1. The Manor House
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (866) 542-5690
Address: 69 Maple Ave.
Description: This “Bavarian Tudor”–style 1898 house in Norfolk has been a bed-and-breakfast since the 1980s. With its stone walls, Adirondack chairs, and wood beam ceilings and paneling, this is a little different from the Victorian cottages you often find as B&Bs. Each guest room is unique, and each has different amenities like balconies, whirlpools, or fireplaces, so ask for more details about each before making a reservation. The Victorian Room is the most striking, with a king-size sleigh bed, a gas fireplace, and a 2-person whirlpool with a skylight right in the bedroom. They now offer massage services, and if you see a show at the nearby Infinity Music Hall, they’ll take 10 percent off your bill. Note the Tiffany windows in the dining room among a hundred other great details that put this a step above most nights in the country.
2. Mountain View Inn
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 542-6991
Address: 67 Litchfield Rd.
Description: This award-winning Gilded Age bed-and-breakfast south of Norfolk on a scenic road has been serving guests for 50 years. It has 7 unique rooms and a guest house with a full kitchen and living room, as well as the bedroom and bath. Located across the road from the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Mountain View is the perfect place to stay in the northern hills. Inside, there’s an art gallery with original paintings by Dean Johnson and other artists, and a vintage boutique gift shop. On Saturday and Sunday mornings you’ll find a complimentary mimosa waiting for you. Have it on the wide porch, and then stroll into one of the loveliest villages in Connecticut.
3. Blackberry River Inn
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 542-5100
Address: 538 Greenwoods Rd. West (Route 44 West)
Description: Tradition here at the Blackberry River Inn runs deep, two and a half centuries deep. A Georgian mansion with apple orchard, trout fishing in the Blackberry River, and hiking trails among its 27 acres, this mix of working farm and resort is the perfect place for a romantic overnight, or an entire week. They have 20 rooms, including 2 linked by a bath that are perfect if you absolutely have to bring the kids along. The cottage is a fully appointed version, with a king bed, whirlpool, and working fireplace. If your relaxation only comes after a workout, they also have tennis courts and a pool. In the daytime, relax in the hammock by the willow tree, and in the evening, you can sit with a glass of Cognac by the fireplaces in one of the common rooms, talking or reading, living the good life you thought only possible in movies.
4. Infinity Bistro
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 542-5531
Address: 20 Greenwoods Rd. West
Description: Located at the historic opera house turned music hall, the polished wood floors and colorful piano-key designs on the walls make the Infinity Bistro a hip place to eat dinner in these hills full of colonial inns jam-packed with antiques. There’s outdoor seating in the warmer months, and deals with the music hall if you want dinner and a show. The New American food is delicious and inventive. For an appetizer, try the lobster hush puppies, each a warm, crunchy delight, dipped in the homemade remoulade. Entrees include classics like pan-seared scallops or new dishes like basil and Parmesan crepes. Get Connecticut’s Thomas Hooker beer on tap here (it goes especially well with the spice-rubbed pork chop). They use local farms for many of their products, trying to be as green as the paint on the music hall itself (you’ll understand when you see it).
5. Infinity Music Hall
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 542-5531
Address: 06058
Insider Pick:
Description: Once the Norfolk Opera House, this remarkable green building along Route 44 has been turned into a classic venue, with concerts every couple of days in an intimate, 320-seat space. It is a musician’s dream, a historic Victorian hall with stained-glass windows, wood floors, and a vaulted ceiling. There are really no bad seats at Infinity; everyone has a great view of the stage. You can order cocktails from your seat (there are convenient counters to set them on), and eat dinner in the mezzanine or go to the separate downstairs restaurant, the Infinity Bistro. They also have magic and comedy shows, but come here for the musical performances. It is a magical place with both a sense of history and a bright future. The town of Norfolk is charming and remote, and there are plenty of bed-and-breakfasts around to rest your head after a show.
6. Norfolk Chamber Music Festival
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 432-1966 (Sept through M
Address: 06058
Description: Just off the town green at the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate, this redwood and cedar music barn is the summer home of the Yale Music School and consistently features some of the best chamber music in America. Nationally and internationally famous quartets and quintets play here every summer on Fri and Sat nights. On Tues and Thurs evenings and Sat mornings, free concerts are given by the Fellows of the Norfolk Summer School. The Norfolk “Shed” also features lectures, usually on Wed nights, by some of the finest music teachers and critics in the country. If you have children, rejoice, because they get in free. Bring a picnic or eat at the nearby Infinity Bistro before the evening concerts.
7. Loon Meadow Farm
City: Norfolk, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 542-6085
Address: 41 Loon Meadow Dr.
Description: On one of the back roads of Norfolk (all right, they are all back roads), you’ll find a 19th-century farmhouse with draft horses in the pastures. However, this is not your traditional horse-riding farm. Loon Meadow is an appointed livery and provides a wide selection of horse and carriages for weddings, funerals, and parades. At the farm they offer hayrides in the summer and sleigh rides in the winter, with mulled cider and a bonfire afterwards. You can also take one of their historical horse-and-carriage rides through Norfolk, while a living-history interpreter tells you about her life in Civil War America.