Hartford is a modest, midrange town with a quaint blend of history and metropolitan aspirations. Sightseeing and learning are probably your best bets, but there are a few modern quirks to make cultural amenities interesting.

Historic buildings to the north and the Wadsworth Atheneum in the opposite direction provide distinctive examples of early American architecture. The latter is the oldest operating art museums in the nation, and is credited with bringing the first examples of European masters such as Dali and Caravaggio to the states. Homes of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain are about a mile west of town, and worth a stop.