Mystic Coast

The water remains a place of work as much as relaxation up here, more like it was when early ports like Mystic connected New England to the trade routes of the world. Stonington is still a significant working port, as well as a lovely town with a historic lighthouse and pretty shops. The Mystic Seaport museum recounts the region's history with the sea with magisterial scope, from colonist settlers to immigration. The museum complex includes a living history coastal village and several historical ships to be toured. Ledyard's Pequot tribal museum evokes a sense of those who were here before, in state of the art exhibits funded by their ...

The water remains a place of work as much as relaxation up here, more like it was when early ports like Mystic connected New England to the trade routes of the world. Stonington is still a significant working port, as well as a lovely town with a historic lighthouse and pretty shops. The Mystic Seaport museum recounts the region's history with the sea with magisterial scope, from colonist settlers to immigration. The museum complex includes a living history coastal village and several historical ships to be toured. Ledyard's Pequot tribal museum evokes a sense of those who were here before, in state of the art exhibits funded by their casino. Nearby Groton is home to the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum, featuring the U.S.S. Nautilus. Farther down the coast, Old Lyme's gracious sea captains' homes now house charming B&Bs and studios of artists drawn to the area's rippling coastal grasses and shifting sands. Beaches and parklands dot the coastline offering boardwalks or craggy rocks.

About the Expert

Juliette Rogers is coauthor of the guidebooks Eating New England: A Food Lovers Guide to Eating Locally, Secret Providence and Newport, and two Thomas Cook guides on France.