Activities

 • Hartford Civic Center One of the largest arenas in Connecticut. This is the former home of the Hartford Whalers National League Hockey team and the current home of the UCONN NCAA Basketball team, the Huskies. Various bands and recording artists perform here, mostly popular and more established acts.
 • New England Dodge Music Centre Located on Savit Way, just outside downtown Hartford. This is a large amphitheatre. It opens in the summer to early fall.
 • Webster Theatre Small-scale club shows.
 • Rentschler Field A stadium in East Hartford which homes UCONN football games. The stadium has also been used as a concert hall. Since its opening in 2003, Bob Seger and the Rolling Stones have both played here.
 • Connecticut Convention Center At 540,000 square feet, the largest convention center in southern New England overlooks the Connecticut River and the central business district. Attached to the center is a new 409 room 22 story Marriott Hotel.
 • Bushnell theatre In downtown Hartford, home to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. The theatre principally showcases classical music and traveling Broadway shows. Popular comics also tour here.
 • Wadsworth Athenium-local art museum featuring many famous works, including an exhibit of Salvador Dali
 • Hartford Stage Tony winning theatre that constantly puts on shows/ takes in shows from on-the-road Broadway plays.
 • Theatre Works Slightly less popular theatre in the same area.
 • Crown Theatre at Art Cinema art films are played here- brainard rd
 • Art Cinema Franklin art theatre playing art/porn films.

Attractions

 • Connecticut State Capital Building Located off the highway, featuring it's distinctive Gold-colored dome.
 • Old State House The original CT capitol building is found in the midst of downtown Hartford.
 • Mark Twain House Located in the historic west end of Hartford, this is where popular author Mark Twain lived for much of his life and wrote several of his books (e.g. Tom Sawyer).
 • Harriet Breacher Stowe House Historic house of Harriet Breacher Stowe, author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' The house is next-door to the aforementioned Mark Twain House.
 • Elizabeth Park Beautiful and large park in Hartford's west end equipped with gardens, gazebos, restaurants, trails, etc. The rose garden is not to be missed.
 • The Wadsworth Atheneum is one of America's finest art museums.
 • Colt Factory America's favorite gun shop, shaped like an Arabian palace. It can be viewed just south of the skyline from East Hartford. It is in Hartford's south end.

Shopping

 • Buckland Hills Mall-in Manchester, CT is a large consumer area principally holding Chain stores. It boasts several strip malls, department stores, an outdoor outlet mall and a newly renovated and expanded large mall of the same name.
 • West Hartford Center- A vibrant entertainment, restaurant, and shopping center just west of Hartford's city limits. The area boasts a large array of independent stores and restaurants. An outdoor mall is scheduled to open in a few years.
 • West farms Mall-A large mall just west of Hartford on the borders of West Hartford, New Britain and Farmington.
 • Bishop's Corner Large area with several chain stores and chain restaurants. It is in western West Hartford.
 • Silver Lane Bargain street in East Hartford with discount shops ranging from a gigantic Petco to a Salvation army shop. This is also where Rentschler Field is located.
 • Downtown Manchester A shopping district with independent shops. It is similar to West Hartford center, but is less expensive, more earthy, and has a more blue collar appeal. Notably, there are 2 head shops, a tattoo parlor, and a bike shop.
 • Berlin Turnpike A mix of chain stores/restaurants, independent cheap restaurants/stores, and motels. The motels in the area were well known for previous involvement with the Hartford prostitution scene. The Berlin turnpike is in Wethersfield, Newington, and Berlin. Because Newington is a few miles away from Hartford, the wealth of motels still seems mysterious.

Dining

 • Food- With it's large Italian population, good pizza and other Italian cuisine can be found here. It has the standard bars and nice restaurants as many cities. The Park St. area homes many Latin restaurants as well as a Latin grocery store. Most expensive restaurants can be found in neighboring West Hartford Center. Downtown Hartford also houses many upscale restaurants.
 • El Salvador-traditional Salvadorian food in the center of East Hartford's multicultural Burnside Avenue.
 • Grant's-A trendy but surprisingly inexpensive restaurant in West Hartford Center.
 • Black Eyed Sally's- A medium sized restaurant serving traditional southeastern food. The restaurant also plays live music from local blues' artists.
 • Triple-A Diner Cheap 24-hour diner on East Hartford's main street.
 • Mang Wah Kitchen 6 Best Chinese food in the area, on the eastern section of Burnside Avenue.
 • Wooster St. Pizza Best pizza east of the river, just west of Buckland hills on Tolland Turnpike.
 • Roma's A local Italian treasure serving excellent pizza and pasta.
 • Shady Glen's Voted one of the best Hamburger places in Connecticut- check out the cheeseburgers. The main restaurant is in Manchester.

