[Champ le monstre du lac]

When visiting Connecticut, tourists usually land in a fair number of quaint and regal New England towns and villages set on the coast or tucked into its scenic hills, but the cities are often overlooked. Generally for the same reasons that commonly affect several small and medium sized urban areas all over the US. I've also noticed on C-D that Connecticut's cities too often get a hard pass in terms of New England favorites as many would prefer to just go into NYC, Boston, or even Providence. New Haven does get a fair amount of acclaim as it has a decent downtown, known for Apizza, Yale's cultural institutions, and some interesting neighborhoods. I came across this video which gives an honest ranking of all 21 cities in the state. Here is how the cities were ranked in the video in terms of visitor appeal.

1- New London
2- New Haven
3- Hartford
4- Stamford
5- Norwich
6- Middletown
7- Bridgeport
8- Norwalk
9- Derby
10- New Britain

11- Ansonia
12- Shelton
13- Waterbury
14- Danbury
15- Milford
16- Groton
17- West Haven
18- Meriden
19- Winsted
20- Torrington
21- Bristol

I haven't been to New London in many years, but it did strike me as a very interesting and old New England seaport with a remarkably scenic harbor (I took the Block Island ferry from there). It's definitely got grit. Not sure if it tops out New Haven for points of interest, but I'll be visiting this area in a couple weeks so I'll soon find out. Cities that were not on my radar before that I may want to explore are Middletown and Norwich, and I think I'll give Hartford another look. I never liked Hartford but I know if you dig into it there are some gems to uncover. How do you think Connecticut's cities stack up?






.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBhlHGENzWY

[The_Quiet_One]

I guess it depends on what a visitor is looking for, but I'd rank the cities as follows (based only on attractions within the city borders):

1- New Haven. It has some of the best museums and restaurants in the state. And most of the best attractions are walking distance from each other

2- Hartford. Good selection of museums and cultural attractions. Honestly, for me, the Mark Twain House alone puts it at least in the top 3, but add in the Old State House, Science Center, and others and it's easily at number 2

3- Norwalk. The Aquarium, Lockwood Mansion, stores and restaurants are all right next to each other and next to the train station. It's one of the easiest and best day trips in CT, whether by train or car

4- New London. After the National Coast Guard Museum opens, New London might move up to number 3. For history lovers it would probably rank above Norwalk. Right now, it has some very interesting history museums and a nice seaport feel.

5- Groton. I'm ranking it higher because of its boroughs. Noank and half of Mystic are in Groton (but not Mystic Seaport/Aquarium). Fort Griswold and the Sub Museum are wonderful.

6- Bristol. It has the largest amusement park in the state. People come from all over to visit. Throw in the Clock Museum and Carousel Museum and it actually makes a nice day trip.

7- Middletown. It has a unique downtown and a college town feel. Nice restaurants and a hint of quirkiness.

8- Bridgeport. I'm ranking it here mainly for the zoo, Barnum, and Black Rock.

9- New Britain. The art museum is wonderful and Little Poland is among the best ethnic neighborhoods in the state.

10- Stamford. This is a good city for shopping. It's not a bad place to have a business trip, but I think it's a little wanting for overall attractions

11- Waterbury. It's a unique city. I rank it a 9 mostly on the quality of the art museum alone.

12- Norwich. It has a beautiful looking downtown but there isn't much happening there. Give it more time and hopefully it will be improved. I'm not counting the casinos since neither is in the city. The Slater is nice

13- Milford. Nice downtown and beach access

14- Torrington. The theater is nice

15-17- Honestly, for this I'd rank Derby, Ansonia, and Shelton as a group. Maybe the towns wouldn't like that, but the Valley area is best visited together

18- Danbury. It has some nice restaurants. The Mall is big.

19- Winsted. Ralph Nadar's Museum is a small draw. The Civil War monument is nice. It's in a beautiful setting

20- Meriden. Nice little city.

21- West Haven. Nice suburb.

[Stylo]

Lot of these places only have 1-2 reasons to visit, so unless you’re going REALLY deep on CT, it’s hard to recommend.

New Haven is the most obvious recommendation. Heck, NY Times agrees:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gKN4N2M0xRObFY

The video feels like clickbait BS. I wouldn’t go by it. I doubt he’s been to any/all the towns. Most of the assessments are really off.

[Stylo]

Yeah watched more of that video. That kid has never been to these cities. He’s a Google Maps traveler. And not a very good one at that.

[ryanthegoldengod]

Where is the none of the above option?

[Stylo]

You’re also missing out on a lot of nice smaller towns with this limited list. Some of the distinctions between a town and city are simply down to how it was governmentally organized hundreds of years ago. Some “towns” are bigger and more city like than some “cities”.

