Just a two-hour drive from New York City or Boston, Greater Hartford abounds with cultural treasures and a mélange of dining. Reserve the "Escape! Cultural Package" (promo code: EON) at the new Downtown Hartford Marriott; the package includes two admission tickets to the Wadsworth Atheneum.  After checking in to the hotel, walk to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the nation’s oldest public art museum famous for its Hudson River school paintings, rare Colt firearms, and the Wallace Nutting Collection of Early American Furniture. Before exploring the museum’s renowned collections, stop for a sumptuous lunch at The Museum Cafe…on the terrace, weather-permitting.

For dinner, walk from the museum or hotel to Peppercorn's Grill for award-winning Italian cuisine.

On Day Two, drive twenty minutes to the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington a 1901 mansion modeled on George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Situated in a lush rural setting, the house museum contains an outstanding collection of French Impressionist paintings and family memorabilia surrounded by landscaped gardens and walking paths. Lunch at The Grist Mill Cafe Restaurant in Farmington before driving twenty minutes to the New Britain Museum of American Art, presenting one of the finest collections of American paintings in New England in their newly completed Chase Family Building. The museum overlooks the Frederick Law Olmstead-designed Walnut Hill Park with paved walking paths.

That evening, before taking in a symphony, opera, Broadway show or jazz concert at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, dine at trend-setting Max Downtown for award-winning fare.

[ click for more details and a print friendly view ]

Explore sophisticated Greenwich and Coastal Fairfield County, just 35 miles from New York City, known as Connecticut's Gold Coast while you discover five world-class museums and historic sites along the Connecticut Art Trail.

On Day Two, check-out of The Homestead Inn and into the Delamar Greenwich Harbor Hotel, an intimate luxury waterfront hotel located across the street from the Bruce Museum.  Walk to the Bruce Museum, for changing exhibitions of fine art, photography, ethnology and natural science in a park setting.  Lunch al fresco back at the hotel at the famed L'Escale Restaurant.

That evening, drive twenty minutes to the Dressing Room, Paul Newman's restaurant next to the Westport Country Playhouse for a pre-theatre dinner of authentic homestyle Connecticut cuisine before live theatre at the Westport Country Playhouse (8:00 curtain.) 

On Day 3, check-out of the Delamar Hotel and drive twenty minutes to the Weir Farm National Historic Site and Weir Farm Art Center in Wilton to tour the studios and park grounds that inspired American impressionist painter J. Alden Weir.  From Weir Farm, drive ten minutes to the neighboring town of Ridgefield and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, renowned as a national leader for its pre­sentation of outstanding new art and cultivation of emerging artists.  Get lunch at Luc's Cafe & Restaurant, an authentic French bistro near the museum before heading south to New York!

[ click for more details and a print friendly view ]

Start your getaway by checking-in to House on the Hill Bed and Breakfast in Waterbury, an1888 Victorian sitting high on a southern hillside, just blocks from the Mattatuck Museum.  Walk to the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center to view collections that focus on the region’s heritage and Connecticut’s master artists.  Then take a five minute drive to Timexpo, the Timex Museum  to learn the story of Timex since it began in the 1850’s. 

On your second day after enjoying a sumptuous breakfast at the inn, drive 15 miles to Woodbury for some of the best antiquing and dining in New England.  Woodbury is known as the Antiques Capital of Connecticut, with more than 45 antiques and arts dealers lining a six mile stretch along Route 6.  Lunch at the award-winning Carole Peck’s Restaurant in Woodbury, named one of the nation's best restaurants by Zagat's in 2007.  On the way back to the inn, stop at Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust  for a nature walk.  That evening, enjoy a pre-theatre dinner at San Marino Ristorante  before a live performance at the Palace Theater or the Seven Angels Theatre . 
 
On Day three, check out of the House on the Hill Bed and Breakfast and head back to New York with a stop along the way at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum  in Ridgefield.   If time permits, spend the night at the historic Stonehenge Inn & Restaurant  and dine at their AAA Four-Diamond restaurant.

[ click for more details and a print friendly view ]

Bordering the charming Connecticut shoreline, Mystic and the Southeastern Connecticut region are rich in history, architecture and cultural attractions...and only a two hour drive from New York City or Boston.

On Day Two, after a hearty breakfast at the inn, drive two miles to the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, which offers a comprehensive collection of European art as well as American fine and decorative art.  A key strength of the museum is the collection of European works on paper.  Have lunch at Fred's Shanty, a local favorite, for seafood and burgers (open seasonally) or Mr. G's Restaurant for sandwiches, salads, pizza and Italian specialties.  After lunch, drive across the Thames River to the Submarine Force Museum in Groton (admission is free), the only submarine museum operated by the United States Navy, with the world's finest collection of submarine artifacts.  Board the USS Nautilus, America's first nuclear-powered submarine and experience first-hand the thrill of being a submariner. 

On Day Three, if you are heading back toward New York, take exit 63 off I-95 to Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets, seventy outlet stores representing fine designers and name brands.  If you are traveling north toward Boston, stop in Norwich for a visit to The Slater Memorial Museum, located on the Norwich Free Academy campus.  See plaster-casts of ancient Greek sculpture; Connecticut, American and European paintings and decorative arts; contemporary American crafts; Asian textiles and decorative arts; Native American and pre-Columbian artifacts; and African and oceanic artifacts. 

[ click for more details and a print friendly view ]

Nestled within this scenic landscape is the University of Connecticut at Mansfield/Storrs which is a destination in itself for its vibrant cultural scene.  Check in to the Nathan Hale Inn & Conference Center located in the heart of the campus (ask about their Celebrate the Arts! package), then walk to the University's Lodewick Visitors Center to pick up brochures on the campus's four museums, performing arts center, farm and barn tours, etc.

Walk to the University's William Benton Museum of Art (free admission) to view changing exhibits of art from the 15th to 21st centuries.  Visit the Café Muse for a snack or the UConn  Dairy Bar for its famous home- made ice cream.  Dine early dinner at  the Inn's Blue Oak Cafe before a live performance at either the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts or the Connecticut Repertory Theatre.

Dine at the romantic Altnaveigh Inn in one of their three snug, distinctive dining rooms.  In the summer, enjoy a drink on the patio; in the winter, dine before one of their warming fireplaces.

[ click for more details and a print friendly view ]

On Day Two, walk a few blocks from the Omni to Yale  University Art Gallery, a fine-arts museum presenting works of art from ancient times to the present day --- and like the Yale Center for British Art, open year-round free of charge.  The Gallery's main building, designed by American architect Louis I. Kahn, is a masterpiece of modern architecture and design which recently underwent a comprehensive renovation.  The Gallery is located across Chapel Street from the Yale Center for British Art.  Grab a light lunch plus great people-watching at a local favorite, Atticus Bookstore & Cafe.  For a glimpse of college life, take a tour of Yale University campus (tours start at 149 Elm Street, Saturday & Sunday at 1:30 p.m., Monday - Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.)  Hear about Yale's rich 300-year history and aspects of student life at several of Yale's twelve residential colleges.  The tour also includes the Gothic Sterling Memorial Library, Yale's largest, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.  Constructed with more than one hundred panels of translucent marble, the Beinecke is home to one of the world's preeminent collections of rare materials, including the Gutenberg Bible.

[ click for more details and a print friendly view ]