Location: New London
Top Things to do in New London
What to do and see in New London, Connecticut (CT): The Best Things to do Good for a Rainy Day
The city of New London, Connecticut, has been an important port since the Revolutionary War, when it served as a base for American privateers raiding British Ships. In the 19th century, the revenues brought into the city by whalers helped build what now forms the city's charming center, filled with historic homes, taverns and shops. The masts of tall ships can still be seen passing through the harbor, the home of Coast Guard ships and the site of the annual Sailfest summer celebration.
Restaurants in New London
1. Garde Arts Center
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 53 reviews
Reviewed By cleejchase1976 - West Hartford, United States
Despite a snow storm, the theater was packed! We went to see The Simon & Garfunkel Story. The show was wonderful, the seats were comfortable, there really isn't a bad seat in the house! The show bulletin was informative and the upcoming offerings includes shows and movies. There is lots of parking available on the side streets, in the library close to the Arts Center. This was our first visit to this venue and I wouldn't hesitate to return! For a wonderful evening out, go to the Garde! You are able to enjoy a beverage in the lobby as well as in the theater.
2. United States Coast Guard Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By Storyteller604854
My husband and I wanted to visit the Coast Guard Academy and were thrilled with the excellence of their museum. The museum shows the rich history of the Coast Guard from its inception to the present. The artifacts were interesting and we learned a great deal that we did not know about the US Coast Guard. The displays are very well done!
3. The Custom House Maritime Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 14 reviews
The Custom House Maritime Museum - your local, independent, community museum - open year-round - telling the stories of New London's waterfront! Exhibitions on lighthouses, the Amistad, US Customs, and the stories of the New London Waterfrint.
4. Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 45 reviews
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum welcomes visitors from New London, southeastern Connecticut and from all over the world. Established by a gift from Harriet Allyn in memory of her seafaring father, the museum opened the doors of its beautiful neo-classical building in 1932. Today it houses a fascinating collection of over 17,000 objects from ancient times to the present: artworks from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, with particularly strong collections of American paintings, decorative arts, and Victorian toys and doll houses. Outside, a sculpture trail highlighting large scale works is surrounded by 12 acres of gardens and lawns. Throughout each year, the Lyman Allyn offers special programming including exhibition openings, lectures, educational opportunities, and musical events for families and the general public. Guided tours, self-guided exploration, and tours customized for a group's needs or goals are all available.
Reviewed By kzsull01 - Windsor, United States
My husband and I visited the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut on Friday, March 5th, 2021. We are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit at this time because the museum had 3 concurrent Special Exhibits, including ones that could be described as excellent, unconventional, fascinating, amazing, impressive, intriguing, interesting, unique, innovative, educational, thought-provoking and much, much more. Our experience with these exhibits is described below in the section entitled ‘Special Exhibits’. We definitely recommend a visit to the museum to see both the Special Exhibits and the Permanent Exhibits, especially the Gamelatron exhibit; the ‘Almost True Tales’ paintings and the Tiffany and ‘American Perspective’ Permanent Collections. This write-up is quite long because there really is a lot to see. General Information Based on Our Experiences at the Museums: The museum is a hidden gem housed in a unique neoclassical granite building in a very nice location near Connecticut College and the US Coast Guard Academy. We are quite thankful that it has continued to maintain its normal hours of operation, even after re-opening for the COVID-19 pandemic, being open Tuesday through Saturday: 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. and Sunday: 1 – 5 p.m. Also, you don’t have to have the added stress of required timed tickets and are allowed more flexibility in the times that you visit the museum without them. This is definitely a more relaxing and less complicated experience than with needing timed tickets. This is not common with many museums that have reduced hours and timed tickets at this point in time. The museum was very clean and we felt safe being able to effectively practice social distancing based on arriving at the museum at around 10:30 AM. The staff member at the Admission Desk was also very friendly and polite. The museum has two main floors with both permanent and special exhibits, including a very exquisite permanent collection featuring the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany and in their ‘American Perspectives’ galleries. It also has an interesting collection of children's’ toys in the basement reflecting “Playthings of the Past”, definitely worth seeing. All the artwork throughout the museum is nicely curated with well written overviews providing great comprehensive background information and context. You get a good education when you visit this museum on various topics. There are even very nice booklets and write-ups available throughout the museum providing detailed information on what is on display in the various galleries to take home and read later. Our visit took a little less than an hour and a half. There was plenty of free parking in front of the museum as well as a place with picnic tables near the parking area when the weather is warmer. There are also some very interesting and unique sculptures on the museum grounds and a map available inside to tour the Sculpture Trail, the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden and 12 acres of lawn and parkland. Special Exhibits: ‘Encountering Resonance: Aaron Taylor Kuffner’s Gamelatron’: This is a very impressive, fascinating, amazing, unconventional, comprehensive, educational, and innovative exhibit with cultural and spiritual significance. The exhibit brings together elements of many subject areas into one exhibit, including art, music, science, technology, history, culture, religion, politics and much, much more. This is a very well done exhibit and nicely reflects the many years of in depth research done by Aaron Taylor Kuffner.. Very interesting concepts and definitions are nicely presented and illustrated in this exhibit, including the definitions and origins of Gamelatron, Gamelon, Gotong royong, and Roh Ageng. The write-ups provide great contextual background information. The accompanying music/sound is truly amazing and could be enjoyed by both adults and children alike. A Gamelatron is a ‘sound producing kinetic sculpture that has pieces connected to a physical computing systems that transcribes digital compositions into an array of electrical pulsations resulting in a ghostly musical automation’, which is quite intriguing. A Gamelon is a traditional orchestral ensemble with a resonate sound with its gongs being the most important part of the ensemble and is considered the “Voice of the Gods” in the places of its origins. Specifically, the gong making technology, techniques and process in Java is nicely illustrated in the exhibit. Gotong royong is the guiding principle of the Indonesian Culture on ‘working together’ through shared experience with Gamelon being the first of the highest forms of Gotong royong, relying on each player in an ensemble to form an integral part of a greater whole, being a great concept. We really enjoyed the exhibit, how it all fits together, including the accompanying music. It was quite inspirational! ‘Brian Keith Stephens: Almost True Tales’: This exhibit definitely illustrates beautiful paintings with vibrant and figurative images of iconic animals as mythical symbols over time and culture drawing from iconography, fables, legends, and folk tales. These are quite unique and impressive paintings that tell stories by just looking at each of them as you walk through the galleries which they are located in, and could be enjoyed by both children and adults alike. Walking through this exhibit is an enjoyable experience which is definitely very thought-provoking. The booklet available to take with the pictures of these paintings is quite beautiful and a nice keepsake/memory. We recommend the exhibit, which was well done, and taking a booklet of the impressive paintings, which is definitely an added bonus. ‘Xandra McCagg: Recent Work: Icon’: The exhibit explores the meaning, perception and complexity of the human experience looking to the art and culture of the past to make sense of the present engaging iconic cultural symbols such as the crucifix, the totem and historic relics. The artist comments on the dichotomies that shape our lives on a personal and global level using line, color, and other forms of art and explores the cause and effect of shifting relationships in nature and in humanity. This is an interesting, unique and thought-provoking exhibit which I was able to better understand by reading the overview/white-up about the exhibit before entering the gallery. Unfortautely, this exhibit is not our type of art because it is too abstract for us. The ‘Louis Comfort Tiffany in New London’ Permanent Exhibit - Very Exquisite. : This exhibit, located in the Gilded Age Permanent Collection Gallery on the second floor, is very impressive and includes some quite elegant objects on display, all beautifully curated. This includes stained glass windows, lamps, Favrile Glass vessels, silver, jewelry, paintings and archival photographs. It nicely portrays the artist’s dynamic career and his influences, including with respect to his family and to Connecticut and New London. This exhibit has always been nice to see each time that we have visited the museum. This time there were different lamps on display and parts of the gallery have been rearranged from our last visit. Tiffany’s interesting innovations are with a wide range of materials, including glass, silver, and paint on canvas. His innovations in glass are the results of experiments with different techniques starting with creating tiles for interior designs and eventually patenting a formula for opalescent window glass. His Ecclesiastical works and Favrile Glass vessels are beautifully on display as well as objects and furniture showing his eclectic style and influence in the Aesthetic Era Design Movement. The part he played in the Art Nouveau International Artistic Movement is reflected in the style of his unique designs, which uses curves and symmetry, is nicely illustrated. The role and accomplishments of Clara Driscoll and the “Tiffany Girls” is also nicely portrayed. This exhibit is definitely worth seeing many times and it is great that it is part of the museum’s permanent collections and changes on an on-going basis!! The ‘American Perspectives’ Permanent Collection - Very Well Done: . Featured on the first floor is the permanent collection entitled ‘American Perspectives’ which is comprised of American Art divided into sections by the time periods of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and is quite comprehensive and always nice to see. The art focuses on the unique character of the Southeastern Connecticut Region and its place in the wider world. There are very informative overviews describing each time period as well as the specific types of art on display, addressing the social, economic, political, historical and cultural aspects and influences tied to the artwork. The overviews provide great background information and are quite educational, providing a good lesson in history and an interesting story. All objects on display are very nicely curated. A lot of interesting material is covered in this exhibit, which is interesting to see again and again.. The 18th Century section of the permanent collection illustrates how trade with the West Indies enabled economic growth and acquisition of a large amount of household goods by the people in the area. Beautiful textiles, silver, glass, ceramics, furniture and paintings from the period are all on display. New London’s role during the American Revolution, nation building after the revolution with patriotic imagery, and the city’s whaling and maritime history are all nicely depicted. Pieces by artists and craftsman with focus on colonial identity, status and wealth, including regional craft and industry, are on display. ‘Women and Education’ during the time period is also nicely illustrated. The 19th Century section of the collection illustrates paintings and objects created by artists to unite Americans around the common ideals of liberty, justice and hope for the future. What is on display includes Hudson River School Landscapes and paintings based on travel abroad via Grand Tours through Europe, including Thomas Cole’s painting of Mount Etna. The rise of the age of industrialization, mass production, the westward expansion and waves of immigration, in addition to the impact of the Civil War on New London, are all well depicted. The 20th Century section illustrates innovative approaches to traditional genres, such as landscape, still life, and portraiture. The impacts of rapid expansion and industrialization, waves of immigration and a wave of exuberance after World War I are reflected in the types of art on display. The art shows Abstraction and European Modernism, including Cubism, Futurism and Fauvism. A realistic regional style was also used during the time period resulting in a mix of subjects and styles. Country art from the Old Lyme Art Colony is reflected in Connecticut Impressionist paintings. Objects illustrating Art Deco, the modern city, and the international Arts and Crafts movement, which was a response to the negative aspects of industrialization, are all on display as well as postmodern and contemporary art. There is definitely quite a real lot to see!!
