DISTANCE: 86.5 miles (139km)
TIME: Two days
START: New Haven
END: Mystic
POINTS TO NOTE: Note that Yale’s museums are closed on Monday. From Mystic, hop onto I-95 for 50 miles (81km) to reach Providence or turn off after 19 miles (31km) onto Route 138 for Newport. It is 86 miles (138km) via Hartford to Springfield. New Haven and Mystic are also connected with Boston by Amtrak’s Northeast Regional line.
This drive from New Haven – home of Ivy League university Yale – to the old whaling port turned tourist town of Mystic, reveals the multifaceted layers of Connecticut’s coast, where historic villages of traditional inns and antiques shops lie alongside working naval towns.
Students make their way to Yale University
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New Haven and Yale
Settled by Puritans in 1638, New Haven 1 [map] was at first a seafaring community but later embraced industry and pioneered such inventions as the meat grinder, the corkscrew, and the steamboat. Today, it is known as the home of prestigious Yale University. Founded in 1701 and named after its benefactor, Elihu Yale, the US’s third-oldest university is alma mater to many presidents, including Bill Clinton and both Bushes.
Park close to New Haven Green, the town’s center, and walk to the Yale University Visitor Center (149 Elm Street; tel: 203-432-2300; http://visitorcenter.yale.edu; Mon–Fri 9am–4.30pm, Sat–Sun 11am–4pm; free) on the green’s north side. Pick up a map or join one of the 95-minute campus tours (Mon–Fri 10.30am and 2pm, Sat–Sun 1.30pm).
Five Mile Point
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A classic example of the Ivy League Gothic Revival style of the early 20th century, the campus’s attractions include the University Art Gallery (111 Chapel Street; tel: 203-432-0600; Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Thu until 8pm Sept–June, Sat–Sun 11am–5pm; free), with a rich collection of early American decorative and contemporary fine art, and the excellent Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel Street; tel: 203-432-2800; Tue–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun noon–5pm; free), which boasts the largest collection of British art outside the UK, with works by Turner and Constable.
Take a break at either Louis’ Lunch, see 1 [map], or Da Legna, see 2 [map].
Thimble islands
Head east on routes 1 and 146 for 14 miles (22.5km) to the tiny seaside village of Stony Creek, embarkation point for a 45-minute boat trip to the Thimble Islands 2 [map] (tel: 203-488-8905; www.thimbleislandcruise.com; May and Sept Fri–Sun, June–Aug Wed–Mon, Oct Sat–Sun, check website for times), 354 rugged outcrops peppered with mansions, summer homes, and stories dating back to Captain Kidd.
Hammonasset Beach 3 [map], 12 miles (19km) farther along routes 146 and 1, is Connecticut’s largest waterfront state park. It occupies an entire peninsula, with ample room for swimming, fishing, hiking, and camping (tel: 203-245-2785 for bookings).
Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport Museum
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Essex
Overlooking the Connecticut River, the genteel town of Essex 4 [map], 17 miles (10.5km) farther east (via Route 1 and, for a short way, north along Route 9) typifies upscale Yankeedom. Check out the restored 18th-century homes, a riverfront dotted with sailboats, and the rambling 1776 Griswold Inn (for more information, click here). Stroll down to the wharfside Connecticut River Museum (67 Main Street; tel: 860-767-8269; www.ctrivermuseum.org; Tue–Sun 10am–5pm), which has a working model of the world’s first submarine, a design of Yale student David Bushnell in 1776. Grab a bite to eat at Marley’s Café, see 3 [map].
Connecticut River Museum
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East Haddam
Ditch the car for an excursion on the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat (1 Railroad Avenue; tel: 860-767-0103 or 800-377-3987; www.essexsteamtrain.com) to East Haddam 5 [map]. The train, drawn by a 1926 locomotive, clatters north to Deep River Landing, where you change to the riverboat; the entire round trip takes about two and a half hours. If you would rather drive, follow Route 154 north then Route 82 east; it is 10 miles (16km) in all.
In East Haddam visit the Goodspeed Opera House (6 Main Street; tel: 860-873-8668; www.goodspeed.org), a riverside theatre dating from 1876. A 4-mile (6.5km) drive south is Gillette Castle State Park (67 River Road; tel: 860-526-2336; daily 8am–dusk; free), home to an imposing stone ‘castle,’ (late May–early Sept daily 10am–4.30pm), built in 1914 by eccentric actor William Gillette.
Old Lyme
For a more evocative view of the region’s golden past, drive south from East Haddam on routes 82 and 156, which pass through the peaceful countryside that borders Connecticut’s west shore. Pause in Old Lyme 6 [map] to visit the Florence Griswold Museum (96 Lyme Street; tel: 860-434-5542; www.florencegriswoldmuseum.org; Tue–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm), which has a renowned collection of American Impressionist paintings and recalls the village’s heyday as an artists’ colony at the start of the 20th century.
