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

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

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

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