Connecticut is Calling: 10 Experiences You Can Only Have in CT
Connecticut offers the perfect blend of New England charm and urban sophistication, and this small state packs a big punch when it comes to having fun. A visit to Connecticut gives visitors plenty of places for sightseeing, dining, family-friendly activities, cultural finds and outdoor wonders across its cities, shoreline towns and rural areas. Connecticut also experiences a classic four-season climate, with stunning autumn foliage and cold, snowy winters, making it a real-life playground for outdoor enthusiasts who can enjoy hiking through picturesque state parks, skiing in the Litchfield Hills or sailing along the Connecticut River.
Planning a trip to the Constitution State? In Connecticut, you’ll find stunning state parks, a variety of locally-owned restaurants and businesses and plenty of museums and activities for all ages and interests.
In This Article
1. Visit Lake Compounce, North America’s oldest amusement park.
Bristol, Connecticut
Lake Compounce holds the distinction as North America’s oldest, continuously-operating amusement park. This Bristol-based funfair is home to kiddie, classic, and thrilling rides and now boasts Connecticut’s largest water park, Crocodile Cove. The historic Carousel dates back to 1911, and the Giant Ferris Wheel offers views of the park and nearby lake. Among other new or longtime attractions, the century-old wooden roller coaster, Wildcat, underwent a restoration to provide a smoother ride.
Not ready to leave? Recently, the park has introduced a campground with cottage accommodations. Plus, check out the park’s calendar for special events like the annual Phantom Fall Fest and Holiday Lights.
2. Tour the Mark Twain House & Museum.
Hartford, Connecticut
For 17 years, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, popularly known as Mark Twain, lived in this opulent, custom-built mansion with his wife and daughters. While living here, Twain penned many of his classics, including “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” Twain also lived next door to fellow writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose home is now a museum and a center for literary activism.
Today, visitors to the Mark Twain House & Museum can explore the historic 25-room Victorian Gothic home, take a living history tour, visit the exhibitions and galleries in the museum and visit the museum store for literary-themed gifts and, of course, Mark Twain’s books! In 2010, the Mark Twain House & Museum began a lecture series called The Trouble Begins. The series runs each spring and fall. It features scholars who study the life, work and era of Mark Twain and impact on the world today.
3. Try a slice at a New Haven Pizzeria.
New Haven, Connecticut
In 2025, state officials proclaimed New Haven as the “Pizza Capital of the U.S.” It’s known for a regional variation on pizza that features a thin, chewy crust, an oblong shape, and traditional baking in a coal-fired oven.
Known locally as “apizza” and pronounced “a-beets,” this pizza’s origin is traced to Neapolitan immigrants who settled here a century ago. Pay a visit to Wooster Square to find the perfect slice. The neighborhood is among the city’s areas where Italian families developed communities and businesses. There are plenty of places to try, and trust us, you can’t go wrong! Longtime favorites include Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally’s Apizza.
4. Tour Gillette Castle State Park.
East Haddam, Connecticut
Connecticut has countless state parks, but how many of them can say that they are home to a medieval-looking castle? Gillette Castle State Park can! The park gets its name from stage actor and playwright William Gillette, who had his fortress-like retirement home built atop a hill overlooking the Connecticut River.
The interior of the house is open for tours from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend. However, the park grounds are open daily. Visitors can also hike trails that once housed a miniature train route taking Gillette’s guests to and from the castle.
5. Celebrate Civil Rights at the Prudence Crandall Museum.
Canterbury, Connecticut
Located in Canterbury, the Prudence Crandall Museum is named for Connecticut’s state heroine, Prudence Crandall, a white woman who ran a school specifically for young women of color in the mid-19th century.
In 1832, a Black woman named Sarah Harris approached Crandall, and she asked to be admitted to the school. With the encouragement of Maria Davis, who assisted Crandall, Crandall agreed to admit Harris. She closed the school, and in 1833, she reopened the Canterbury Female Boarding School. People consider the school one of the earliest examples of integration in the U.S.
Unfortunately, legal and local harassment forced Crandall and her students to close her school. Today, the museum continues to honor Crandall and is open seasonally with ticketed, timed tours. The museum’s Canterbury Female Boarding School: Courage, Conscience & Continuance exhibit shares the stories of students and teachers who attended the school and the local, national and global impact Crandall had during the 17 months the school was open.
