Fall Arts & Culture
Fall is the perfect excuse to get out, explore, and experience something new. Life is richer when we make time to see beautiful things, learn something we didn’t know before, and introduce our kids to places beyond the usual routine. Fortunately, there are so many extraordinary places in and around the B&NC area!
From historic estates and presidential homes to world-class museums, sculpture parks, gardens, and architectural landmarks, all of these destinations are less than two hours away!
This fall, pick a place you haven’t been, bring the kids or a friend, and make a day of it. You’ll see something beautiful, learn something interesting, and probably catch some pretty spectacular foliage along the way.
Gardens & Landscapes
WAVE HILL
Bronx, New York • ~50 minutes
Perched high above the Hudson River, Wave Hill combines exceptional public gardens with rotating art exhibitions, woodland paths, and spectacular views across the Palisades. It’s difficult to believe you’re still within New York City. Generally Open: Tuesday–Sunday.
UNTERMYER GARDENS
Yonkers, New York • ~45 minutes
A restored Persian-inspired garden featuring dramatic terraces, reflecting pools, fountains, and one of the country’s finest Walled Gardens. It feels worlds away from suburban New York and photographs beautifully in every season. Generally Open: Daily, year-round.
MANITOGA
Garrison, New York • ~50 minutes
Industrial designer Russel Wright created Manitoga as a seamless blend of architecture and landscape. The house, quarry, waterfalls, and woodland trails demonstrate how modern design can exist in complete harmony with nature. Generally Open: Guided tours, May through November.
[PHOTOS: WAVE HILL: COURTESY OF WAVE HILL | UNTERMYER GARDENS: JOHN JACONO | MANITOGA: JOSEPH KRAMM]
Literary Landmarks
THE MOUNT
Edith Wharton’s Home, Lenox, Massachusetts • ~2 hours
Designed by Edith Wharton, one of America’s most important writers and the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, The Mount reflects the same extraordinary eye she brought to literature, architecture, gardens, and design. Wharton lived and wrote here for a decade, completing The House of Mirth and drawing inspiration from the Berkshires for Ethan Frome. Today, visitors can tour her elegant home, formal gardens, and beautiful grounds, which become especially spectacular in autumn. Generally Open: Daily, spring through late fall, with limited winter hours.
MARK TWAIN HOUSE & MUSEUM
Hartford, Connecticut • ~1 hr 40 min drive
Few literary homes feel as alive as Mark Twain’s extraordinary Victorian mansion, where he wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and many of his greatest works. Richly decorated interiors and fascinating stories about Twain’s wit, family, and friendships make this one of New England’s finest museum experiences. Generally Open: Daily year-round.
OLANA
Frederic Edwin Church’s Home, Hudson, New York • ~1.5 hour drive
Few properties are as breathtaking as Olana, the 250-acre estate of Frederic Edwin Church, a leading Hudson River School painter and one of the most celebrated American artists of the 19th century. Church turned the property itself into a work of art, with a Persian-inspired villa overlooking the Hudson and Catskills, original furnishings and collections inside, and miles of carriage roads winding through spectacular grounds. Generally Open: Grounds open daily year-round; house tours offered Wednesday–Sunday, spring through fall. The Fall is very popular so book in advance to ensure you can get in.
ARROWHEAD
Herman Melville’s Home, Pittsfield, Massachusetts • ~2 hours
This quiet farmhouse is where Herman Melville wrote Moby-Dick. More contemplative than grand, Arrowhead rewards visitors interested in literature, American history, and the Berkshire landscape that inspired one of the country’s greatest novels. Generally Open: Late spring through fall, Thursday–Monday.
[PHOTOS: THE MOUNT: COURTESY | MARK TWAIN HOUSE: COURTESY | OLANA: PETER AARON | ARROWHEAD: TRICIA MCCORMACK]
Museums & Contemporary Art
DIA BEACON
Beacon, New York • ~45 minutes
Housed inside a beautifully restored Nabisco factory, Dia Beacon is widely considered one of the finest museums of contemporary art in the world. Monumental installations by Richard Serra, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Agnes Martin are displayed in soaring galleries flooded with natural light.Generally Open: Friday–Monday, year-round.
STORM KING ART CENTER
New Windsor, New York • ~1 hr
Imagine an outdoor museum spanning hundreds of rolling acres where monumental sculptures emerge from fields, forests, and hillsides. Storm King is breathtaking in every season, but the combination of contemporary art and brilliant fall foliage makes October particularly unforgettable. Generally Open: Seasonally May through November.
YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY + YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART
*Connecticut Art Trail Member, New Haven, Connecticut • ~1 hr 15 min
Yale offers two exceptional art museums steps from one another. The Yale University Art Gallery spans more than 5,000 years of art, from ancient Egypt to works by Van Gogh, Hopper, and Rothko. The recently renovated Yale Center for British Art houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom… and admission is free! Generally Open: Tuesday–Sunday, year-round.
ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM
*Connecticut Art Trail Member, Ridgefield, Connecticut
A favorite right here in Ridgefield, The Aldrich specializes in cutting-edge contemporary exhibitions that change throughout the year. Compact enough to explore in an afternoon yet consistently thought-provoking, it’s an ideal cultural outing followed by lunch or dinner in downtown Ridgefield. Generally Open: Wednesday–Monday
[PHOTOS: DIA BEACON: B&NC | STORM KING: MARK DI SUVERO | YALE: COURTESY | ALDRICH: B&NC]
Historic Estates
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Home
Hyde Park, New York • ~1 hr drive
The lifelong home of Franklin D. Roosevelt offers a remarkably intimate glimpse into one of America’s most consequential presidents. Beyond the house itself, visitors can tour the nation’s first presidential library, stroll formal gardens, visit the Rose Garden where Roosevelt and Eleanor are buried, and enjoy sweeping Hudson River views. Generally Open: Daily year-round.
VANDERBILT MANSION
Hyde Park, New York • ~1 hr drive
One of the grandest surviving Gilded Age estates in America, this Beaux-Arts mansion was designed to impress. Lavishly decorated interiors, expansive formal gardens, and panoramic Hudson River vistas make it an unforgettable autumn destination—and it’s only minutes from the Roosevelt estate, making the two an ideal day trip. Generally Open: Daily year-round. Guided mansion tours typically 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; grounds open daily with seasonal hours.
STAATSBURGH STATE HISTORIC SITE (MILLS MANSION)
Staatsburg, New York • ~1 hr 20 min drive
Often overshadowed by its better-known neighbors, Staatsburgh may actually be the Hudson Valley’s best-kept secret. Built as a country estate for millionaire Ogden Mills, the home remains almost perfectly preserved, allowing visitors to experience the elegance and excess of America’s Gilded Age exactly as its owners intended. Generally Open: Wednesday–Sunday, late spring through fall.
LYNDHURST MANSION
Tarrytown, New York • ~45 minutes
Perhaps the finest Gothic Revival estate in the country, Lyndhurst looks as though it belongs in the English countryside. Towering trees, dramatic architecture, expansive lawns, and spectacular Hudson River views make it especially magical during peak foliage season. Generally Open: Daily April–December; mansion tours offered most days 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (schedule varies seasonally).
Did you know that the Connecticut Art Trail connects 30 museums, cultural centers and historic sites across the state?! With many of them right here in our readership! Their passport is just $35 and offers admission to all of these great spots.
[PHOTOS: FDR: COURTESY | VANDERBILT: BILL URBIN | STAATSBURGH: PIETER ESTERSOHN | LYNDHURST: CLIFFORD PICKETT]
Some of the member organizations right here in our readership are:
SILVERMINE ARTS CENTER, NEW CANAAN One of the country’s oldest artist communities, Silvermine combines five galleries, an outdoor Sculpture Walk, a nationally recognized guild of artists and a thriving School of Art… all tucked onto a beautiful four-acre New Canaan campus.
THE GLASS HOUSE, NEW CANAAN Philip Johnson’s iconic modernist residence is just the beginning. The 49-acre property is an extraordinary collection of architecture, art and landscape, with structures and works revealing themselves as visitors move through the grounds.
GRACE FARMS, NEW CANAAN Part architecture, part landscape and part cultural institution, Grace Farms’ SANAA-designed River building provides the setting for rotating art installations, performances, conversations and programs that blur the boundaries between art, nature and community.
ONERA FOUNDATION, NEW CANAAN A beautifully restored 1836 landmark on Park Street, transformed into a cultural destination devoted to art, and the preservation of America’s architectural heritage, with beautiful modernist gardens!
+ THE ALDRICH too!
AND JUST A LITTLE FARTHER…
GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY + BUSH-HOLLEY HOUSE | COS COB
STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER | STAMFORD
THE BRUCE MUSEUM | GREENWICH
CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKING | NORWALK
MOCA CT | WESTPORT
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM | FAIRFIELD
HOUSATONIC MUSEUM OF ART | BRIDGEPORT
There are over 30 museums on the CT Art Trail Passport!
Photograph: Jimmy ienner, Jr.