Hartford Tourist Attractions

Bradley International Airport is located just outside of Hartford in northern Connecticut, USA. We have listed some things to do in the Hartford area, but also in other places in Connecticut since it is a small state.

Links are provided to the official websites or to getyourguide.com.

Foxwood, CT: 33-Story Building Zipline Flight Pass

This unique experience begins 350 feet/106 meter above ground, on the rooftop of the 33-story glass Fox Tower at Foxwoods Resort Casino. It continues with the participants soaring off into the cool, crisp air on a zipline over the treetops at speeds up to nearly 60 mph/96 kph for almost a mile/1.6 km to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center.

The Foxwoods Resort Casino is a 2,200 room hotel with over 30 restaurants, a Tanger outlet mall, an outdoor pool and with lots of different ways to enjoy time, including comedy, gaming and music.

For those wishing to visit the Pequot Museum after their flight a $10 discount is available for purchase at the front desk.

There are weight restrictions for the zipline, 65-300 lbs./29-136 kg, and each participant will be weighed before they get their ticket, but there are no age limits to the experience. All participants are required to be in good mental as well as physical health and cannot be intoxicated, and everyone has to complete a liability waiver before the flight.

It is important to know that not every rider will make it all the way to the finish and lighter riders may sometimes finish short. The guides are trained to come get anyone that might get stuck part way to get them in safely, and it is all a part of the fun. The guides will gladly give you tips and hints on how to shape your body during the flight to help with finishing and finishing fast or slow.

Mark Twain House & Museum – Samuel Langhorne Clemens, more commonly known as Mark Twain, the American author who wrote the works of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and his wife Olivia, Livy, had their house built in Hartford, Connecticut, built and according to Sam he spent the happiest years of his life living here. Mark Twain was called “the father of American literature” by William Faulkner and he was also lauded as the “greatest humorist the United States has produced”, and his home is well worth a visit. The house is open 7 days of the week.

New England Air Museum – The New England Air Museum, (NEAM) is located in Windsor Locks at Bradley International Airport since 1981. It houses one of the world’s most outstanding collections of historic aviation artifacts with more than 80 aircrafts in the collection. The collection also includes aircraft parts, engines, instruments, uniforms and even personal memorabilia that help present the story of aviation, the human genius that made it possible and the effects aviation has had on how life is lived throughout its history.

Yale University – Yale University is one of the world’s most famous and sought after educational institutions and it has been dedicated to expanding and sharing knowledge, inspiring innovations as well as preserving cultural and scientific information for future generations since its founding in 1701. It is located in New Haven, Connecticut and a visit here will fill visitors up with 300 years of history.

Elizabeth Park Conservancy – The Elizabeth Park Conservancy is the home to several gorgeous and vibrating gardens such as e perennial garden, an annual garden, a tulip garden and an eddy rock garden with the rose garden being the center piece. It is located in West Hartford, CT, on over 100 acres of property open to visitors, admission free, and the grounds include several sports facilities such as tennis courts, tracks, fields, baseball fields and basketball courts to name a few. The Conservancy is open 365 days a year.

It Adventure Ropes Course – It Adventure Ropes Course is a facility boasting 4 levels of action-packed ropes courses and zip rails for both kids and adults at. There are crisscross angled rope ladders, zig-zag swinging beams, cargo nets, bridges, zip rails up in the heights, and for smaller children there are adventures at more comfortable heights designed specifically for children to build coordination and confidence while the adult chaperones are close by to assist if needed. It is located inside Jordan’s Furniture in New Haven, CT.

Connecticut Science Center – The Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, CT, is home to more than 165 exhibitions with focuses on astronomy, forensics, geology and physics and it is a great place to engage someone in the field of science. The Center’s mission is to inspire lifelong learning through interactive and innovative experiences through science, and to create an engaging and sustainable science center as a service to families and schools seeking to develop the minds of future thinkers and inventors. The Center is open every day of the week.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center – Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the famous book Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center preserves and interprets her house and the collection found there in a conversational and interactive way where visitors not only get to hear all about her personal life and what compelled her to write her most famous novel, but where they also get to connect the past with the present through discussions around subjects such as slavery and the role of women and equality. The Center is located in Hartford, CT.

New England Carousel Museum – New England Carousel Museum is located in Bristol, CT, and it is the home of a beautiful collection of antique, wooden, carousel animals from all over the US, alongside other carousel memorabilia and historical artifacts. The museum runs educational programs for children, organizes birthday parties and different events. There are daily tours without the need for reservations.