6. Experience American architecture at The Glass House.
New Canaan, Connecticut
Amid a wooded pasture landscape, sits The Glass House. The structure is a clear living space built by and as a residence for architect Philip Johnson. Completed in 1949, the 49-acre estate is a crash course in Modernist architecture and landscape design. Today, the house’s glass walls give visitors a peek into Johnson’s home, which he adorned with his own furniture and a circular bedroom.
The estate includes more than a dozen other structures Johnson designed. The Brick House, an adjacent guest house, is made entirely of brick. Other structures include the Painting Gallery, an underground space housing large-scale modern works, the Sculpture Gallery, and The Pavilion in the Pond. The property opens to the public from mid-April through mid-December, and though tickets are required, visitors can choose from more than half a dozen tours.
7. Taste your way through the PEZ Visitor Center.
Orange, Connecticut
Orange is home to The PEZ Visitor Center, located inside the PEZ U.S. Headquarters, and houses the official museum dedicated to the PEZ candy and dispenser brand. The 4,000-square-foot facility devotes itself entirely to the iconic Austrian candy, and visitors can see PEZ dispensers of all kinds.
The PEZ Visitor Center is home to the world’s largest PEZ Dispenser, an extensive collection of PEZ candy and plenty of interactive exhibits. Take a trip through time to learn about PEZ’s origins in Austria in 1927 and its eventual arrival in the U.S. After touring the collection, which includes rare, one-of-a-kind dispensers, visitors can watch the manufacturing processes through windows, see a custom motorcycle built entirely out of PEZ dispensers and then purchase plenty of PEZ to take home.
8. Art makes an impression at the Florence Griswold Museum.
Old Lyme, Connecticut
The Florence Griswold Museum is a Georgian mansion turned museum. Originally, the home of the Lyme Art Colony, whose namesake owner, Florence Griswold, turned a wealthy sea captain’s home into a boarding house for artists. The tenants produced works inspired by the surrounding countryside and, eventually, the Lyme Art Colony became one of the most important centers of American Impressionism.
Today, the museum sits on a 12-acre campus along the Lieutenant River. Visitors can tour the Florence Griswold House and see the famous ‘painted panels’ where artists created works directly on interior surfaces, explore the Kriebel Gallery or step into the life of William Chadwick, a prolific Impressionist, at the Chadwick Studio. On sunny afternoons, stroll along the Artists’ Trail to see where the boarders drew inspiration.
9. All aboard! Make memories at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Mystic, Connecticut
Explore the open waters at the Mystic Seaport Museum, the largest maritime museum in the country. The museum dedicates itself to preserving the history of American naval life, particularly in the 19th century and during the age of sail, and to teach visitors about America’s seafaring history through nautical exhibitions, a replica of a 19th-century coastal village, and sailings along the Mystic River aboard historic vessels.
The Mystic Seaport Museum is an immersive site for all ages. Wander through the cobblestone streets of the Historic Seaport Village, where dozens of preserved 19th-century buildings create a living-history museum complete with craftspeople working in authentic shops with traditional tools. Or, visit the Treworgy Planetarium to learn about celestial navigation. Finally, spend some time at the Preservation Shipyard where traditional shipbuilding techniques are put to work as shipwrights maintain historic wooden boats. There are also several historic vessels to tour on site, too. The Mystic Seaport Museum is also home to several galleries, interactive activities (like a boat ride!) and several seasonal and special events for both adults and children.
10. Spend the afternoon on the beach at Hammonasset Beach State Park.
Madison, Connecticut
With a two-mile stretch of sandy beaches, a campground and a nature preserve, Hammonasset Beach State Park is Connecticut’s largest shoreline park with two miles of beachfront, located on Long Island Sound. The park is famous for its extensive natural features and draws nearly two million visitors each year.
Visitors of all ages can enjoy the Meigs Point Nature Center, a state-of-the-art environmental educational center with exhibits on the area’s wonderful wildlife. When it’s warm, the beach is an ideal spot for swimming, sunbathing and even building sandcastles. Stretch your legs along the boardwalk and paved trails. There are plenty of water recreation options, too, kayak along the Long Island Sound or find the fresh catch of the day at Meigs Point Jetty and West Beach Jetty. For those who feel the fun is never done, the park offers onsite campgrounds with RV and tent sites or a choice of 8 rustic cabins.