Lanterns, Leaves & Literature:
Litchfield, CT
Sat. Oct 18 - Sun. Oct 19
Stay: Base yourself at The Abner, a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel on the historic Litchfield Green.
Experience: A small-group lantern tour along some of the most beautiful colonial streets in America. Begins with historically-inspired cocktails at 5:30pm.
Dinner: Take a window-gazing stroll through town to West Street Grill, a 35-year-old Litchfield culinary fixture with a story to tell. Reservation is set for 7pm.
All bookable in one click | Limited Inventory
Two hours from New York City.
About two and a half hours from Boston.
Why here?
“The only street in America more beautiful than North Street in Litchfield is South Street in Litchfield,” said Sinclair Lewis of this hilltop village in pastoral Northwest Connecticut.
The quote is possibly fabricated, but walk south along the real North and South streets, as a rising church steeple and a clock-towered town green come into view between the trees, and the statement itself is very true-feeling.
Litchfield is one of the best-preserved Colonial-era towns in America. But even with its pert white fences, remarkable architecture and storied history, this place is remarkably free of the glassed-off museum quality that can gin up a sense of pretend in quaint New England villages.
The George Washington-slept-here provenance exists, but so does a vibrant present day: farm to table restaurants, art galleries, coffee spots and a just-right bustle, without being overtouristed, at the center of town.
It’s difficult to capture the real reason that makes a must-visit place a must-visit place: it’s a mystery feeling, inspired by (or at least accompanied by) a unique piece of the world, the people there, and your time as part of it. And all of that somehow totals to a private and wonderful discovery.
Here’s our weekend in Litchfield:
The stay.
The Abner Hotel
This isn’t just a stately old courthouse building. It’s been reimagined as a history-steeped boutique hotel at the absolute center of town. .
Rooms are inspired by the building’s rich history, but not stifled by it.
Design-forward and sophisticated, but with a non-austere warmth.
Possibly the centerpiece of The Abner: the in-hotel restaurant is a first-rate reimagining of the historic main courtroom.
Little Pond Boardwalk
At just over a mile, the elevated boardwalk trail courses through fall forest and wetlands, and across two pause-and-take-it-in bridges.
The day.
Trees overhang the trail, which opens up into vibrant autumn vistas just around this corner.
In October, look for wood ducks on a brief layover in their trek south.
The find.
Housatonic Trading Company
Not antiquing per se.
HTC is a curated collection of finds ranging style, function and budget. In nearby Bantam.
It’s all incredibly browsable. The common theme: “Earthy, natural, textural, muted, organic in form,” says HTC.
There’s also an in-house jewelry studio right on-site: The Jewel Box.
The food.
West Street Grill
Just an evening stroll away (down the shop-lined green) from your hotel.
Much atmosphere here, and literary lore too .
The novelist Philip Roth infrequently emerged from his home in nearby Warren – but when he did, it was often to eat at West Street.
They were doing farm-to- table before it was a high-end culinary messaging must.
Incredible peasant bread, pastas, seafood, and Irish-enthused hospitality.
Milton Market
Take a secret-feeling turn onto a cobbled backstreet, just off the Green.
The tucked away.
A truly unique assembly of home goods, candles, soaps, totes and vintage wares.
The evening mood.
Lantern Tour, Litchfield Historical Society
Scarecrows in the Meadow
Cocktails @ The Verdict
After dinner (see our notes on West Street Grill just above), it’s back to The Abner. Ascend to the rooftop for complementary drinks at The Verdict, a rooftop gem overlooking town.
Departing from the meadow, a small-group and slightly spooky lantern tour of Litchfield’s colonial streets.
Kicks off with historically-inspired cocktails organized by the Litchfield Historical Society.
Begin a late afternoon at the Tapping Reeve Meadow. This weekend is the official kick-off celebration of Scarecrows in the Meadow, Litchfield’s near-legendary festival of community-created scarecrows.
Book it all in a click.
Your weekend includes:
A King Deluxe suite at The Abner (sleeps two) on the night of Sat. Oct 18.
Pre-reserved, pre-paid dinner for two at West Street Grill. @ 7pm (Sat. Oct 18)
Lantern tour and cocktail kick-off with the Litchfield Historical Society (two tickets) 5:30pm. (Sat. Oct 18)
Complementary rooftop drinks at The Verdict, courtesy of The Abner ($50 credit, Sat. Oct 18)
$950
(plus tax)
Questions, any and all:
hello@theovernightist.com