11 Nauti(cal)Things To Do In Norwalk CT: Oysters, Anyone?

WHY GO: Back in the 1800’s, Norwalk CT was known as Oyster Town. In fact, the 1800’s oyster industry put this coastal Connecticut town on the map. Since then, Norwalk has gone through its ups and downs. But now, thanks to the Bloom Family and their growing-in-popularity Copps Island Oysters, local oystering is making a comeback.

And, with a proliferation of good restaurants and things to do, Norwalk Connecticut is on a definite upswing.

Boaters and kayakers wax lyrical about the islands, fishing and wildlife. Families come here for the award winning Stepping Stones Museum and Maritime Aquarium; history buffs for gilded age mansions and historical museums; and artists for the Center for Contemporary Printmaking.

No matter your reason for visiting Norwalk, though, you’re bound to find something to surprise you in this quirky Connecticut maritime town.

Combine this getaway with one just 15 minutes up the Connecticut Coast in Fairfield CT for more art and a marvelous boutique hotel.

For more weekend ideas in Connecticut, check out this Romantic Getaways in CT post.

Things to Do in Norwalk CT

VISIT: Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

If you haven’t been to the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in awhile, you’ll be astounded by the change. Gone is the 19,000 gallon indoor-outdoor Seal Exhibit and in its place an entirely indoor 160,000 gallon 2-story habitat for those swimming cuties.

One of the largest attractions in the state, this once Long Island Sound focused aquarium, in a former 1860’s iron works factory renovated as a state-of-the-art educational center, draws over half a million visitors a year. Lately, it has pivoted to programs on worldwide Climate Change, and how our planet’s oceans influence weather and the environment.

Live sharks in a 110,000 gallon tank, loggerhead turtles, seals, rays and jellyfish join a cast of other aquatic animals. Some you can pet. Others are best left behind glass.

In place of the IMAX Theater, the 4-D theater makes watching movies about sharks and other sealife frighteningly interactive. (Just FYI – you WILL get wet. And poked).

The “Newman’s Own” funded interactive video wall is New England’s largest at 9’X32′. Kids, (and, ok, adults) can “paint” a choice of fish or sea creature (out of 50) and then watch it swim around. I’ve never seen so many rainbow colored dolphins and flounder. Ever.

Upstairs, biome exhibits from swamp to desert feature monkeys, parrots, tortoises, and a very very slow sloth. But Meerkats are the star attraction, with their always vigilant, always on the go personas. Time your visit to feeding time, when staff dole out crickets to the family tribe. Interestingly, one meerkat at a time is always “on duty” – scanning the sky for predator hawks. That’s the reason you’ll usually see one or two looking up.

Don’t skip the Ray touch tank and the grossly popular “Jiggle A Jelly.” It’s a you-can-feel-it exhibit filled with, yep, benign Moon Jellyfish. (Other non-touch tanks teem with the poisonous Atlantic Sea Nettles).

With a state of the art movie theater, traveling exhibits, and Marine Study cruises on the Research Vessel – R/V Sound Explorer to Long Island Sound, you can spend the good part of a day learning about the region’s maritime environment.

FYI: The Norwalk Maritime Aquarium is one of our 10 Perfect Places to Pop the Question in Connecticut!

VISIT: SoNo Switch Tower Museum 

Train historians worked long and hard to preserve “Signal Station 44” – now the SoNo Switch Tower Museum. They removed three garbage cans full of pigeon poop from this 1896 Switch Tower to clean it after years of decay. Climb narrow iron stairs to the burnished third floor for a chance to pull the disengaged Armstrong levers (so named because you needed a strong arm to budge them!) that once moved track switches manually on the main line. It’s a fascinating peak at tough railroad jobs before computers took over the heavy lifting. Check website for dates and hours open, admission fees.

VISIT: Matthews Park

Trio of Attractions – Lockwood Mathews Mansion, The Center for Contemporary Printmaking and Stepping Stones Museum 

Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum

This home was built by financier and railroad baron LeGrand Lockwood between 1864 and 1868. Considered one of the earliest and most significant Second Empire Style country houses in the United States, an engaging tour takes you back in time to the Gilded Age and all of its fivrolities. Check website for times and cost of guided tours, and programming and event info.

