Connecticut is the picturesque southern gateway to New England - a mixture of town, country and quaint coastal villages. Beyond the towns and major cities inhabited by New York commuters are calm colonial villages set in a rural landscape, quietly hiding much of the nation's early history and an abundance of antique stores.

The third-smallest state in the USA, Connecticut has a rich literary history. Hartford was the home of Mark Twain and tourists can visit The Mark Twain House, at Nook Farm, where he wrote his greatest work in 1884, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The coastal metropolis of New Haven has an extraordinary list of firsts, including being the home of the first hamburger sandwich and the first lollipop. It is also home to Yale University.