The City of Hartford, Connecticut is one of the oldest cities in the United States, with a long and rich history. The city is criminally overlooked as a tourist destination, as it offers a diverse set of fun and exciting places to visit and things to do. Hartford is blessed with an abundance of beautiful parks, historical sites, and museums that ensures every visit is filled with both variety and joy. However, I would like to identify 3 of the best things to do in Hartford, Connecticut.
THE MARK TWAIN HOUSE & MUSEUM
If you are into literature and want to experience a tour of the house and museum of an American literary giant, then you should definitely consider visiting the Mark Twain House & Museum. Located at 351 Farmington Avenue, the house is where the author Samuel Clemens lived in from 1874 to 1891, he is famously known as Mark Twain. It is the birthplace of many of his literary masterpieces like the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the incredibly famous Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The building itself is a National Historic Landmark and was built in an elegant Victorian Gothic style that would immediately capture any visitor’s attention. Tourists would be able to learn about the life of Mark Twain through the various permanent and rotating exhibits on display.
As you progress through the tour, you’ll discover engaging stories and information about Twain’s personal life and the environment he lived in.
WADSWORTH ATHENEUM
One of the best things about Hartford is that it has the oldest free entry public museum in the country. Founded in 1842, the Wadsworth Atheneum would dazzle visitors with its majestic Gothic style façade. It is also home to over 50,000 of the finest art pieces. Art enthusiasts can expect a broad selection of art, from American art collections of the Hudson River school to Italian Baroque paintings by famous artists like Caravaggio.
A major focus of the museum is in decorative arts, with over 7,000 pieces in the European Decorative Arts Collection, containing ancient bronze, ceramic, and glass objects and artworks. There are also paintings by European and American Impressionists. The Wadsworth Atheneum also offers support to current artists by including contemporary pieces to the collection. The museum covers more than 5,000 years of history, with collections featuring objects from Greek and Roman antiquities to modern art. This wide diversity in the collections displayed by the museum would satisfy any visitor’s curiosity and sense of wonder.
CONNECTICUT SCIENCE CENTER
If you are travelling with your family, then the Connecticut Science Center could be the best place to go. Located at 250 Columbus Boulevard, the science center offers a fun learning experience for everyone with audio, tactile, and visual exhibits. It is a nine-story science theater and museum, and there are a total of 168 displays in this building for you to interact with. Every section would explore a different aspect of the world, with interactive and kid-friendly “Do It Yourself” activities. For example, in the exhibit Forces in Motion, kids could create and assess flying objects and at the Invention Dimension, they could create with Legos or race robots. While in the Exploring Space gallery visitors could venture to a Blackhole or see a moon rock on display. In the River of Life, people are taught the significance of the Connecticut River.