Drink

 • Bar with No Name A medium sized bar attracting young people.
 • Mayor Mike's- An upscale bar in Downtown run by former Hartford Mayor- Mayor Mike.

Education

 • Trinity College Hartford's small ivy- consistently ranked as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country (and most expensive).
 • University of Hartford typical private school with an exceptional music program that is renowned.
 • St Joseph's College Women's school in West Hartford
 • Rensselaer Graduate School of Engineering
 • UCONN' Although its main campus is 30 miles away in Storrs, Uconn's law school is in the west end. A regional school is also located in nearby West Hartford.
 • Capital Community College
 • Manchester Community College Largest Community college in Connecticut.

Stay safe

Hartford is consistently ranked as one of the 25 most dangerous cities in the United States. However, it is easy to stay safe with common sense. The north end of Hartford is the most dangerous area of the city. However, it does not house any major attraction. If one must come here, he should come in a group and should avoid the Albany Ave/ Barbour street areas. Keney park is especially dangerous, especially at night. The south end of Hartford is the second most dangerous area of the city. Unlike the North end, the south end contains many attractions, including: ethnic restaurants and the popular Webster Theatre. One should come in groups and never loiter/stray from the beaten path. Most of Hartford's major attractions are found in the east and west ends. The east end houses the financial district and most major clubs. Though it can be vibrant throughout weekday working hours and Friday/ Saturday nights, the area can look like a ghost town on weekday/Sunday nights. Although significant construction of luxury apartments is occurring, the area is currently best avoided on non-clubbing nights. The west end is generally safe. So, if one wants to eat out on a weekday- he should probably come here, where locals will be much more receptive than in the adjacent neighborhoods. The surrounding towns have minimal violent crime. Parts of Manchester and East Hartford look worn down, but they are simply working class neighborhoods- violence is not an issue to the sensible.

It's important to remember that the violence is generally contained to the north end of town. The high crime rate in that area contrasts the rest of the city, where the streets are far safer and traveled.

Ship's captain and daughter, Hartford

Get in

 • Bradley International Airport is located in nearby Windsor Locks. It also serves Hartford's twin city Springfield, Ma.
 • Union Station is served by Greyhound and other major bus companies and offers trips to New York City and Boston every hour (even after midnight). Amtrak also serves this station. A plan to link New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield by rail will further unify the region and give Hartford access to Metro North.

Get around

Because of its small size, Hartford does not have the tourist-friendly mass-transportation of nearby New York and Boston. Thus, car is the best way to navigate Hartford and its surrounding towns. If one does not have access to a car, there is public bus service throughout the Greater Hartford Area. Most bus-stops receive service every 45 minutes-1 hour. Most destinations are accessible by bus, but one must be careful to get off at correct stops, as much of Hartford is visibly dangerous.

The general fare is 1.35 with one free transfer. All day passes are also available for 2.75. If you miss your stop, stay on the bus and it will eventually return to Downtown Hartford. An additional 1.35 may be asked if you do not have a free transfer/all day pass, but it will still save you much time and danger.

Get Out

Hartford is a small city and one can access small farm towns in minutes. There are no national parks/forests in the area, but the general wilderness is easy to access.
 • Wickham Park-A private owned park in neighboring East Hartford/Manchester boasts a picturesque landscape with excellent views of the Hartford skyline. It holds many biking/hiking trails, picnic areas, tennis courts, and an aviary.

There are also several other cities in the area:
 • New York City, NY.
 • Boston, MA.
 • Springfield, MA.
 • New Haven, CT.
 • Middletown, CT.
 • Providence, RI

Northwest are the towering:
 • Berkshire Hills. MA

Lodging

 • The Marriott Hotel is attached to the CT Convention center and overlooks the CT river and Central Business district.
 • The Goodwin Hotel Smaller upscale hotel in the midst of Downtown Hartford.
 • West Hartford Inn Small place in vibrant West Hartford.
 • Berlin Turnpike A copious amount of motels just south of Hartford in Wethersfield and Newington.