Hartford Connecticut - things to do?

There is not a lot in Hartford proper besides the Mark Twain House. West Hartford which is about 15 minutes away is pretty nice. Farmington Ave is lined with restaurants and bars and is very walkable. Some of my favorites are Max's Oyster bar ($1 oysters on Mondays and place will be packed. East Coast Oysters are way better than Gulf Oyster IMO) , Savoy Pizza, Zohara and Bartaco. About a mile from there is Coracora peruvian which is a casual a james beard nominee. New Park brewing is just down the street.
The country side around hartford is really beautiful and I would suggest going to Treehouse Farm and Fermentoria about an hour east of Hartford. Is a beautiful super chill spot with great beer. You are also only about an hour from New Haven so you could go get pizza there. Lots of famous pizza places like Sally's and Frank Pepe's but I think Zuppardi's is better than those 2. You could hop on the train down there if you won't have a car.
I can also suggest areas an hour or so West of hartford like waterfalls, breweries, distilleries, etc.

Good fly fishing on the Farmington River. Local guide shops available for guided trips.

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Downtown Middletown has some great spots to grab a bite to eat right on the Connecticut River.

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Hit Mondo for pizza there

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Mystic is an hour away and is pretty cool to walk around. I would go there over New Haven. I think NH is kind of depressing.

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Ive been there a few times against my will and am ready to get out of there after about an hour. It's pretty but over run with tourists and the places that cater to rourists, nothing authentic about it.You go to NH for pizza, live music, Peabody Museum which is fantastic, architecture and night life. It is more urban and not as pretty as Mystic but has some pretty areas and like any urban city, areas that aren't so pretty.

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Good fly fishing on the Farmington River.

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We have friends that live in the town of Farmington and have been up there many times. I've never fished but have been to many of the little towns along the Farmington river which always have a brewery and good mom & pop restaurants. That whole area is really beautiful.

Springfield, MA is maybe 30 minutes north. Basketball Hall of Fame is there.