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

Step Back in Time in These Connecticut Towns and Cities

Connecticut is home to towns and cities rich with history. From the Native Americans to the earliest European settlers, the revolutionary war era to the industrial revolution, so much of our past is so well preserved, it’s worth planning a visit just to travel back in time. Once you’re there, you’ll walk in the footsteps of forefathers and enjoy a modern taste of these vibrant, welcoming destinations. You can find a wealth of historic information on any of these towns and many more from our friends at ConnecticutHistory.org.

Featuring: Ancient Burying Ground of Hartford | Argia Mystic Cruises | B&B at Bartlett Farm | Black Rock Fort and Fort Nathan Hale | Butler-McCook House & Garden | Chester Bulkley House B&B | City of Hartford | City of New Haven | City of Norwich | Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum & Sanctuary | Connecticut Freedom Trail | Connecticut's Old State House | Fairfield Museum & History Center | Guilford Walking Tours | Harriet Beecher Stowe Center | Heirloom Market at Comstock Ferre | Henry Whitfield State Museum | Historic Mystic Harbor Tours | Hyland House Museum (1713) | Indian Burial Grounds | Keeler Tavern Museum (c.1713) | Leffingwell House Museum | Marriott Hartford Downtown | Mount Crescent House B&B | Mystic River Historical Society | Mystic Seaport Museum | New Haven Museum | Norwich Heritage & Regional Visitors’ Center | Ogden House & Gardens | S&P Oyster Co. | Spa at Delamar Southport | Steamboat Inn | Taste of New Haven Tours | The Dudley Farm Museum | The Mark Twain House & Museum | The Study at Yale | The West Lane Inn | Thomas Griswold House | Town of Fairfield | Town of Guilford | Town of Mystic | Town of Ridgefield | Town of Wethersfield | Uncas Leap | Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art | Webb Deane Stevens Museum | Weir Farm National Historic Site | Wethersfield Historical Society | Yale University Visitor Center

Historic Homes & Gardens You Need to Tour

Old houses have treasures to find and secrets to uncover, and in Connecticut, there are over four centuries of homes to explore. Some were home to well-known historic figures, like Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Others were built by individuals who became larger than life, such as actor William Gillette’s “castle” on the Connecticut River and dictionary namesake Noah Webster’s West Hartford birthplace. Still others house amazing art collections or are surrounded by lush, expertly tended gardens. You’ll find dozens of these historic houses, many of which are National Historic Landmarks, all over the state—and each has a story to tell.

Featuring: Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Butler-McCook House & Garden | Connecticut Freedom Trail | Florence Griswold Museum | General David Humphreys House (c.1698) | Greenwich Historical Society | Harkness Memorial State Park | Hempsted Houses | Henry Whitfield State Museum | Hill-Stead Museum | Hollister House Garden | Keeler Tavern Museum (c.1713) | Leffingwell House Museum | Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (c.1864) | Nathan Hale Homestead | Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society | Ogden House & Gardens | Phelps-Hatheway House | Roseland Cottage Museum | The Glass House | The Mark Twain House & Museum | Webb Deane Stevens Museum

Connecticut's Quaint Towns & Villages

Main Street America. We invented that. Town greens. Those come standard here. White picket fences and American flags. Got those covered, too. The charm of Connecticut can be found in its small towns and main streets. Explore unique shops and galleries, get immersed in the café culture and soak in the authentic life. There are no wrong turns.

Featuring: Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens | Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Bruce Museum | Connecticut River Museum | Gouveia Vineyards | Hammonasset Beach State Park | Henry Whitfield State Museum | Hill-Stead Museum | Lake Waramaug State Park | Leffingwell House Museum | Lime Rock Park | Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (c.1864) | Mystic Seaport Museum | Old Lighthouse Museum | R.J. Julia Booksellers | Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry | Sharpe Hill Vineyard | Slater Memorial Museum | Talcott Mountain State Park | The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum | The Glass House | Town of Fairfield | Webb Deane Stevens Museum | West Cornwall Covered Bridge | Westport Country Playhouse | Yale Center for British Art

Free for Our Military Families: Connecticut’s Blue Star Museums

Connecticut is proud to support Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and museums across America. Each summer since 2010, Blue Star Museums have offered free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

See below for a list of Connecticut museums participating this summer.