An itinerary I often suggest to NYC friends goes like this (asterix on the most standout places to visit): Rowayton, Southport Harbor, Milford (downtown and shoreline spots), New Haven*, Stony Creek*, Guilford*, Madison, Chester*, Essex* (perhaps a journey to Gillette Castle or the opera house), Fenwick, Niantic, Noank, Mystic*, Stonington Borough*. Of course I modify this list based on personal preferences.

That jams the most things to see and variety in one trip.

Then I often suggest a second trip that focuses on Litchfield and Hartford Counties.

Hope this helps.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Got it, amateur rankings and just another "listicle". If I'm being real, I'd need very compelling reasons to go to cities like Ansonia, Danbury, or Meriden. I was aware New Haven likely had the most appeal for urban exploration for a city in Connecticut and I intend to dig into that. But I was curious about other larger cities in general and some of the smaller ones in Eastern CT. I've explored touristy towns like Essex, East Haddam, Old Saybrook, & Mystic and they're quite lovely. I know there are several nice towns worth exploring, but I'm looking for more info on the cities and good urban downtowns and neighborhoods Wasn't sure if places like Norwich were worth exploring, it's got some cool legacy architecture. Middletown also piques my interest.

Anyway, my husband is being recruited for a position offered in Groton. This is being met with some resistance on my end as we manage a multi family property here in Vermont and I have some other ties to the area. But we are weighing options out and I'm open minded to change as it's still New England so it wouldn't be a culture shock for me. Southeastern Connecticut is my favorite part of the state since it's not a big commuter area saturated with traffic and it is very scenic. I love the food down there, certainly moreso than in Vermont and sometimes I wish I was closer to the coast. We got time to mull this over but I need to explore the area more to see if it suits us and our pups.

I'm familiar with some of the towns, but I haven't spent a lot of time in the cities other than Hartford, New London, and Waterbury so I was curious on how people state feel about their cities and just getting a feel for what there is to do in the state.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Champ le monstre du lac

Got it, amateur rankings and just another "listicle". If I'm being real, I'd need very compelling reasons to go to cities like Ansonia, Danbury, or Meriden. I was aware New Haven likely had the most appeal for urban exploration for a city in Connecticut and I intend to dig into that. But I was curious about other larger cities in general and some of the smaller ones in Eastern CT. I've explored touristy towns like Essex, East Haddam, Old Saybrook, & Mystic and they're quite lovely. Wasn't sure if places like Norwich were worth exploring, it's got some cool legacy architecture. Middletown also piques my interest.

Anyway, my husband is being recruited for a position offered in Groton. This is being met with some resistance on my end as we manage a multi family property here in Vermont and I have some other ties to the area. But we are weighing options out and I'm open minded to change as it's still New England so it wouldn't be a culture shock for me. Southeastern Connecticut is my favorite part of the state since it's not a big commuter area saturated with traffic and it is very scenic. I love the food down there, certainly moreso than in Vermont and sometimes I wish I was closer to the coast. We got time to mull this over but I need to explore the area more to see if it suits us and our pups.

I'm familiar with some of the towns, but I haven't spent a lot of time in the cities other than Hartford, New London, and Waterbury so I was curious on how people state feel about their cities and just getting a feel for what there is to do in the state.

Yes, a useless listicle. Ansonia, Danbury, and Meriden can throughly be skipped.

I’d recommend exploring Guilford and north of it, from Durham to Chester. It has a quiet rural vibe, even moreso than other southeast towns you’ve been to, yet full of charm, New England-ness, and close to New Haven and Middletown. It’s one of my favorite areas of the state. Coming from Vermont, I think you may like it.

Closer to Groton, I’d check out Old Lyme, Lyme, Salem, East Haddam area. Also, North Stonington. Beautiful and quiet.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

I do appreciate scenic towns like the ones mentioned and thank you for the recommendations. But I'm also getting the feeling for actual cities, unless it's New Haven or affluent Fairfield County cities, most of the rest are pretty much skippers? Sans a museum visit or famous hole in the wall restaurant?

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Champ le monstre du lac

I do appreciate scenic towns like the ones mentioned and thank you for the recommendations. But I'm also getting the feeling for actual cities, unless it's New Haven or affluent Fairfield County cities, most of the rest are pretty much skippers? Sans a museum visit or famous hole in the wall restaurant?

Depends on your definitions of a city honestly. IMO Norwalk, Fairfield, Milford, West Hartford, Middletown, Branford in particular have a lot to like for smaller cities/larger towns. All have walkable centers, multiple great food stops or breweries, great parks or beaches, etc. Then you have some hidden gem walkable centers in otherwise small towns, like Chester, Guilford, Stonington Borough.