Explore sophisticated Greenwich and Coastal Fairfield County, just 35 miles from New York City, known as Connecticut's Gold Coast while you discover five world-class museums and historic sites along the Connecticut Art Trail.

 

From New York, drive directly to the Bruce Museum in Greenwich for changing exhibitions of fine art, photography, ethnology and natural science in a park setting.  Lunch al fresco at  the luxury waterfront hotel across the street, the famed L'Escale Restaurant. 

 

After lunch, browse the designer shops, boutiques and art galleries on Greenwich Avenue, dubbed the "Rodeo Drive of the East."  Then drive 2 miles to the Bush-Holley Historic Site , Greenwich Historical Society, in Cos Cob/Greenwich, Connecticut's first Impressionist art colony and Bush-Holley historic home.  Take the 45-minute tour of the home (offered at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15 or 3:15.)  Then, continue north four miles to Stamford and check-in to the recently renovated Hilton Stamford Hotel. 

 

Dine your first night at one of the many fine restaurants in downtown Stamford, such as Sabatiello's Italiane Grille on Bedford Street...choose either the lively outdoor Cafe Fresco, or one of the intimate dining rooms which offer a panoramic view of downtown Stamford.  Or, in season, take a dinner cruise from Greenwich on Fjord Dinner Cruise (board at 7 p.m., Friday nights only.)

 

On Day Two, drive to the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in South Norwalk, a multimedia studio and gallery dedicated to the art of the print housed in an historic landmark carriage house on Mathews Park.  Visit another landmark on Mathews Park, Lockwood Mansion, America's first chateau, a 62-room Victorian palace.  Browse South Norwalk's hip shops and boutiques, then stop at Chocopologie cafe and retail store for lunch and a decadent chocolate treat before heading on to Weir Farm National Historic Site and Weir Farm Art Center in Wilton (six miles) to tour the studios and park grounds that inspired three generations of artists including American Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir.  From Weir Farm, drive ten minutes to the neighboring town of Ridgefield and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, renowned as a national leader for its pre­sentation of outstanding new art and cultivation of emerging artists.  

 

Dine early at Luc's Cafe & Restaurant, an authentic French bistro in picturesque Ridgefield, a few blocks from the Aldrich before heading to the the Westport Country Playhouse  for live theater (8:00 curtain.) 

On Day Three, check-out of the Hilton Stamford Hotel.  Drive fifteen minutes north to the Silvermine Guilde Arts Center in New Canaan, a complex of five galleries with changing exhibitions (open Sundays 1-5 p.m.) before getting on the Merritt Parkway at exit 38 toward New York.

 

For regional tourism information, visit Coastal Fairfield County Visitors Bureau or call 800-866-7925.  For information on Connecticut tourism, visit ctvisit.com.