All Images Credit NE Tourism Board or respective establishments
This is the fourth article on rediscovering New England. As I have previously shared, I am from New England and left at an early age to discover the world. This particular leg of the trip was especially personal as it covers Connecticut, the state where I drew my first breath and is listed as my place of birth on my birth certificate. Funny enough, I never really explored the state. Yes, there were family weekend trips, boating, camping in my youth, but that is about all I recall. This trip was about discovering something familiar yet completely unknown, as all the places I visited on this leg of my journey were firsts for me.
What I found was a coastline defined by working harbors, marinas, and the houses and restaurants that grew up around them, as well as others places made for the well-to-do with posh resorts, sun, sand, and sailing. Inland, the hills are punctuated by farms, forests, and towns formed when America was in its infancy and before the revolutionary war.
Mystic, Connecticut
One area that I found particularly interesting along the Atlantic coastline was Mystic. The old seaport sits along the Mystic River, where sailboats and wooden schooners still pass beneath the iconic bascule bridge that lifts throughout the day. The heart of the town feels tied to the water. Weathered clapboard buildings and shingled houses line the banks, many repurposed as cafés, galleries, and small shops that face the harbor.
The small coastal town was made famous by Mystic Pizza, the 1988 film starring Julia Roberts about the coming-of-age story of three Portuguese-American girls, but this town is so much more than that. Like many areas in America, it is a story of immigrants. Portuguese immigrants arrived in the mid-nineteenth century from the Azores and Cape Verde, drawn by work in whaling, fishing, and maritime trades. The heritage is still there and proudly carried on by their descendants, many of whom still work in the fishing industry.
Mystic Seaport Museum
While there, one must visit the Mystic Seaport Museum, an expansive living history museum that recreates a nineteenth-century whaling village. Wooden shipyards and tall ships are open to wander, their rigging visible from across the river. The museum’s centerpiece is the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaleship in the world, carefully restored and open for visitors to step aboard. Around it, craftsmen work in active shipyards using traditional tools and techniques, giving a sense of how vessels were once built by hand along the New England coast.
Dining at The Shipwright’s Daughter
Yes, the original pizza shop from Mystic Pizza still draws visitors, though those looking for a deeper expression of local life along with their dining experience often turn to The Shipwright’s Daughter. The Shipwright’s Daughter reflects Mystic’s maritime identity both in its cooking and design. The dining room evokes the town’s shipbuilding legacy through reclaimed oak floors, barn wood walls, pine ceilings, and beams of weathered mushroom wood, accented by metallic plaster and velvet banquettes.
The menu continues that narrative, blending Portuguese and New England influences with local shellfish, line-caught fish, and produce from nearby farms to create a vivid expression of coastal Connecticut. Executive Chef David Standridge, formerly of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York where his team earned two Michelin stars, received the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northeast in 2024. The restaurant has also been recognized for its sustainability and responsible seafood practices through the James Beard Smart Catch program.
The Madison Beach Hotel
A short drive from Mystic, the Madison Beach Hotel occupies a stretch of Long Island Sound with unobstructed water views. The hotel’s shingled exterior and broad porches read as an updated version of a New England coastal house. Landscaped gardens lead to the sand, and the pool is positioned to capture sunlight off the water. Interiors feature pale wood, natural light, and simple, precise finishes. Rooms look out across the Sound and include fireplaces for colder months. At The Wharf restaurant, seafood is presented with technical care, emphasizing regional sourcing and seasonality without ornamentation. The focus is on clarity of flavor and setting rather than spectacle.
The Saybrook Point Inn
There are plenty of lovely inns and resort to enjoy Connecticut’s coastal lifestyle. Saybrook Point Inn sits at the tip of Old Saybrook, its bright yellow exterior standing out against the deep blues of Long Island Sound. The inn overlooks an active marina, where pleasure and fishing boats come and go throughout the day, their motion visible from every vantage point. The architecture combines maritime charm with clean, modern lines, giving the building a confident presence on the waterfront.
Rooms reflect the same thoughtful design, with large windows framing the harbor and letting in abundant natural light. Interiors are crisp and comfortable, with views of the water and boats that draw attention to the harbor’s activity and the coastal setting. . From the balcony, the marina and Sound stretch endlessly, a quiet reminder of place
Fresh Salt, the inn’s restaurant, serves refined New England cuisine rooted in local seafood and produce, while the Marina Bar offers a casual perch to watch the sun slip over the Sound.
