1. Visit Bushnell Park and ride the carousel
2. Visit the new Children’s Museum with interactive displays and exhibits including planetarium shows and a live wildlife sanctuary.
3. CRRA Trash Museum
4. XL Center
5. Kid City, a Children`s Museum in Middleton
6. Take a tour of Mark Twain's House where he wrote his most famous work and raised his family.
7. Attend Riverfest in July which features live music, kids activities, a water ski show, lumber jack competition followed by a fireworks show.
8. Connecticut Science Center
9. Comcast Theatre
10. Watch a performance at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts or take a free Behind the Scenes Tour of the Bushnell which highlights the Centers history and past performances.
11. Harriet Beecher Stowe House
12. Charter Oak Landing
13. Go walking along the 4.5 mile Riverfront trails
14. Connecticut State Capitol
15. Attend one of the numerous expositions such as the flower and garden expo or the international car show at the Connecticut Convention Center
16. Hartford Stage Company
17. Webster Theatre
18. Wickham Park
19. Visit Elizabeth Park, and enjoy the free summer concert series on Wednesday evenings in the summer.
20. View the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch
21. Old State House
22. Connecticut Historical Society and Museum
23. Attend the Greater Hartford Irish Music Festival
24. Talcott Mountain State Park
25. TheatreWorks
26. Connecticut State Library
27. Ancient Burying Ground
28. Hartford Children's Theatre
29. Hartford Police Museum
30. Go boating, fishing or play volleyball, cricket or on the playground at Riverside Park
31. Hartford Public Library
32. Goodwin Park
33. Hartford Armory
34. Circus Fire Memorial
35. Batterson Park Pond
36. The Hartford Conservatory
37. Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the U.S.
38. Buy some local produce at the Hartford Downtown Farmer's Market
39. Visit the Cricket Hall of Fame
40. watch a comedy show at City Steam Brewery Café
41. Go golfing at Keney Golf Course or Goodwin Park Golf Course
42. Take a cooking class: The Chinese Cultural Exchange offers Chinese cooking classes, or take a cake decorating class at The Party Shop.
43. Take a free tour of the Governor`s residence by appointment
44. Go ice skating at Veterans Memorial Skating Rink
45. Museum of Connecticut History
46. Lake Compounce
47. Go tubing down the Farmington River
48. Armsmear, the Colt family estate
49. Watch a performance by the Connecticut Opera
50. Watch Free Movies After Dark at the Riverside Park.
51. Take a dance class at Fred Astaire Dance Studio
52. Go sledding at Page Park
53. Christmas: Hartford Festival of Light at Bushnell Park, Festival of Trees & Traditions at Wadsworth Atheneum showcases more than 200 decorated trees and wreaths, Nook Farm features carolers and horse drawn carriage rides
54. Attend the free Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz during July at Bushnell Park.
55. Attend the North End Farmer`s Market Wednesday mornings
56. Watch a movie at Spotlight Theatres Front Street Stadium 4
57. Take a tour of the Butler-McCook Homestead built in 1782
58. Get a panoramic view of the city from the Traveler`s Tower make an appointment first
59. Amistad Trail
60. Isham-Terry House
61. Go bowling at Silver Lanes or Highland Bowl Hartford
62. Visit the house of Katharine Seymour Day (grandniece of Harriet Beecher Stowe)
63. Go ice skating on the outdoor ice rink during Winterfest Hartford at Bushnell Park (even skate rentals are free)
64. Cedar Hill Cemetery
65. Take a cruise on the Connecticut River aboard the Hartford Belle or Lady Katharine Cruises.
66. View the artwork at the Pump House Gallery, The Gallery at Constitution Plaza or Real Art Ways
67. Take a tour of the Supreme Court Building
68. Watch the Connecticut Whale`s play.
69. Halloween Events: Spirits at Stowe: An Otherwordly Tour, Graveyard Shift Tours at Mark Twain House Museum, Cedar Hill`s Haunted History Lantern Tour, Attend the Doomsday Fair with music, art, vendors and performances at Riverfront Boathouse or Spooktacular Science Weekend.
70. Make your own pottery at the Claypen
71. Castle Park Fun Center
72. Play paintball at D & D Paintball
73. Go on a hot air balloon ride, hang gliding or sky diving with Luxergy. Or go white water rafting, fishing or scuba diving.
74. Watch Monster Jam at the XL Center in February
75. Climb on the playground at Jonathan`s Dream
76. Go swimming at Cornerstones Aquatic Center, Mandell JCC or Pope Park Recreation
77. Westmoor Park
78. Read a book at Barnes and Nobles
79. take an art class at Michaels
80. Attend the Connecticut Home & Remodeling Show - in February/March
81. Practise your swing at Baseball City
82. Go mountain biking at the West Hartford Reservoir
83. check out the stars at the Copernican Observatory and Planetarium
84. View the architecture and stained glass windows of the Center Church
85. Shop at Conneticut Creative General Store for all things local from jams and soups to jewellery and books.
86. Pay your respects at Katharine Hepburn`s gravesite.
87. Watch the St. Patrick`s Day, Greater Hartford West Indian Parade, Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade or Hooker Day Parade.
88. View the Stone Field Sculpture - by minimalist Carl Andre, to some it may look like a field of 36 rocks other may be able to appreciate the art.
89. Pope Park
90. Hartford Symphony Orchestra
91. Have a cupcake from the Cupcake Brake - where you can choose your own icing and filling flavours from this mobile food truck.
92. Play a game of tennis at Bloomfield Racquet Club
93. go kayaking on Park River
94. view the Noah Webster house, the writer of the first American dictionary in West Hartford
95. listen to a concert at the New England Dodge Music Center
96. go shopping at the West Hartford Center
97. Get a birds eye view of Hartford with Hartford Helicopter Tours & Rides
98. Fourth of July: view the fireworks from the Connecticut River and listen to live music at the Riverfront Plaza.
99. Participate in or cheer on those in the X-treme 5K Scramble
100. Attend First Night Hartford - an annual New Years celebration with music, comedies, movies, a bonfire kids activities and more.
101. Go Shopping at the BlueBack Square.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with your readers.
ReplyDeleteI hope nobody relies on this list for actual things to do in Hartford.
ReplyDelete1. Some of these events/things are not even in Hartford (Farmington River, Blue Back Square, Colorado State Capitol [really?!], etc.)
2. Some of these events/things do not event exist: Connecticut Creative General Store, Festival of Light
I like the idea of this list, but surely one can come up with 101 actual things in the city proper.
Fixed the Colorado State Capitol mistake, but found links and web pages for the rest maybe they are wrong or outdated?
Delete