A town with many exciting tales to tell, Coventry in Tolland County gave Connecticut its state hero. Nathan Hale, who was killed on an intelligence mission in the Revolutionary War, is thought to have uttered the words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”, before his execution. His …
The quiet, rural town of Colchester was incorporated at the turn of the 18th century and grew up around a picturesque town green. Three centuries later it’s reassuring that most of the life in Colchester Center coalesces at this space, which is protected as a historic district. In amongst the 18th and 19th-century houses and …
With a history that can be traced back to a colony in 1635, Old Saybrook is a placid coastal town at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Actress Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) moved to Old Saybrook’s posh borough of Fenwick in 1912 and would return to her family home throughout her life, retiring here in 1997. …
In Middlesex County, Clinton is a town on a natural harbor at the mouths of the Hammock, Hammonasset and Indian Rivers. At the harbor’s many waterfront marinas there’s a fleet of fish charters adapted for bluefish, which congregate in large numbers in this parcel of Long Island Sound towards the end of summer. For fun …
The town of Canton on the western side of Hartford County is famous for Collinsville, a 19th-century industrial village that formed around the Collins Axe Factory. Collinsville’s old mill buildings have been preserved beside the fast-flowing Farmington River, which is channeled into a system of sluices built to drive the factory’s machinery. The factory now …
This little town in New Haven County is home to fewer than 17,000 people, but is within touching distance of cities full of culture and history, so there’s much to do. The largest of these is Waterbury to the south-west, which has a riveting regional museum and a dazzling performing arts venue at the Palace …
With not just one but two spectacular lakefronts, the posh town of Brookfield is often hailed as the best place to live in Connecticut. On the west side is the sinuous shoreline of Candlewood Lake, the largest body of freshwater in the state and fronted by opulent houses, exclusive marinas and private clubs. Brookfield was …
This amiable seaside town in New Haven County has been on the map since 1639, and is an antiquarian’s idea of heaven. The whole of Guilford’s town center is one enormous Historic District, among the largest in New England. There are more than 600 historic properties here, so I think a walking tour will definitely …
In sparsely populated Windham County, the small town of Plainfield is made up of the four villages of Plainfield, Moosup, Wauregan and Central Village. Safe to say that activities in this quiet part of Connecticut are rural and outdoors, like woodland hikes in rare swamp habitats, visits to farms with corn mazes and fishing at …
This town on the west bank of the Connecticut River may be sleepy and rural but has some blockbuster attractions a moment or two away. Six Flags New England is over the state line in Agawam and is stacked with DC licensed rides, while the New England Air Museum highlights the massive contribution this region …