{"id":12738,"date":"2024-01-10T09:23:22","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T13:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=12738"},"modified":"2025-09-02T02:56:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T06:56:34","slug":"things-to-do-in-mystic-ct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/12738\/things-to-do-in-mystic-ct\/","title":{"rendered":"Things To Do in Mystic, CT: Experience the Magic of New England\u2019s Coastal Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A free association with \u201cNew England\u201d conjures up summery images of tall sailboats, wooden docks, and lobster rolls. <strong>Mystic, CT<\/strong> has all the rigging of a quaint seaside village, minus the transportation hassle of a trip to Cape Cod.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What to See<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Mystic\u2019s nautical history is apparent in the town\u2019s two main attractions, the seaport and aquarium. <strong>Mystic Seaport<\/strong> (75 Greenmanville Ave.; 888.973.2767; <a title=\"Mystic Seaport website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mysticseaport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mysticseaport.org<\/a>) is a living maritime museum situated along the banks of the Mystic River that boasts an extensive collection of historic ships and a recreated 19th century coastal village, in addition to its formal exhibit galleries.<\/p>\n<p>Arguably the greatest aquarium on the East Coast, <strong>Mystic Aquarium<\/strong> (55 Coogan Boulevard; 860.572.5955; <a title=\"Mystic Aquarium\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mysticaquarium.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mysticaquarium.org<\/a>) counts among its residents Beluga whales, six different species of jelly, and many adorable African penguins. Mystic Aquarium is located by <strong>Olde Mistick Village<\/strong> (860.536.4941; <a title=\"Old Mistick Village in CT\" href=\"http:\/\/www.oldemistickvillage.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">oldemistickvillage.com<\/a>), a unique shopping center disguised as an early American village. Though the Village is not an attraction high on our list of places to visit in Mystic, if you do go, stop by <strong>Munson\u2019s Chocolate<\/strong> (27 Coogan Boulevard; 860.536.4351; munsonschocolates.com) for some fudge.<\/p>\n<p>Watch this video to get a glimpse:<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"zIuO3BsRZ_M\"><iframe class=\"lazyload\" title=\"Best Things to Do in Mystic, Connecticut\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zIuO3BsRZ_M?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Where to Chow-da Down<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For good eats, we recommend steering clear of the restaurants built into the town\u2019s attractions. The gems of New England eating are the roadside restaurants that entice passerbys with a wafting aroma of fried seafood. These shacks serve up some of the best New England cuisine you\u2019ll find around, including chowder, lobster rolls, and fried clam strips. Our favorite spot is the&nbsp;<strong>Sea Swirl<\/strong> (30 Williams Avenue; 860.536.3452; <a title=\"Sea Swirl of Mystic\" href=\"http:\/\/www.seaswirlofmystic.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">seaswirlofmystic.com<\/a>). Don&#8217;t forget to save room for 100+ year old ice cream store <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mysticdrawbridgeicecream.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The best\u2014and conveniently eco-friendly\u2014way to get around Mystic is to rent a bike through the local bike share. <strong>Mystic Community Bikes<\/strong> (mysticcommunitybikes.org) offers used but tuned bikes that can be picked up (and dropped off later) at various distribution centers, all you need is a $10 deposit. (Remember to grab a helmet with your rental!) Quaint as Mystic may be, bike-friendly it is not, especially if you plan on riding over to nearby Stonington.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Nautical and Nice: Mystic&#8217;s Summer Arts &amp; Music Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Fourth of July in Mystic Seaport is choc-full of family-friendly activities. Highlights include a children\u2019s parade through the Museum\u2019s village, and an 1876 Independence Day ceremony and concert. The festivities begin at 9:00am.<\/p>\n<h3><em>Cocktails with the Whales<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Head to the&nbsp;Mystic Aquarium\u2019s Arctic Coast exhibit, to the sip a tipple and enjoy live music and hors d\u2019oeuvres at the home to the Aquarium\u2019s three beluga whales.<\/p>\n<h3><em>Moby-Dick Marathon<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Every summer, a 24-hour marathon reading of all 135 chapters of Herman Melville\u2019s Great American novel begins on July 31 and continues overnight, concluding by noon on August 1, the author\u2019s birthday. Spend the night aboard the \u201cCharles W. Morgan,\u201d the last wooden whaleship in the world. Museum admission includes the daytime portion of the marathon; overnight stays cost extra.<\/p>\n<h3><em>Mystic Outdoor Art Festival<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>One of the country\u2019s finest and oldest art shows, this fest highlights over 250 artists in Mystic\u2019s historic downtown area.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to get there: <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Mystic is easily accessible by bus and train from New York City. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>By train,<\/strong> take <a title=\"Amtrak\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/servlet\/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak\/HomePage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amtrak<\/a> out of New York Penn Station. The ride is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, and a round-trip ticket can cost up to $150. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>By bus,<\/strong>&nbsp;the Peter Pan Bus Lines offers service to Mystic through its Bonanza Bus Line from New York Port Authority. Tickets are $60\/round trip, and the ride is approximately 3 hours. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Photos:&nbsp;<\/em><em><a class=\"owner-name truncate\" title=\"Go to Rusty Clark ~ 100K Photos&#039;s photostream\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/rusty_clark\/\" data-track=\"attributionNameClick\" data-rapid_p=\"30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rusty Clark<\/a>, <a title=\"Mragan photos\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mragan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mragan,<\/a>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A free association with \u201cNew England\u201d conjures up summery images of tall sailboats, wooden docks, and lobster rolls. Mystic, CT has all the rigging of a quaint seaside village, minus the transportation hassle of a trip to Cape Cod. What to See Mystic&#8217;s nautical history is apparent in the town&#8217;s two main attractions, the seaport [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":58291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1508,830,224,785,817,786,324,829,838,777,769,841,1057,781,778,774,844,780,748,316,782],"tags":[116,68,381,120,142,110,183,282,360],"class_list":{"0":"post-12738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-amtrak-getaways","8":"category-aquarium-culture-2","9":"category-arts","10":"category-beaches-adventure-activity-2","11":"category-biking-adventure-activity-2","12":"category-boating-adventure-activity-2","13":"category-connecticut-destination","14":"category-culture-2","15":"category-fall-foliage-culture-2","16":"category-fine-dining","17":"category-historic-sites-culture","18":"category-holidays-culture-2","19":"category-museums-culture-2","20":"category-outdoor-dining","21":"category-picnic-food-drink","22":"category-restaurants-food-drink","23":"category-science-culture-2","24":"category-seafood-food-drink","25":"category-train-2","26":"category-weekend-getaways","27":"category-wine-food-drink","28":"tag-amtrak","29":"tag-aquarium","30":"tag-biking","31":"tag-family-fun","32":"tag-festival","33":"tag-historical-sites","34":"tag-parade","35":"tag-romantic","36":"tag-seafood"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":58291,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Mystic-CT-by-Rusty-Clark-e1503958573817-350x197.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}