Which of Connecticut’s ‘Top Attractions’ are Worth the Visit?

If you search 'Best things to do in Connecticut', there are 10 names that will come up on every list: Mystic Aquarium, Seaport, and Pizza, Mark Twain House, Dinosaur State Park, Gillette Castle, Yale University, Thimble Islands, and Foxwoods/Mohegan. If you just came across this while you searched, here's the attractions that are worth the visit, in my opinion.

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When someone asks you if you've ever had Mystic Pizza, do you groan? Everyone in the world has seen that movie, and they associate Connecticut with Mystic Pizza. Honestly, it's adequate. The real Mystic Pizza is not the charming little shop on the quiet shoreline, with horny fishermen ogling the waitresses from the dock. It's impossible to find parking anywhere near the joint some days. Mystic Seaport is charming, but your children will be bored within minutes, teens in seconds. Mystic Aquarium should be your Mystic destination, it's not Orlando, Florida/Disney/Universal-level, but they've done a wonderful job at updating the place to convey the incredible conservation efforts that go on behind the scenes of the jellyfish tank.

Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill should be a pass, even more so when Yale University's Peabody Museum reopens sometime in the next few months. We lasted 20 minutes at Dinosaur State Park, and then downtown Rocky Hill looked more exciting. Yale University? I wouldn't send an out-of-stater to go stroll the campus. Go to the Yale University Museum of Art, or the Peabody when it reopens. Don't plan a campus stroll. Same with the Thimble Islands, you may be able to see a few from the shore, but good luck finding a tour guide. Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun Casino? Absolutely worth the trip.

If you are a museum lover, Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art should be your first stop. I was stunned to find masterpieces from Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Dali, Warhol, Klimt, Chagall, and Pollock in such a beautiful setting.