Connecticut: climate and weather
The southernmost state in New England has an
oceanically tempered climate and is relatively mild
on the coast even in winter. Otherwise, the seasons
are clearly defined and the Indian Summer can also
be very impressive in the Connecticut forests.
Maritime flair and old captain's houses
If you like historical ships, you should
definitely visit Mystic. An old coastal
village has been built here and you can experience
the life of past centuries up close in the largest shipping
museum in the USA. You will also find the
ship Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden
whaler in the USA (1841).
The Voyages: Stories of America and the Sea exhibition
is also well worth seeing. Friends of the sea should
also visit the Mystic Aquarium and Institute
for Exploration, which is particularly popular
with children.
Not far away is the cozy coastal town of Stonington,
in the city once known as a whaling town, today you
can eat fish or mussel soup and take long walks
along historic capitol houses to the beach.
Beach and sand lovers will appreciate the Hammonasset
Beach State Park, because here you
can enjoy and hike 3 km of sea coast on Long Island
Sound. Also popular is Gillette Castle in the State
Park of the same name, a huge estate with a
castle-like house and secret passage that was once
inhabited by actor William Gillette.
The capital Hartford, which is characterized
by many elegant skyscrapers, is also worth a visit,
especially by fans of the writer Mark Twain (actually
Samuel Clemens). Here you can visit the Mark Twain
Museum today, where you can visit the Victorian
house, where he wrote some of his world successes
such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Also worth seeing is the neighboring house of
Harriet Beecher-Stowe, which became particularly
known for her work Uncle Tom's Hut and which is
today commemorated with the Harriet Beecher
Stowe Center. The exhibition also provides
extensive information on the subject of abolishing
slavery and the writer's views.
You can learn more about the history of the state
as a whole in the Museum of Connecticut History,
the Connecticut Capitol also sits enthroned in the
city. In the XL Center (formerly Hartford
Civic Center) you can go shopping or attend concerts
and sporting events. Local teams like Hartford Wolf
Pack or the Connecticut Huskies play here.
If you want to experience rural Connecticut, you
should take a trip to the Litchfield Hills,
where you will find the typical farms, villages and
hills. In addition, the Bantam is the
largest lake in the state. Especially when the sun
is shining and in the colorful autumn leaves, the
landscape looks like a picture book. If you are
enthusiastic about waterfalls, you should visit Kent
Falls State Park in the Southern Berkshires.
A special tip is to visit one of the particularly
elegant Connecticut wineries, which can
offer some good wines. Wine connoisseurs will get
their money's worth here. |