Moving inland, the state’s terrain shifts from coast to hills, pastures, and woodlands. The Litchfield Hills region contains farms, small lakes, and towns that reflect practical settlement rather than curated scenery. One would probably expect to see farms and mountains here, but it is also home to one of the finest retreats in New England.
The Winvian Farm
Winvian Farm sits within 113 acres of meadow and woodland in Morris, part of Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills. It takes its name from its original owners, Winthrop and Vivian Smith, whose family has kept the property since 1948. The centerpiece of the estate is the 1775 Seth Bird House, carefully restored to preserve its colonial character. Now a Relais & Châteaux retreat with a AAA Five Diamond distinction, Winvian Farm combines the atmosphere of a historic homestead with the refinement of a contemporary country estate. Paths wind through trees, ponds, and open fields, and in the ceter of the property is an expansive vegetable garden complete with a green house and many of the veggies you’ll see on your plate during the evening’s meal. The estate offers the grace of an old farmstead while integrating the amenities of a secluded, modern resort.
The accommodations are as unconventional as they are luxurious. Fifteen architects were commissioned to design eighteen individual cottages, each with its own narrative and architectural identity. The result feels more like a collection of private works of art than a resort. Among the most striking is the Helicopter Cottage, built around a fully restored 1968 Sikorsky Sea King rescue helicopter whose cockpit remains intact, allowing guests to sit at the controls while staying inside their room. The Treehouse Cottage rises thirty-five feet above the forest floor, its two stories connected by a spiral stair and wrapped in glass and timber, giving a view through the canopy. Every cottage features fireplaces, jetted soaking tubs, and private outdoor seating areas, while details like reclaimed wood, exposed stone, and handmade fixtures give the interiors an element of craft rather than contrivance.
Dining at Winvian Farm is an integral part of the experience. The restaurant operates on a seed-to-table philosophy, drawing from the property’s organic gardens, greenhouses, and beehives to shape a menu that changes with the seasons along with ingredients from nearby farms and the estate itself to guide each dish.
Lime Rock Park Racetrack
But of course, not all experiences in Connecticut are peaceful and serene. Lime Rock Park in Lakeville offers the polar opposite. The car driving and racing circuit, established in 1957, is compact and technical, designed for high-performance driving. Spectators can observe cars navigating corners at speed, while participants can undertake driving sessions that teach control, skill, and focus.
Drivers from around the world come here to train, whether refining competitive technique or testing the limits of their own machines. The track has long served as an informal proving ground for those hoping to progress toward NASCAR or Formula racing, and for enthusiasts who simply want to experience the thrill of performance driving under expert supervision. Reaching speeds that would be impossible on public roads, participants gain a rare sense of freedom and control that is beyond exhilarating.
The Goodspeed Musicals and Opera House
Not far away, East Haddam presents a cultural counterpoint. Goodspeed Musicals, located along the Connecticut River, occupies the historic Goodspeed Opera House. The theatre maintains nineteenth-century architectural features, including the proscenium and ornate detailing, while productions range from classical musicals to contemporary works.
For the local community, Goodspeed is both a cultural hub and a source of pride, drawing audiences from across Connecticut and beyond with notable productions from Annie, Man of La Mancha, and Shenandoah. Many shows that began here went on to Broadway, giving the rural town a surprising connection to the larger theatre world.Connecticut’s Modern Architecture and Phillip Jonson’s Glass House
There are so many things about Connecticut, the place of my birth, that I did not know. Unbeknownst to me, Connecticut holds a unique connection to modern architecture. Yes, I’ve seen the unique designs, more so than many other states, some futuristic, some downright odd, but never knew why. The connection is largely due to its proximity to New York’s cultural institutions, the presence of major architectural schools, and the patronage of postwar visionaries who built experimental homes there.
After the Second World War, Connecticut became a laboratory for the architecture’s modern movement. The most concentrated example is in New Canaan, where a group of architects known as the Harvard Five (Marcel Breuer, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes, Landis Gores, and John Johansen) settled and built their own houses in the 1940s and 1950s. They were all protégés of Walter Gropius and shared his Bauhaus ideals of simplicity, functionalism, and integration with the landscape. The most famous of these works is Johnson’s Glass House, completed in 1949, which remains one of the seminal statements of modern residential design in America. Dozens of experimental homes followed, many commissioned by forward-thinking clients who viewed architecture as cultural expression rather than mere shelter.