Featuring: American Museum of Tort Law | Avery-Copp House | Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum | Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden | Bruce Museum | Butler-McCook House & Garden | Canton Historical Museum | Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library | Danbury Museum | Ebenezer Avery House | Eric Sloane Museum and Kent Furnace | EverWonder Children's Museum | Fairfield Museum & History Center | Harriet Beecher Stowe Center | Hempsted Houses | Henry Whitfield State Museum | Hill-Stead Museum | Hyland House Museum (1713) | Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center | Institute for American Indian Studies | Kidcity Children's Museum | KidsPlay Children's Museum | Leffingwell House Museum | Lyman Allyn Art Museum | Mattatuck Museum | Museum of Connecticut History | Nathan Hale Homestead | New Britain Museum of American Art | New Britain Youth Museum | New England Carousel Museum | New England Civil War Museum | Phelps-Hatheway House | Prudence Crandall Museum | Roseland Cottage Museum | Slater Memorial Museum | Stamford Museum & Nature Center | Stanley-Whitman House | Stepping Stones Museum for Children | The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum | The Mark Twain House & Museum | Tolland Historical Society | Town of East Granby | Town of Scotland | Town of Simsbury | Town of Southington | Vintage Hi Fi Museum | Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art | William Benton Museum of Art | Wilton Historical Society | Yale University Art Gallery

Find Fall Faster with Connecticut's Top Fall Foliage Drives

Ready for some leaf peeping? Head no farther than Connecticut, where you'll find New England’s longest fall foliage season. Running from north to south steadily over about 6 weeks, the foliage coverage varies, but there’s always somewhere to see the colors change. Thanks to our friends at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, here are a few suggested driving “loops” to get you out and about during prime leaf peeping season. Be sure to program your mapping app, or set your gps, for an amazing drive through the wonders of fall in Connecticut.

Featuring: Abbey's Lantern Hill Inn | Antiques Marketplace | Arrigoni Winery | Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum | Bishop's Orchards Farm Market & Winery | Boardman House Inn | Candlelight Farms Inn | City of New London | Copper Beech Inn | Creamery Brook Bison | Devil's Hopyard State Park | Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm | Enders State Forest | Gelston House | Guilford Art Center | Hank's Dairy Bar | Hartford Flavor Company | Hickory Hill Orchards | Hopkins Inn | Hopkins Vineyard | Hotel Zero Degrees Norwalk | Inn at Middletown | Kent Victorian Lodging & Vacation Rental | Leffingwell House Museum | Lost Acres Vineyard | Maple Bank Farm | Matterhorn Mini Golf | Mystic Sweets & Ice Cream Shoppe | Old Riverton Inn | Olde Mistick Village | On the Waterfront | RiverQuest | Riverwind Inn Bed & Breakfast | Sharpe Hill Vineyard | Steamboat Inn | Stew Leonard's Norwalk | Sweet Claude's Ice Cream Parlor | Sweet Wind Farm Sugarhouse & Farm Stand | Talcott Mountain State Park | The Crossings Restaurant & Brew Pub | The Inn at Woodstock Hill | The Simsbury Inn | These Guys Brewing Company | Town of Chester | Town of Falls Village (Canaan) | Town of Litchfield | UConn Dairy Bar | Watercure Farm Distillery | West Street Grill | White Silo Farm & Winery | Woodbury Antiques Trail

Experience the Past in Mystic Country

History in Mystic Country runs deep. This land has been inhabited for hundreds of years by Mohegan, Pequot, and Nipmunk Native American tribes. The Mystic Country shoreline towns were thriving in the Revolutionary War era as whaling ports, and northern Mystic Country was an important postal route between New York City and Boston. In the modern-day, Mystic Country has persevered its historic past, and visitors are greeted with fun activities that blend historic and contemporary experiences.

Featuring: Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House | City of New London | Custom House Maritime Museum | Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park | Fort Trumbull State Park | Hempsted Houses | Historic Ship Nautilus & Submarine Force Museum | Leffingwell House Museum | Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center | Mystic Seaport Museum | Nathan Hale Homestead | Prudence Crandall Museum | Roseland Cottage Museum | Thames River Heritage Park & Water Taxi

Haunted History in Mystic Country

The autumn air isn’t the only thing that’s chilling in the region this season. Take a journey around eastern Connecticut to learn about the people and places that still haunt us today.

Featuring: Bradley Playhouse | Captain Daniel Packer Inne | City of Groton | City of Norwich | Garde Arts Center | Leffingwell House Museum | Monte Cristo Cottage | Mystic Seaport Museum | Nathan Hale Homestead | Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours | Whitehall Mansion | Windham Textile and History Museum