33 Of My Favorite Places In Connecticut

1. Tea with Tracy, Seymour, Connecticut:  Tea with Tracy is an extremely cute, very Alice in Wonderland inspired tea room.  They have a great assortment of tea and espresso based drinks to choose from, and lovely desserts.  Try the chicken salad sandwich, you won't be disappointed. 

   

   
   

2. Elizabeth Park, West Hartford, Connecticut:  One of the most beautiful parks you'll ever see in the state.  There's a restaurant and snack shack inside the park that's worth checking out.   

   

   
   

3. R.J. Julia, Madison, Connecticut:  An independent bookstore with cafe inside.  R.J. Julia does a bunch of book signings and other kinds of fun events that are worth looking into.
4. Case Mountain, Manchester, Connecticut:  A beautiful park open to the public with great hiking trails.  
5. Lyman Orchards, Middlefield, Connecticut: 

   

   
   

   

   
   
6. Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam, Connecticut:  The best part about Gillette Castle is the trails.  They're free and open year round to the public.  The museum and tour of the castle is nice, but pricy since you don't get to tour the whole place, only a couple of rooms. 

   

   Gillette Castle in the Spring.

7. The Pottery Piazza, Plainville, Connecticut:  Once you pay for studio time you're allowed to spend the entire day painting and creating.  The staff is very nice and extremely helpful.  Anything you want to do or create they'll help you with.  

   

   
   

8. The Wadsworth Museum in Hartford, Connecticut:  The Wadsworth is a stunning art museum constantly changing and updating its exhibits.  
9. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in New Haven, Connecticut:  A museum like library, free and open to the public.  
10. Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, Connecticut:  It's no Sea-World, but it's a cute aquarium.  It's clean, and the animals are always out and visible.  Mystic has more sea animals than just fish.
11. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut:  A stunning campus located between some of Connecticut's best restaurants and extremely cute stores.  

    

    On Yale's Campus.  

12. Arrigoni Winery, Portland, Connecticut:  A quaint winery nestled in mid-Connecticut.  They always have events such as paint night, live music, even yoga!  
13. The Barnes Museum, Southington, Connecticut:  A small but lovely museum.  Check out Southington Coffeehouse down the street!
14. Ole New-Gate Prison, East Granby, Connecticut:  Historic site that was America's first chartered copper mine, and the state's first prison.  The mine tunnels are pretty neat!
15. Goodspeed's Station Country Store, Haddam, Connecticut:  A very lovely old fashioned store with all kinds of unique stuff.  Everything in the store is made in America.  They also have a candy counter in store!
16. Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut:  A small, but cute theater in the capital city.  

    

    We saw Kevin Bacon in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window".  It was excellent. 

17. Greenwich Polo Club, Greenwich, Connecticut:  A great summer event!
18. Main Street Creamery, Weathersfield, Connecticut:  The yummiest ice cream and treats from a local creamery.  They even have vegan options as well.

    

    Me, eating a vegan pumpkin walnut ice cream.

19. Two Wresslin' Cats Cafe, East Haddam, Connecticut:  My favorite coffee shop around.  This place is wild and definitely one of a kind.  I highly recommend ordering the "tomcat turkey" sandwich. 
20. Pez Visitor Center, Orange, Connecticut:  A small museum showing how Pez are made and their history.  It's kind of neat to see all the Pez they have displayed in-store that are discontinued.   This museum is quite small and geared more towards kids, but it's interesting and worth a visit.
21. Pequot Museum, Mashantucket, Connecticut:  Absolutely beautiful Native American museum.  They don't change their exhibits around much, but it's still  worth a visit.
22. The Village Bistro, Chester, Connecticut:  This restaurant gives Marie Antionette vibes.  It's so beautiful with fun drinks and great food, located within the cutest small town imaginable.  
23. Devil's Hopyard State Park, East Haddam, Connecticut:  This park is full of trails and great sights.  There's waterfalls and an incredible view from above once you're at the top.

    

    Jake in the park.

24. Tickled Pink Boutique, Seymour, Connecticut:  You've never seen more pink in your life, I guarantee, but they have really fun gifts and other cute things to buy. 
25. The Space, Hamden, Connecticut:  A very unusual concert hall.  The decorations are what make it.
26. The Yale Art Museum, New Haven, Connecticut:  A beautiful museum open to the public, no charge.

    

    Inside the art museum.  

    

    A photo of me inside the museum.  

27. The Bushnell, Hartford, Connecticut:  A lot of off-Broadway shows come to The Bushnell.
28. Ender's Island, Mystic, Connecticut:  Open to the public.  A beautiful sanctuary.  
29. Dinosaur State Park and Trails, Rocky Hill, Connecticut:  Fun and free trails open to the public.  The museum is more for little kids though.
30. Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut:  Even if you're not old enough to gamble, Mohegan is full of shops and restaurants, even concerts from the biggest artists and celebrities. 
31. Elm City Social, New Haven, Connecticut:  Order the rubber ducky, you won't be disappointed.  

    

    A Rubber Ducky.  

32. Lake Compounce, Bristol, Connecticut:  An old, but cute historic amusement park.  The Halloween Haunted House they put on each year is spectacular for how small the park is.  It's definitely worth a visit.  They offer free drinks throughout the park with admission all year round.
33. The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut: An absolutely lovely, small art museum with fun and funky modern art.  I think of this museum as kind of a hidden gem.  It may be small, but it has a lot to offer and the exhibits are constantly changing.  They offer all kinds of events and usually throw parties!