Connecticut’s Endless Options

For antiques lovers, there’s nothing quite like a ride down Route 6 in Woodbury on a fall afternoon. This is the home of the Woodbury Antiques Trail, offering dozens of shops along the way, as well as historic houses and places to eat. And when your day is done, get ready for an evening at Norfolk’s wonderful, intimate Infinity Music Hall, where you can dine and catch a show.

By day, satisfy your curiosity about the Connecticut shoreline and maritime history with a visit to Mystic, where the many pleasures of Mystic Aquarium and Mystic Seaport Museum await. Then, by night, make your way a short distance to Uncasville or Mashantucket, where the very different vibes of Mohegan Sun Casino and Foxwoods Resort Casino await. Here you can dine, take in a show, throw down a pair of aces, get a spa treatment, shop to your heart’s content and spend a memorable overnight.

Laze away an autumn day on and around the Salmon River, an eastern-central Connecticut stream not only prized for its cleanliness and fast, cold current, but also for its resident population of trout. It’s one of the state’s top spots for kayaking and hiking through the foliage. Later, as dusk approaches, get yourself prettied up and head out to the theater – the musicals at the nearby, nationally acclaimed Goodspeed Opera House (seasonal) have been a Connecticut staple since 1963.

Connecticut’s story is a long, multifaceted one, but you can get a good handle on both ends of it without ever leaving Ridgefield’s Main Street. First of all, there’s the Keeler Tavern Museum, housed in a 1713 building that survived an attack by the British in 1777 and now serves as a popular museum that still has a cannonball lodged in one of its walls. Meanwhile, just up the street is The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, an avatar of modern art and design for more than 50 years.