | Shore Line Trolley Museum | Ski Sundown | Supercharged Powered by Mohegan Sun - Indoor Karting & Trampoline Park | The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk | Town of Simsbury | Webb Deane Stevens Museum

39 Things to Do in Connecticut This December

Looking for something to do in Connecticut in December? Whether you want something active, relaxing, cultural, or nature-oriented, we have you covered. Learn more!

For even more ideas, check out CTvisit.com, where you can search by type of activity under the DO navigation tab, or browse articles full of ideas under the IDEAS tab.

Featuring: Adventure Rooms | Alice in the Village | Ansonia Nature & Recreation Center | Bantam Lake | Blue Ox Axe Throwing - Bridgeport | Bridgeport Islanders | Bruce Museum | Bushnell Park | Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree Farm | Connecticut Science Center | Connecticut Trolley Museum | Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center | Essex Steam Train & Riverboat | Florence Griswold Museum | Goodwin Park | Guilford Art Center | Hartford Stage | Hartford Wolfpack | Hot Rod Cafe | International Skating Center of Connecticut | Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts | Lake Waramaug State Park | Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (c.1864) | Long Wharf Theatre | Lou's Christmas Tree Farm | Mohawk Mountain Ski Area | Mohegan Sun | Montana Nights Axe Throwing | Mount Southington Ski Area | Mystic Aquarium | Mystic Seaport Museum | New Britain Museum of American Art | Osborne Homestead Museum | Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort | Railroad Museum of New England/Naugatuck Railroad Company | Ridgefield Playhouse | Salt Cave of Darien | Shore Line Trolley Museum | Ski Sundown | Spa at Saybrook Point Resort & Marina | Sundial Gardens & Tea Shop | Tea Roses Tea Room | The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts | Thrillz High Flying Adventure Park | Town of Bethlehem | Town of Essex | Town of Greenwich | Town of Litchfield | Town of Madison | Town of Middlebury | Town of New Milford | Town of South Windsor | Warner Theatre | White Memorial Conservation Center Museum | Wilton Historical Society | Winding Trails Cross Country Ski Center | Wood Memorial Library & Museum | Yale Center for British Art

Spring Flowers & Gardens in the Litchfield Hills

Although we northerners celebrate the change of seasons, there is no denying that those first colorful petals of spring bring joy to our hearts and a sense of renewal to our souls, which is something we can all use right about now. Lucky for us, Flower Power abounds in the Litchfield Hills, here are a bunch of baby bloomers to seek out from spring into summer and beyond!

Featuring: Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Cricket Hill Garden | Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden | Hollister House Garden | Osborne Homestead Museum | Town of Litchfield | White Flower Farm

Picture-Perfect Connecticut Gardens for Budding Photographers

Whether you're a photo pro, an Instagrammer with a great eye or just love snapping pics, you'll find Connecticut one big photo op. Here are just a few of the breathtaking garden spots, fields of flowers, nurseries, and historic homes that offer amazing backdrops for your photos. But don't just capture these picturesque spots for yourself. Share them and tag them #ctvisit! Visit Instagrammable Connecticut to see photos and get tips on taking and sharing photos, too!

Featuring: Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Buttonwood Farm Ice Cream | City of New Britain | Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens | Florence Griswold Museum | Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden | Harkness Memorial State Park | Hill-Stead Museum | Hollister House Garden | Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge | Osborne Homestead Museum | Roseland Cottage Museum | Webb Deane Stevens Museum | Weir Farm National Historic Site | White Flower Farm | Wickham Park

Top 10 Spring Things to do in Litchfield Hills

Is anybody out there that doesn’t have cabin fever? After a long winter (and an even longer year), things are looking up and popping up in the Litchfield Hills, offering loads of fun things to do – alone, with your mate or friends, and with the kids. Check out this 10 must-dos now that the air is warm and the sun is shining – and put a little Spring in your step!

Featuring: Aquila's Nest Vineyards | Arethusa al tavolo | BAD SONS Beer Company | Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Bennett's Pond State Park | Bicycle Tour Company | Black Hog Brewing Company | Bridgewater Chocolate Factory Retail Store - Brookfield | Broken Symmetry Gastro Brewery | Burr Pond State Park | Campbell Falls State Park Reserve | Castle Hill Chocolate | Charter Oak Brewing Company | City of Danbury | City of Torrington | Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford | Covered Bridge Electric Bike Rental | Cricket Hill Garden | DiGrazia Vineyard & Winery | Down the Hatch | Fascia's Chocolates | Firefly Hollow Brewing Company | Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden | Hawk Ridge Winery | Hidden Valley Preserve | Hollister House Garden | Hopkins Inn | Hopkins Vineyard | Housatonic River Brewing | Housatonic Trading Company | Humaston Brook State Park | Kent Falls State Park | Land of Nod Winery | Litchfield Saltwater Grille | Macedonia Brook State Park | Mine Hill Preserve/Roxbury Land Trust | NewSylum Brewing | Nod Hill Brewery | Norbrook Farm Brewery | Noteworthy Chocolates | Osborne Homestead Museum | Reverie Brewing Company | Six Spoons Chocolatier | The White Hart | Town of Barkhamsted | Town of Bethel | Town of Bethlehem | Town of Canaan | Town of Cornwall | Town of Kent | Town of Litchfield | Town of Litchfield | Town of New Milford | Town of Newtown | Town of Plymouth | Town of Ridgefield | Town of Salisbury | Town of Washington | Town of Wolcott | Town of Woodbury | West Street Grill | White Flower Farm | White Horse Country Pub | White Memorial Foundation