Connecticut

Top 10 Places

(Pictures and places in bold are places I have been to.)

10. Hammonasset Beach State Park

      • Hammonasset Beach
      • Beach Boardwalk
      • Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve
      • Meigs Point Nature Center

9. Downtown New Haven

      • New Haven Green Historic District (National Historic Landmark)
      • New Haven Free Public Library
      • New Haven Railroad Station
      • CitySeed Downtown Farmers Market

8. Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor (“The Last Green Valley”) and Connecticut State Route 169 National Scenic Byway

      • Old Furnace State Park
      • Quinebaug Lake State Park
      • Mashamoquet Brook State Park
      • Putnam

7. New Haven Food Tour

      • Louis’ Lunch – Home of the Hamburger
      • Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
      • Sally’s Apizza
      • Atticus Bookstore & Cafe

6. Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area

      • Appalachian Trail
      • Housatonic Meadows State Park
      • Mount Riga State Park
      • Pond Mountain Natural Area

5. Mystic Seaport Museum

      • L. A. Dunton (Schooner) (National Historic Landmark)
      • Sabino (Passenger Steamboat) (National Historic Landmark)
      • Emma C. Berry (Fishing Sloop) (National Historic Landmark)
      • Charles W. Morgan (Bark) (National Historic Landmark)

4. New London-Groton

      • U.S.S. Nautilus (National Historic Landmark)
      • Submarine Force Museum
      • Naval Submarine Base New London
      • United States Coast Guard Academy

3. Weir Farm National Historical Park

      • Weir House, Studio, Barn, & Garden
      • Burlington House, Barn, & Sunken Garden
      • Caretaker’s House, Artist-In-Residence Studio, & Weir Pond Trail
      • Weir Preserve – Trail

2. Yale University in New Haven

      • Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
      • Yale University Art Gallery
      • Yale Center for British Art
      • Beinecke Rare Book Library
      • Skull and Bones Tomb (hall)
      • Russell Henry Chittenden House (National Historic Landmark)
      • James Dwight Dana House (National Historic Landmark)
      • Othniel C. Marsh House (National Historic Landmark)
      • Grove Street Cemetery (National Historic Landmark)
      • Yale University Science Hill
Connecticut State Capitol
Connecticut State Capitol

1. Hartford

      • Coltsville National Historical Park (pending establishment) (National Historic Landmark)
      • Mark Twain House and Museum (National Historic Landmark)
      • Harriet Beecher Stowe House (National Historic Landmark)
      • Connecticut State Capitol (National Historic Landmark)
      • Old State House (National Historic Landmark)
      • Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
      • A. Everett Austin House (National Historic Landmark)
      • Henry Barnard House (National Historic Landmark)
      • Bushnell Park Carousel
      • Elizabeth Park Conservancy

State Info

A) State Nicknames

      • The Constitution State
      • The Nutmeg State
      • The Brownstone State

B) State Symbols

      • Flower: Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
      • Bird: American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
      • Tree: White Oak (Quercus albus)
      • Animal: Sperm Whale (Physeter Macrocephalus)
      • Song: “Yankee Doodle”
      • Ship: USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
      • Hero: Nathan Hale
      • Shellfish: Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica)
      • Composer: Charles Edward Ives
      • Folk Dance: Square Dance
      • Heroine: Prudence Crandall
      • Insect: Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa)
      • Poet Laureate: John Hollander
      • Flagship: The Freedom Schooner Amistad
      • Fish: American shad (Alosa sapidissima)
      • Aircraft: F4U Corsair
      • Polka: “Ballroom Polka,” written and composed by Ray Henry Mocarski
      • Children’s state flower: Michaela Petit’s four-o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa)

C) Major Metros

      1. Hartford (state capital)
      2. Bridgeport
      3. New Haven

D) Other Places

      • Dinosaur State Park
      • Gillette Castle State Park
      • Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
      • Sleeping Giant State Park

E) Iconic Foods

      • New Haven-Style Clam Pizza
      • New Haven’s Louis’ Lunch 1900 Original Hamburger Sandwich

F) Famous People

      • Nathan Hale
      • Noah Webster
      • Harriet Beecher Stowe
      • J. P. Morgan