If you like touring historic mansions, this place is superb! Our docent Midge was extremely…read moreknowledgeable and an excellent storyteller. She demonstrated a passion for the history of the mansion, the time period, and the complicated inter-relations between the involved individuals which was truly inspired and fascinating. She answered all our tour group's questions with great skill and delight. We reserved our spots online for the 90-minute noon tour today, featuring the first and second floors, the main entertainment rooms, bedrooms, and servants' quarters. On-site parking for free. The mansion has been closed for two years to renovate the electrical/HVAC system and recently reopened for public tours. They'll be opening the basement floor to show the bowling alley and vault sometime next year. If you're in the area on Dec 14, they'll be open for a festive Christmas event.

My friend and I took the afternoon tour. Our guide was the grandson of the family driver. He heard…read morestories indirectly from his mother. The guide was extremely knowledgeable. He took use through the main level. The museum director took over into the servants quarters. She also was awesome. The house is well preserved and has many original and period furniture pieces. AC works well on a warm day. The church a mile away is also worth seeing.

My toddler can spend all day going through the aquarium and explore every section. It's perfectly…read morelocated by downtown so food is near by. My toddler loves all their exhibits and they do a great job maintaining it.

Our first time and it was lovely. We bought tickets right when the aquarium opened. All of the…read morestaff was friendly and knowledgeable. I recommend getting there right when it opens at 10 AM. There's a parking garage right across the street.

"But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency All…read morenon-believers and men stealers talkin' in the name of religion And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend" (Bob Dylan) You've probably seen maps of train or subway lines before. A spaghetti like graphic of different colored lines, sometimes running parallel to each other, sometimes crisscrossing each other like a spider web on LSD. So how do train lines manage all that switching and changes of direction without crashing into other trains? It's all computer driven today, but way back in the day things were done manually by throwing huge levers in a Switch Tower, and you can learn all about it and see the 100+ year old equipment in this very cool free museum. The museum is on three stories, and you have to walk up a metal staircase all the way to the top because that's where the tour starts. Our guide on the 3rd floor was John and he was fantastic. We saw the gigantic old switches, and he did a great job explaining the technology of the day and how it changed over the years. Next, we walked down to the second floor where Joe took over and he explained the switches and system in deeper detail. Finally, we walked down to the gift shop on the first floor with all sorts of railroad memorabilia, mugs, and hats are available for sale. John and Joe are volunteers, and their love of trains was quite evident. If you like learning about how mechanical things work, or you have a train buff in your family, you really can't go wrong with a visit to this niche museum.

Wonderfully restored historic building. The tower and docents were excellent....knowledgable,…read morefriendly and you could tell, very much train enthusiasts. The tour was quite interesting and satisfying. GO....you'll learn something...about how they used to 'switch' trains on the New Haven line

Love it here! I love…read morethe lattes, artwork and the food. This space is so cool. They have limited parking and a nice outdoor space too. Inside, they have a coffee bar with amazing breakfast and lunch items. They have fresh pastries and coffee drinks. There is artwork throughout their space. I highly recommend this spot if you're looking for a good brunch or coffee spot.

We encountered this cool place while waiting for our tour of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion to start…read more It's a great space with dual purpose of art gallery and cafe. Currently, the gallery space showcases "Being Seen" featuring 45 local artists' work, conceptualizing self-perception in multimedia artistic expression. We ordered mochas which were mild, very chocolatey but not overly sweet. If we lived here, we would definitely visit here regularly. They offer art classes on site as well.

Incredible. We spent the entire day here. Pro tip, bring a change of clothes, there is a really fun…read morewater area

Drove 45 min to get here and it was....closed? Due to rain? A rainy day is the perfect kind of day…read morefor a museum, no? Definitely **call to check if they are open** before you make the trip! While we sat in the parking lot trying to figure out something else for the kids to do, many families came & left. Even though it was raining a lot, they were willing to come anyway. We went to another museum in Bridgeport and had a great time.

A hidden gem right in your own backyard! Who knew? Sure they ship these ultra fresh oysters…read morewholesale all over the country because that's what this area is famous for, blue points, although they have their own unique name for them. Most excellent oysters! A little cute retail shop of all things coastal for enetertaining & decorating. But this is a RETAIL shop too! Ultra friendly staff who gave us a tour of the facility. Unbelievable! Such an impressive set up. Too, they've acquired quite an impressive, collection of all things oyster related: antiques, artifacts, tools, baskets, nautical maps, and a massive oyster tin collection from this past century, which is housed in the rear "museum". Come support these guys!

I love going to get seafood at the source, so i took my first vacay to drive out here and pick up…read moreSEVENTY oysters. these oysters were only 60¢ a piece, so we couldn't help but go a little crazy! we shucked a few at the oyster farm itself and then brought the rest back to finish up since it got way to cold to keep shucking outdoors. the first box was super light in flavor, not too briney, a bit sweet, slightly creamy, and had a really springy texture. the second box (even though they were the same oysters) had a much brinier profile! soooo yum and worth the price! FYI - these were the hardest oysters we've ever shucked. but well worth the effort and drive! if you're not as crazy as me, you can order them online to have them shipped to your door!

Absolutely amazing space, and such an incredible artist. Every time I see Oksana's art, my mind is…read moreblown and I'm overtaken by emotions. 10/10 recommend.

Oksana is an extremely talented and intelligent artist. The range of her talent is truly…read moreextraordinary. Her paintings range from fashion art, replete with 3 dimensional fabric and Swarovski crystals, all the way through to conceptual art which makes a powerfully relevant social statement. On a personal level, Oksana is a delight. She is easy to work with; accommodating and considerate from the very first meeting and thereafter. I have known her for several years and have 6 of her beautiful pieces in my home, ranging from watercolors to an oil painting which I commissioned her to paint. She has been a pleasure to work and am proud to be among her collectors. If you haven't seen her art I strongly recommend you do so; you're missing something very special.