And New Canaan is where you’ll find Philip Johnson’s Glass House. The forty-nine-acre estate is a study in transparency, proportion, and material integrity. Walls of glass, minimalist detailing, and carefully composed sightlines make the house a deliberate statement on architecture as spatial and structural inquiry. Outbuildings and sculptures continue the dialogue, extending the lessons of materiality and context. The residence is available for private events and overnight stays but is not your typical vacation rental by any means. Tours are focused and limited, allowing visitors to engage with Johnson’s intentions and the relationship between building and landscape.
What many would consider odd if not a highly unusual sight along the I-95 highway in New Haven is the Hotel Marcel. If nothing else it is riveting to see and a striking example of Brutalist architecture, originally designed by one of the Harvard Five, Marcel Breuer, in 1968. It was first designed as the Armstrong Rubber Company headquarters and before being purchased as the Perelli Tire Company. The building features a bold, geometric concrete façade with deeply recessed windows, creating a fortress-like appearance. A distinctive two-story void runs through the center of the structure, adding to its striking appearance. This design was a deliberate choice by Breuer to emphasize form and function, aligning with his Bauhaus-inspired principles.
In 2022, the building was transformed into Hotel Marcel, the first net-zero hotel in the United States. The renovation preserved the original architectural elements while integrating sustainable features, including photovoltaic solar panels and energy-efficient systems. The 165-room boutique hotel offers an interior design that balances the rawness of the concrete with warmth, incorporating natural materials and mid-century modern furnishings.
Hotel Marcel exemplifies how adaptive reuse can breathe new life into mid-century modern architecture, transforming it into a beacon of sustainability and design excellence. By honoring its architectural roots and embracing innovative, eco-friendly practices, the hotel not only preserves a significant piece of architectural history but also sets a precedent for future developments in sustainable hospitality. One would cringe at the thought of demolishing it and putting up some forgettable, homogenized building.A Crown Jewel of Education: Yale University
Funny enough, the most iconic architectural triumphs in Connecticut were from Harvard-trained architects, the academic arch-nemesis of the state’s most prestigious university, Yale. New Haven itself is inseparable from Yale University. A tour is something one will want to do when in the area, and at least after you’ve finished, you can say that you went to Yale.
After a check-in at the visitor’s center, you’ll be matched with a student who will take you on a two-hour tour, telling you about the campus as well as their personal experience. As you begin to walk the campus grounds, the gravitas of this place quickly sets in. You become instantly award that there are some really really smart people around you, past and present. From Gerald Ford to Hillary Clinton and even Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. You’ll also see statues of famous figures in history mixed in among the architecture that span from what could be the film set of a Harry Potter movie to modern works such as the library. Speaking of the libraries, they are impressive. Endless rooms and shelves filled with books contain volumes dating back to the revolutionary era, many of which are rare and protected as if they were scrolls in the Vatican. Among these is a first edition of Gulliver’s Travels, a rare treasure that evokes the breadth of literary heritage housed here.
You also get to learn about student life. In the residential colleges, students of different backgrounds and disciplines live together for four years, in houses with a house dean who interacts with the students as both sounding board and adviser. Students grow together over their four years together, sharing meals, friendships, and activities, all the while begin exposed to varying perspectives, learning empathy, and understanding circumstances beyond their own.The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
A short walk from campus leads to Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, one of the top museums in the US that focuses on the Earth and the story of evolution. Vast collections of fossils trace the evolution of creatures both familiar and long extinct, along with anthropological artifacts of human ingenuity from intricately carved tools to ceremonial objects. The centerpiece, a towering blue whale skeleton suspended above the central hall, dominates the space with both grace and scale, compelling visitors to confront the enormity of nature. Galleries are dedicated to dinosaurs, mammals, and ancient civilizations as well as ancient textiles, fossilized flora, and preserved cultural artifacts.
One gains a sense of self from knowing who they are by knowing where are from. This was not a trip down memory lane, as I had never visited these places. Yet leaving with the knowledge and pride in what Connecticut has to offer is a gift of travel I did not anticipate, one that will be cherished long after the suitcase is unpacked back home.
This is now the fourth in my series of Discovering New England. Part one explored coastal Massachusetts, part two the Berkshires and Pennsylvania, and part three New Hampshire. Part five will take us to Rhode Island, and the sixth part of the series will conclude in Boston, where it all began.
