Though it doesn't get the attention that some of its neighbors in New England do, Connecticut shares many of the attractions that make the region a travel favorite: colonial history, Atlantic beaches, seaside villages with rich nautical histories, pastoral countryside.

The reason it's often overlooked may be that it doesn't offer these sights in the same quantity and quality as other Northeast states. Its beaches aren't as impressive as those in Rhode Island or on Cape Cod, its seafaring towns are not as quaint as Maine's and its wooded hills are not as extensive as those in New Hampshire and Vermont. But sometimes less is more—or at least more manageable. That Connecticut presents a microcosm of New England within a small and easily covered area makes it a good choice for those who want to get a feel for the region but don't have a lot of time to do so. And because it sits right outside New York City, Connecticut can be a pleasant escape from the big city, just as it once was for the likes of Mark Twain and Truman Capote.

Geography

History

Before the arrival of European settlers in the 1500s and 1600s, Connecticut was home to a number of Algonquin peoples, including the Quinnipiac, Pequot, Paugussett, Narragansett and Tunxis. Dutchman Adriaen Block was the first European to see the area (in 1614), and though the Dutch established a trading post, it was the British who fully colonized the area. The first colonies, Windsor and Wetherfield, were developed along the Connecticut River by settlers from Plymouth Bay. More colonies came after, and the region saw a heated debate over the respective roles of church and state. Windsor, Wetherfield and Hartford banded together under what they called the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, a quasi-democratic assertion of citizens' self-determination that is considered the antecedent of the U.S. Constitution (this gave rise to Connecticut's nickname, the Constitution State). Meanwhile, the Puritan colony at New Haven adopted its own Fundamental Agreement, proclaiming the Scriptures to be the supreme law in civil affairs. Despite their differences, the two colonies were joined by royal charter in 1662, and together they formed one of the more fiercely independent of the original 13 British colonies, defying the crown as early as 1687 and contributing huge numbers of troops to the Revolutionary War effort.

After independence, Connecticut quickly got down to business. Textile and paper mills, shipyards and metal foundries, the state's industrial mainstays, attracted immigrants from across Europe. Once the trauma of the Civil War passed, industrialization increased, slowed only by the hard times of the Great Depression.

In 1944, 15-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. worked on tobacco farms in Simsbury. In a letter to his mother, he expressed amazement at how, in the desegregated society, he could eat in the best restaurants in Hartford. King later described his experience in the North as formative: "I could ride wherever I pleased on the train from New York to Washington and then had to change to a Jim Crow car at the nation's capital in order to continue the trip to Atlanta. ...Separate was always unequal, partly because the very idea of separation did something to my sense of dignity and self-respect."

Connecticut's proximity to New York makes it an important business center, but the regional economic climate has brought many changes to the state, not all of them painless. The capital city of Hartford, traditionally known as the "insurance capital of the world," has lost its status as center of the insurance industry to such cities as Columbus, Ohio, and San Francisco. Hartford has also struggled for decades against urban blight. (A poll for the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis found that 63% of Connecticut residents would turn down a better job if it required that they move to Hartford.) It also lost its only professional sports team, the Hartford Whalers, in 1997. The state has had to face a number of political scandals: Governor John Rowland resigned in 2004 after it came out that state contractors were performing pro-bono renovations on his beach house, among other fiscal abuses. But don't confuse Rowlands with Mayor Giordano of Waterbury, who was arrested for "using an interstate facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity." Or his predecessor, Mayor Joseph Santopietro, who was arrested for taking bribes.

Snapshot

Connecticut's main attractions are the shoreline, museums, Mystic Seaport, beaches, covered bridges, antiques, historic homes, hilly countryside, forests, theatrical performances, flea markets, spring wildflowers, fall foliage, Yale University and fresh seafood.

Travelers interested in U.S. history, New England charm, scenic beauty and driving tours will particularly enjoy Connecticut. Those looking for wilderness and a chance to get away from it all may not find what they want, but small towns and state parks offer a chance to get off the beaten track.

Potpourri

Along many highways, you can see the distinctive long red barns and cheesecloth-covered fields of Connecticut's tobacco industry, which produces shade tobacco for cigars.

Racquetball was invented in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1950. Its inventor, Joe Sobek, initially called it "paddle rackets."

The state's name comes from the Algonquin word quinnehtukqut, meaning "beside the long tidal river."

The Mashantucket Pequot tribe that operates the Foxwoods Casino had all but disappeared by the 1970s: At one point, only two people lived on its reservation. Today, the casino has made the tribe very wealthy.

Connecticut was the birthplace of the submarine, the U.S. insurance industry, the shelf clock, the cylinder lock, the hamburger, the lollipop and the pay telephone.

The Colt Revolver—"the gun that tamed the West"—was created and manufactured by Samuel Colt in Hartford. The brick Colt factory, topped by a star-studded blue dome, is now occupied by artists who have moved into converted loft studios.

From 1703 to 1875 Connecticut had two capitals: Hartford and New Haven. Legislative sessions alternated between the two cities.

The Lock Museum of America in Terryville has what's said to be the world's biggest collection of locks and keys.

Connecticut has never taken kindly to outside interference. When the British colony was ordered to hand over its charter in 1687 to Sir Edmund Andros, the governor general, the colonists played a trick on him: They agreed to a meeting for the purpose of handing over the legal document, but then they blew out the candles, stole the charter and hid it in an oak tree.