Thanks to actress Julia Roberts, this maritime community may be best known as the home of Mystic Pizza, the modest pizzeria that turned into an instant tourist attraction when it became the setting for the 1988 movie named after it. But Mystic's true fame is rooted in its rich nautical history. Situated at the mouth of the Mystic River near the state's easternmost shoreline, this seafaring village was once a thriving fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding center. Today, Mystic has preserved its maritime past while also drawing visitors with contemporary attractions. Boutique stores, art galleries, ice cream parlors, and a slew of restaurants line its cute downtown. Nearby are the nation's leading maritime museum, a top-flight aquarium, and a replica Colonial New England town where you can shop to your heart's content. With or without a slice of pizza, Mystic highlights some of the best Connecticut has to offer.
A slice of heaven
Famous pizza, boutique stores, and art galleries dot quaint downtown
Do
Start your Mystic visit with a stop by the Mystic Depot Welcome Center (2 Roosevelt Ave., 860-572-1102) inside the local train station, which has a helpful selection of maps, guides, and brochures. It's open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Then roam around Mystic's small downtown, which is split by the Mystic River and connected by a short drawbridge called the Mystic River Bascule Bridge. With its many art galleries, antiques stores, booksellers, clothing boutiques, jewelers, and souvenir shops, you could spend hours engaging in what the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce calls "shoppertainment."
The Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration (55 Coogan Blvd., 860-572-5955, mysticaquarium.org), an important educational and research facility, has beluga whales, northern fur seals, penguins, sharks, rays, and sea lions that will captivate both kids and adults.
Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea (75 Greenmanville Ave., 860-572-5315, mysticseaport.org) is a living history museum with historic sailing vessels, a working preservation shipyard, and 17 acres of exhibits depicting 19th-century coastal life in New England.
Play
Classes for children and teenagers in drawing, sculpture, and painting are offered at the Mystic Arts Center (9 Water St., 860-536-7601, mysticarts.org), which also has specialized courses such as Chinese watercolors, nature art, cartoon creatures, and drawing animals. It hosts birthday and scouting programs, too.For outdoor activities, take the family to the 300-acre Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (109 Pequotsepos Road, 860-536-1216, dpnc.org), which has eight miles of trails, a natural history museum, a nature center store, and educational programs on wildflowers, horseshoe crabs, fireflies, and more.