Hartford
Connecticut’s capital, Hartford, 37 miles (60km) inland from New Haven, may not be the most buzzing of New England cities, but it’s not without attractions. The Mark Twain House (351 Farmington Avenue; tel: 860-247-0998; www.marktwainhouse.org; daily 9.30am–5.30pm, closed Tue Jan–Feb) is a quirky 1874 mansion decorated by Louis Tiffany. The Wadsworth Atheneum (600 Main Street; tel: 860-278-2670; www.wadsworthatheneum.org; Wed–Fri 11am–5pm, Sat–Sun 10am–5pm) features Baroque, Impressionist, and 19th-century American works, plus a collection of 17th-century furniture. The impressive State Capitol (210 Capitol Avenue; tel: 860-240-0222; Mon–Fri 8am–5pm; free) overlooks lovely Bushnell Park. For more details, see www.enjoyhartford.com.
Essex Steam Train
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New London and Groton
In the old whaling port of New London 7 [map], 15 miles (24km) east of Old Lyme at the mouth of the Thames River, you will find the US Coast Guard Academy (31 Mohegan Avenue; www.cga.edu; free), where the magnificent sailing vessel Eagle (tours when in port; tel: 860-444-8444) is used for training coast-guard cadets.
Groton 8 [map], on the other side of the Thames, is home to the US Navy Submarine Force Museum (1 Crystal Lake Road; tel: 860-694-3174; www.ussnautilus.org; May–Oct Wed–Mon 9am–5pm, Nov–Apr Wed–Mon 9am–4pm; free), where you can peek inside the Nautilus, the USA’s first nuclear submarine.
Mystic
With its picture-perfect harbour, Mystic 9 [map], 6 miles (10km) east of Groton, is one of the principal tourist draws of the state’s coast.
At the mouth of the Mystic River is the Mystic Seaport Museum (75 Greenmanville Avenue; tel: 860-572-5315; www.mysticseaport.org; late Mar–late Oct daily 9am–5pm, late Oct–late Nov daily 10am–4pm, late-Nov–Dec Thu–Sun 10am–4pm), a living history museum spread across 17 acres (7ha), where you will find early 19th-century wharves, stores, and houses. Costumed actors demonstrate crafts and cooking techniques. The collection of some 500 vessels includes the wooden whaling ship Charles W. Morgan and a replica of the Amistad slave ship.
Mystic offers dozens of dining choices; try Mystic Pizza, see 4 [map] or drive 1.5 miles (2.5km) to Noank for Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough, see 5 [map].
Out of town near I-95, the Mystic Aquarium (55 Coogan Boulevard; tel: 860-572-5955; www.mysticaquarium.org; daily Mar–Oct 9am–5pm, Nov 9am–4pm, Dec–Feb 10am–4pm) numbers seals, sea lions, and beluga whales among its collection of 12,000 fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals. It is also the home of the high-tech Institute for Exploration, with a simulated deep-sea dive devised by Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic.
Food and drink
1 Louis’ Lunch
261–263 Crown Street, New Haven; tel: 203-562-5507; www.louislunch.com; Tue–Wed 11am–3.45pm, Thu–Sat noon–2am; $
Devour flame-grilled patties on white toast and strictly no ketchup at this Yale institution.
2 Da Legna
858 State St reet, New Haven; tel: 203-495-9999; http://dalegna.com; Mon–Wed 11am–11pm, Thu–Sat 11am–midnight, Sun 9am–11pm; $$
Try some of Connecticut’s (and some say the world’s) best pizza bakes from the brick wood-fired ovens of this down-home Italian joint sprinkled with industrial chic.
3 Marley’s Café
11 Ferry Street, Essex; tel: 860-853-0133; late May–early Sept Wed–Mon 7.30am–2pm, July–Oct Fri–Sun 6–9pm; $$
This convivial café, with a good view of Essex’s marina, serves sandwiches, salads, and seafood and meat dishes, often with a Jamaican flavor.
4 Mystic Pizza
56 West Main Street, Mystic; tel: 860-536-3700; www.mysticpizza.com; daily 10am–11pm; $–$$
A homely pizza joint that inspired the eponymous 1988 movie starring Julia Roberts.
5 Abbot’s Lobster in the Rough
117 Pearl Street, Noank; tel: 860-536-7719; http://abbottslobster.com; late-May–early-Sept daily 11.30am–9pm, early May and mid-Sept–mid Oct Fri–Sun 11.30am–7pm; $$
Head to the waterfront to enjoy fresh lobster and other seafood dishes alfresco with bring-your-own drinks.