TheAmericanTravelProject
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Mystic, Connecticut is a great place to spend a fun family weekend or even just a day. There are lots of things to do, both with and without children in tow. We spent our time there with the kids, so this post is focused on family travel. Mystic is about 130 miles from New York City and 105 miles from Boston, on the coast of Connecticut. Mystic is also a great stop to make on a New England road trip (which is what we did in the Summer of 2014, read more here).
Anyone who was a teenager in the late 1980s (such as yours truly) will probably remember the movie Mystic Pizza. What I remember most about the movie was Julia Roberts and wishing I lived in a cute town like Mystic. I had visited Mystic Seaport as a kid when I was living in New England, and had great memories of my time there. We had it on our ‘list’ to take the kids to Mystic for a visit, and it was everything that I remembered.
Things to do in Mystic with Kids
Mystic Seaport – A recreated seaside village with many opportunities for hands-on learning, this is a great place to visit for both kids and adults who are interested in history. Built on the Mystic River, there are boat rides and other water related activities. My kids particularly liked searching for sealife on the small beach. They also built wooden boats to take home as souvenirs, played 19th century games, watched a planetarium show, and climbed on every available structure (the huge anchors were a big hit). There are all kinds of recreated structures like houses, shops, and boats to learn from. We spent several hours exploring Mystic Seaport, and we didn’t get to do everything that we wanted to do. We highly recommend this attraction for families.
We were able to get discounted tickets on Groupon, so you may want to check to see if they are available at the time of your visit.
Website: Mystic Seaport
Olde Mistick Village – There are places similar to Olde Mistick Village all over the country, and we have visited several. We even have a local shopping ‘village’ that we enjoy visiting each season, even as non-tourists. They each seem to have the requisite shops: overpriced toys, new age, Irish stuff, pet outfits & accessories, and candy. So Olde Mistick Village wasn’t anything new or exciting for us, but it is a good place to visit if you are looking for a quaint shopping center with some interesting shops. We enjoyed walking around and browsing through the shops. And there are lots of restaurants to choose from as well.
Restaurants in Olde Mistick Village
Website: Olde Mistick Village
Mystic Aquarium - We did not visit the aquarium on this trip because we had plenty to fill our time, but it is well regarded and something fun to do with kids if you are interested. It is close to Olde Mistick Village.
Website: Mystic Aquarium
Downtown Mystic – We spent the evening walking around the town of Mystic, browsing in the shops, and eating dinner. We also had ice cream at Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, where we sat outside and watched the drawbridge open. The town of Mystic is located on the water, so there are some lovely views and water activities like boat rides and kayaking. We did not eat dinner at Mystic Pizza, but we did go to a great pizza place with comfortable outdoor seating, reasonable prices, and live musical entertainment (called Pizzetta).
Website: Mystic Downtown
Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center – Yeah, I can’t pronounce it either. But it looks like a great place to visit with the kids. We didn’t get a chance to go on our short visit to Mystic, but I would put it on the list for a future visit. It looks like there are some family-friendly hikes and wildlife viewing. They have a wildlife sanctuary with owls and other animals and birds. There are also many different nature programs on offer.
Website: DPNC
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Mystic using the Hyatt Gold Passport cash + points option. You can read more about our hotel experience here.
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