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking

The CCP features both emerging and established artists. Catch a rising star and purchase a woodcut, etching, silkscreen or lithograph for a couple hundred bucks and up. (Take that, Art Basel!). Or, sign up for a 6-hour printmaking workshop and create one yourself.

The Center is the only one of its kind between New York and Boston. In addition to five gallery shows per year and a slew of classes, it offers services for established artists and a cottage for a selected Artist in Residence. The place is so impressive, it’s made it onto Bloomberg Connects – a free mobile app that serves as a digital guide to over 1,000 museums, galleries, and cultural institutions worldwide, providing exclusive multimedia content like audio and video from artists and curators. Check website for days and hours open, free.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children

Stepping Stones was built with a keen eye to what excites and stimulates a child’s mind. Geared toward children 1-10, this small but active learn-through-play center engages even the youngest crawlers. No detail is overlooked. Whimsical water wheels are attached to rain gutters outside big picture windows.  Even when it rains, there’s something to learn. Check website for hours/dates open, admisson costs.

TOUR: Sheffield Island Lighthouse Tours

Over 200 years ago, ewes were kept on Sheffield Island to keep them from the boy sheep on Ram Island just across the way. Since then, Sheffield Island has been a compound for cholera patients, a ritzy estate and most importantly, home to the Sheffield Island Lighthouse.

You can visit this decommissioned 10-room granite lighthouse, built in 1868, as well as the rest of the 54 acre island, administered by Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, during a three hour tour run by the Norwalk Seaport Association.

A 45-ft. catamaran transports 49 people several times a day in season for a half hour narrated tour of Norwalk Harbor. (You’ll also pass barrier islands and the famous Norwalk oyster beds).

Families pushing strollers and picnickers join history buffs for a glimpse into what life was like on this island before electricity.  The lighthouse keeper had to carry two five-gallon pails of oil (40 lbs. each) up to the top floor every four hours to keep the light lit. Check website for tour times and ticket prices.

VISIT: Norwalk Historical Society Museum

If you’re looking for a quick immersion into local culture – look no further than a town’s Historical Museum. Good ones will introduce you to the quirks and stories of the people who made the area what it is today. The multi-faceted Norwalk Historical Society Museum, that shares a parking lot with, but is separate from Norwalk Town Hall, is definitely one such museum.

Set inside a Colonial Revival style home, built in the early 1970’s to replicate homes from Norwalk’s early period, rooms are curated to show off the artifacts, art, photos, and remnants that make history come alive. So, you’ll see a spinning wheel from “before the industrial revolution:” a hat box from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s when Norwalk was home to several hat factories including one that produced the first Derby hat in the USA; a whole room devoted to WPA Murals – one which depicts oyster shuckers at work during the heyday of Norwalk’s oyster industry; and so much more.

Most interesting (to me), is the WWII Norden Bombsight display. When Norden Systems vacated its headquarters in Norwalk CT, it donated their pre-computer-age device that allowed US planes to bomb military targets in German-occupied Europe with greater accuracy. Check website for hours/dates open, admission fee.

Mill Hill Historic Park

Part of Norwalk Historical Society, you’ll find Mill Hill Historical Park about a mile away from the Museum. Amble around and, on occasion into, three restored pre-1835 buildings and a Burying Ground overlooking the head of Norwalk Harbor. Many of the cemetery headstones date back to the mid 1700’s.

GO: Stew Leonard’s

If Walt Disney had gone into the grocery business, Stew Leonard’s is what he’d have come up with. Goats bray from the roofs of tiny sheds in the parking lot petting zoo. Parents and kids line up for creamy soft-serve custard ice-cream before grabbing a cart. And animatronic cows and milk-cartons entertain tots as Mom and/or Dad choose fresh produce, meats and fish from overflowing shelves. Locals have been bringing out of town friends here for years.

GO: Factory Underground

If you’ve ever wondered where all the collapsed barns, felled trees, and demolished 1800’s houses in Southern Connecticut have gone, just take a peak into the 7,000 sq. ft. Factory Underground – a recording and video production studio, and private concert and event space, founded by Edisun front man, Ethan Isaac, in Norwalk CT.

