Things to Do in Hartford in 2024

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Discover the most popular places to visit in Hartford

Mark Twain House & Museum

4.5/5(143 reviews)

Walk in Mark Twain’s footsteps at the author’s beloved Hartford home. The museum next door will complete your Twain education.

Bushnell Park

4.5/5(70 reviews)

Relax near the pond or take a ride on the antique carousel at one of America’s oldest publicly funded parks, located in the heart of Hartford.

Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts

4.5/5(29 reviews)

While seeing a play or concert in Hartford’s historic venue, look up to admire one of the largest ceiling murals in the United States.

Connecticut Science Center

4.5/5(60 reviews)

Leave your textbooks at home and learn about science by playing, exploring and inventing your way through this interactive science center in Hartford.

Connecticut State Capital

4.5/5(2 reviews)

After visiting Connecticut State Capital, make a plan to see the other sights and activities in Hartford. Experience the area's great live music or attend a sporting event.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

You can browse the exhibits at Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, a museum with a story of its own, during your travels to Hartford. Experience the area's great live music and entertainment choices.

Riverside Park

4.5/5(4 reviews)

Explore Hartford’s portion of the Connecticut River at this park. Walk along the Riverside and Sculpture trails, go boating or enjoy a picnic outside.

XL Center

4/5(316 reviews)

Catch an event at XL Center during your trip to Hartford. Experience the area's entertainment choices and great live music.

Connecticut Convention Center

4.5/5(135 reviews)

Learn about the events happening at Connecticut Convention Center during your trip to Hartford. Experience the area's great live music and entertainment choices.

Discover the most popular landmarks and neighborhoods in Hartford

Connecticut Science Center featuring a garden

Downtown Hartford

4/5(448 area reviews)

Unique features of Downtown Hartford include the theaters and live music. Make a stop by Dunkin' Donuts Park or Hartford Downtown Farmers Market while you're exploring the area.

Barry Square

If you're spending some time in Barry Square, Webster Theater and Cinestudio are top sights worth seeing.

North Meadows

2.5/5(76 area reviews)

Unique features of North Meadows include the live music and theaters. Make a stop by Xfinity Theatre or Riverside Park while you're exploring the area.

Underneath that blue dome lies the east armory of a factory once owned by a man who changed American history, the innovator of the revolver, Samuel Colt. Sprawling around the crumbling red brickwork of the old Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, once the largest private armory in the world, are the remnants of Coltsville, the utopian village he built for his workers.

A model of 19th century industrial paternalism, Coltsville included a church, a social hall for dances and lectures, workers’ housing, a giant landscaped park home to deer and peacocks, sculpted botanical gardens, and thousands of feet of greenhouses filled with tropical fruit and flowers. Samuel Colt felt such responsibility for the welfare of his workers outside the factory that he went so far as to build Potsdam Village, to replicate the feel of the German village from which he imported his skilled craftsmen to work in his willow ware factory.

The National Park Service began having on-site presence in 2015, with workshops and tours, including up into the Blue Onion Dome which affords magnificent views of downtown Hartford, the Connecticut River and Colt Park, formerly the back yard of Armsmear, Samuel & Elizabeth Colt’s mansion. By 2016, an NPS ranger had taken up residence in the South Armory and was giving walking tours of Coltsville.

The old South, East and North armories are under renovation and the two 1855 brownstone buildings, the oldest structures on site, will become the National Park Service Visitor Center. The armories themselves have been or are being renovated into apartments, offices and education facilities.

Sheldon-Charter Oak

While visiting Sheldon-Charter Oak, you might make a stop by sights like Connecticut River and Colt Park.

South Green

3/5(2 area reviews)

Though South Green might not have many top sights, you can venture to the surrounding area to see attractions like Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and Hartford City Hall.

Asylum Hill

You'll enjoy the museums and churches in Asylum Hill. You might want to make time for a stop at Harriet Beecher Stowe Center or Mark Twain House & Museum.

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Things to do in Hartford

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