If That Connecticut Location Looks Familiar...It Probably Is!
From "Mystic Pizza" to "Gilmore Girls" and Upcoming "Mona Lisa Smile," Tracing Connecticut's Movie Locations Make for a Fun Getaway. Before your romantic getaway in Connecticut, spend an evening renting one of these flicks...

The same traits that make Connecticut a favorite nearby getaway destination for travelers -- rolling hills, bucolic landscapes and a distinctive mix of traditional New England atmosphere with cosmopolitan style - has made it a perennial favorite to serve as locations for top movies and television shows.

Pop culture buffs or those wanting to follow in the footprints of their favorite celebrity can easily turn a getaway weekend in Connecticut to a (near) cinematic experience. Following is a sampling of a few places in Connecticut featured on the big screen, including additional information on attractions in the area:

Mystic, CT
Mystic Pizza, the "tasty" movie that launched Julia Roberts' career was filmed in the charming towns of Stonington, Groton and New London - Mystic is actually a part of Stonington and Groton. Since the release of the popular 1988 film, people from all around the country have flocked to the famed Mystic Pizza restaurant to sample the tasty pizza. Local residents know that the actual location for the restaurant used in the film was an unused storefront on Water Street in the shoreline fishing village of Stonington Borough - home to the last commercial fishing fleet in the state. Visitors, however, will not be disappointed for they will recognize all the scenes, which were shot on location in the nautical towns that boast colorful shops and stately Colonial and Victorian homes.

Also filmed in Mystic was Steven Spielberg's film Amistad. Coincidentally, even before the cameras were about to roll, the Mystic Seaport - home of the nation's leading maritime museum, was making plans to build a full-size replica of the 81-foot Spanish ship. When Spielberg and the Mystic Seaport learned of each other's ventures, they decided to merge their efforts. Some of the location filming and research for "Amistad" was done at the Mystic Seaport, located only seven miles from where the schooner La Amistad was first brought into custody by American authorities.

Mystic Seaport's 1800s village complete with historic homes, shops and tall ships was used to re-create the Connecticut seaport town of New Haven in 1839 and 1840. Today, Amistad, which is administered by Amistad America Inc., a non-profit foundation, is a floating Ambassador for Connecticut and a classroom that visits ports around the globe teaching lessons of history, leadership and the importance of human rights. The ship can be toured at its homeport in New Haven when it is not on a voyage.

Additional attractions in the area include: Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mohegan Sun and Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center.

New Haven, CT
Julia Roberts once again returned to Connecticut to film scenes at Yale University in New Haven for Mona Lisa Smile. Roberts is not the only famous person to grace the campus of the Ivy League University, graduates include President George W. Bush, former Presidents George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, and William Howard Taft, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jodi Foster, Henry Winkler, Sigourney Weaver and Meryl Streep. Yale's "ivy" weaves throughout New Haven, Connecticut's cultural Mecca, home to numerous art, history and cultural attractions. Filled with gourmet restaurants and international flavor, visitors can eat their way through this culturally diverse city. Art and architecture abounds in New Haven and includes: Yale Center of British Art - houses the most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, Yale University Art Gallery and the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Norwalk, CT
The 1975 classic horror film The Stepford Wives, starring Katharine Ross and Peter Masterson was based on the fictional town of Stepford, Connecticut. The fictional town of Stepford was actually filmed throughout Coastal Fairfield County. In the movie, the husbands join the mysterious Stepford Men's Club, which convenes in a heavily guarded mansion, which in reality is the Lockwood-Matthews Museum Mansion. The Mansion is open to the public and is a National Historic Landmark located in Norwalk. Lockwood-Matthews was the country's first big mansion of the Victorian era that has 62-rooms ornately decorated with stenciled walls, inlaid woodwork, a sky lit rotunda and gift shop.

Additional attractions in the area include: Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Norwalk Museum and restaurants galore in South Norwalk (SONO).

Collinsville and Essex, CT
The popular WB television program Gilmore Girls takes place in Connecticut. The fictional town Stars Hollow is really a combination of two towns located 50 miles a part -- Collinsville in the Hartford area and Essex located along the Connecticut River Valley. Collinsville is noted for its classic New England town green and picturesque old Collins ax factory/mill, now Collinsville Antiques Center. Main Street in Collinsville is where many of the promos are shot for the series. Essex, named the number one small town in America, also makes up Stars Hollow thanks to movie magic. Although small, Essex stands as a symbol of the glory days when steamers sailed between New York and Boston, and the shipbuilders of Essex kept commerce bustling. Much of the town's history is found in the quaint shops along its Main Street, The Connecticut River Museum and the Griswold Inn - one of the oldest continuously operated inns in the country.

By clicking on the "Specials" section on the Connecticut Office of Tourism's web site at www.ctbound.org, travelers can choose from a listing of package deals and special offers with value-added savings around the entire state that will help them plan a Connecticut getaway. For additional attractions around the state, click onto "CT Tourism Search" and enter the town or attraction name.

For more information about filming in Connecticut, visit www.ctfilm.com or call 1-800-CT-BOUND (1-800-282-6863) or visit www.ctbound.org.