Edisun is best known for its tours of duty through conflict zones – giving U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world a taste of hard-rock from home.

But Isaac and his partner, the Hip-Hop/EDM artist, Kenny Cash, are also keen on reclaimed and distressed wood. Plus, some weird-ass design elements, like an American Flag emblazoned WWII bomb, sourced “from a farm in Jewett NY”, that hangs over a table in the bar/event room, and other……things. “We always get a look when we tell people needing the bathroom to take a left at the chainsaw,” says Marketing Director, Marc Alan

Factory Underground winds through chambers both large and small; offering an industrial kitchen, soundstage rehearsal space, and several recording rooms. If you’re lucky, you’ll be invited for, say, a book-launch party, Taylor Swift Dance Party, or another special event.

SHOP: Eco Evolution

If ever you need “low-waste,” sustainable, up-cycled, environmentally-friendly gifts, housewares, toiletries, cleansers, food, clothing, pet products, candles, books, and more, look no further than this intriguing Eco Evolution collective. You are bound to find something for yourself and others. And, if you’re like me, you’ll spend more time poking around than you thought you would.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in Norwalk CT

EAT: Donovan’s South Norwalk (SoNo)

If you’re in the mood for a burger, beer, or steaming bowl of clam chowder, there’s no better place in South Norwalk than the 135+ year old Donovan’s – a true institution. On the corner of Washington and Water Streets, Donovan’s is everything you can ask for in a pub: clubby interior, casual menu, good brews, and friendly service.

EAT: Paella, Main St.

Paella has been serving its namesake Spanish specialty dish for over 25 years, and still going strong. But it also excells in tapas, wines – anything at the bar, really – and friendly service. The food is so excellent, you’ll want to return with friends. No longer a “hot new restaurant” by virtue of being around so long, turning others onto Paella can feel like your own secret discovery.

EAT: Public Wine Bar

Walk through the front door of Public Wine Bar to be greeted by a floor to ceiling wine rack. This “Wine Bar,” however, is not just about the vino. Specialty cocktails, small-plates, and mains that won’t break the bank have kept patrons happy for years.

EAT: Knot Norm’s

Chef/owner of Knot Norm’s, Jay LeBlanc has got himself a winner in his little extension of an already thriving catering biz. Not only does his mega-chunk warm lobster rolls win awards, but he’s equally adept with fried chicken, Korean BBQ Brisket, and, incredibly, on-the-spot whipped up vegan dishes. In East Norwalk (across the Norwalk River from the Norwalk Maritime Museum), this tiny place may be hard to find at first. But believe me. It’s worth it.

EAT: Valencia Luncheria

Why is it that some out of the way restaurants cause such a commotion?  Because they are so excellent, patrons will travel off the path to get to them.  This is the case with this colorful Arepas, Empanada and Burritos emporium Valencia Luncheria.  You can dine on the cheap or try a Platos of the day. And yep, there’s a bar scene. Cocktails with Mexican Coke or Jalapeno infused vodka are fiery awesome.

EAT: Siena – at The Watershed Hotel

Like its sister (original) property in Stamford CT, Siena – located in the Watershed Hotel Norwalk – is the place to go for excellent Italian cuisine.

EAT: MaaMa By Cheese and Bread

If you love cheese, you’ll adore MaaMa (by Cheese and Bread) in Norwalk’s SoNo district. The Georgian Food restaurant (we’re not talking Atlanta, folks) dishes out its signature cheesy bread plates – along with other Caucasus region favorites.

Best Places to Stay in Norwalk CT

STAY: EVEN Hotel Norwalk

This hotel brand is devoted to your health and wellness. Rooms feature mini-gyms. And top celebs in food and fitness partnered to make each stay a “wellness” experience.  Surprisingly, this trend in lodging launched in little Norwalk, and you can experience it firsthand as part of your Norwalk escape.  

Learn more in our EVEN Hotel Norwalk review.

STAY: The Watershed

Formerly Hotel Zero Degrees, the rebranded and head to toe renovated Watershed Hotel is located right on the Norwalk River. Floor to ceiling windows throughout the lobby and main floor of this boutique hotel reveal a woodsy, forrested setting – perfect for a Zen quiet night away from the City.

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