My boyfriend and I went for a mini vacation in Norwalk, CT and I booked the Sunset Harbor…read moreLighthouse Tour which we went on this past Sunday evening from 6:30-8:30, on 8/10/25. This tour was definitely a highlight of our trip! Captain John and Charlie were great and all the passengers aboard had a great time! We passed three lighthouses-Peck Ledge LH, Sheffield Island LH and Green's Ledge LH. Charlie, co-captain of Captain John, had just toured the inside of Green's Ledge LH the day before which is listed on Airbnb for $6,000! He went around the ship showing everyone the floor plan. It especially exciting to be on the Long Island Sound and to see the red and white towers from Northport, since I live on Long Island!! We were able to see several different viewpoints of the sunset and osprey nests as well. Definitely recommend to residents of Norwalk AND tourists alike!

Like a lot of other dork type middle age dudes I'm a sucker for a good lighthouse. Actually I've…read morebeen to a few clinkers which says that I'm apparently I'm also a sucker for a bad lighthouse as well but there's no need to worry about that at Sheffield because it's all good here. So if you want to come you've got two legal options. 1. Show up via kayak (or I suppose boat then taking a short swim) during hours when they are running tours and you will be met on the shore by a volunteer who will ask you to pay a few dollars for the privilege of taking the lighthouse tour/hanging out on the island. 2. Or, you come via the regularly scheduled boat that runs from the dock on North Water Street in Norwalk from late May until the end of September. There are various public & private decks for parking all around the area so it shouldn't be too hard to find a close space. I don't remember what the price is for option #1 but for option #2 the below currently apply: Adults: $22.00 - Children 12 & Under: $12.00 Senior / NSA Member $20.00 Active Military with ID $10.00 Children 3 & Under: $5.00 Family 4 Pack (2 Adults, 2 Children) $55.00 A few random facts: Boats depart weekends only every year over Memorial Day weekend and eventually go daily from July until Labor Day and then back to weekends only until the end of September. Check seaport.org for the current schedule and for special events such as their clambakes. Once you get to the island you get to take a brief tour of the lighthouse which was built in 1868 (downstairs only for now as the upstairs tower portion is being worked on and hopefully tours will be allowed there in the not to distant future once they get the stairs in better shape along with figuring out a way to dissipate the heat which we were told was well over 100 degrees the day we were there in August) and you can also walk through the nature trail via the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge. If you are going to walk on the nature trail or along the beach that fronts Sheffield Island Harbor just know that things are "wild" and that you will get eaten alive by flies, mosquitoes and I wouldn't be shocked if the trees had lots of ticks. The lighthouse was relit in 2011 for the first time in 91 years. Why Sheffield Island? The island was named after Revolutionary War veteran Captain Robert Sheffield who bought the island in 1804. He married Temperance Doty, a Mayflower descendant and such started the current lineage of the island's name. The 47 acre island is private property that is primarily owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the Norwalk Seaport Association depending upon the website owning only three or four of those acres. You will be reminded a few times of where you can and cannot walk. Speaking of an area you can't walk by it would be the dilapidated house on the right near the dock. That house is still owned by the Stabell family who sold the island to the Norwalk Seaport Association in 1986 for 700K. I forget the exact story we were told but it's something along the lines of the "home" (more of a dilapidated shack) cannot be renovated because of Fish and Wildlife Service rules and if they raze the structure they lose the land so the shack stands as is. The island itself is around a mile and half from the dock in Norwalk and the boat is kept at a country club pace in both directions which equals about 40 minutes to make the trip in each direction. This is fine as one of the crew did a fairly good job or telling everyone about some of the various islands & lighthouses & birds in the area and about the local shellfish industry. Past that it's just sit back and relax on some of their picnic benches and have a picnic or don't do a damn thing except the enjoy the beautiful view. Either way it's awesome.

I've heard about this event for a long time, but this was the year I finally attended the Norwalk…read moreOyster Festival and it did not disappoint. The price was $15 for adults and $8 for kids aged 5-12. All children are free on Sunday. What perfect timing, we passed by the Mohegan sun booth right in time for the 4pm Tao chef demo session. I've eaten at Tao before, so I was eager to participate. All I had to do was place a $25 bet on the app and it granted my party of 4 admission. The chef was very entertaining. We got a delicious BLT bao bun each and each got a ticket to redeem a $10 drink from a nearby juice truck, Ta' Deliciozo. The juices were made fresh with quality ingredients. To top it off, under our chairs was an envelope with a prize listed. We won merchandise and credit in the app. This was a very good steal! Definitely got our money's worth. We stop by a few tastyfood trucks then watched some of the 6pm Ready Go Dog Show. I enjoyed this event and will definitely be back next year!

Absolutely the worst festival I've ever attended. A complete waste of time and money…read more Parking is a nightmare. There is barely any parking available, leaving you with the choice of paying $20+ for third-party parking or hunting for metered street parking that's limited to three hours. Then there's the $20 admission fee for adults, which would be understandable if there were actually something worth seeing. The vendor selection was pathetic, and the overall quality was extremely disappointing. But the biggest joke is the name: Oyster Festival. Why? There was essentially one oyster vendor, selling questionable oysters, plus two carts offering overpriced lobster rolls of horrible quality. That's it. No New England charm. No unique atmosphere. No meaningful representation of local food, culture, or vendors. Just overpriced food, limited options, and a hefty admission fee for what feels like a glorified street fair. Save your money and skip this event. There are plenty of excellent restaurants and pubs in the area where you'll get a much better experience for your money. Complete rip-off. Zero stars if Google allowed it.