Graced by ample history, charming towns and a beautiful coastline, Connecticut should rank high as the setting for your next road trip. Stop into these famous coastal towns to learn more about Constitution State while enjoying the scenery and pizza (trust us).

1. Mystic

Starting Point

For many travelers, Mystic put itself on the map with its famous Mystic Pizza restaurant. Grab a slice at the cozy eatery that inspired the 1988 feature film before heading over to historic Mystic Seaport to see its centuries-old ships. Don’t leave Mystic until you head to the Mystic Aquarium and say hello to its beluga whales and learn about the aquarium’s conservation efforts.

2. Old Lyme

Drive 23 miles,  27 minutes

A popular summer destination and artists’ colony, the area is highlighted by the Florence Griswold Museum, the main center of development of American Impressionism. If you want to trip back in time, hop on the nearby Essex Steam Train, a heritage railroad on the Valley Railroad, which was founded in 1868. Hikers can head up the Connecticut River and go for a hike or hunting in the Cockaponset State Forest, or do some fishing on the area’s Pattaconk Lake.

3. New Haven

Drive 34 miles,  37 minutes

If you didn’t get your pizza fix in Mystic, be sure to try New Haven-style pizza, a kind of Neapolitan pizza also known as “apizza.” Locals swear by Sally’s, Pepe’s and Modern. If you’ve had your pizza fill, then head on over to Louis Lunch, the birthplace of the hamburger and family-run since 1895. When you’re good and full, stroll the Yale campus and catch a show from the famed Yale Repertory, the notable alma mater of Meryl Streep and Henry Winkler.