>At the risk of evoking New Haven’s jealousy, Wesleyan University in Middletown has one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States.
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Not to be snarky, but did they visit any of these? I’m not familiar with Fairfield, but I do know all the others and would not consider any of them to be “beautiful” towns.
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I had to read that article. I’m from CT and couldn’t think of 9 “college towns” in this state.
The colleges listed (for the most part) have nice campuses, but the towns really aren’t “college towns” and some are just cities that really aren’t beautiful, in my opinion. Nice enough…but beautiful? Hardly.
And I’ve been to all of these towns. CT isn’t a very big state!
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Yeah, agreed. I lived in CT for four years, and I loved it and there are many beautiful places, but the college towns are not really high on that list, as a rule. And I do like many of the college towns (including Middletown), the loveliest places in the state are not those towns (unless there’s a college in the Litchfield Hills no one told me about…).
(OK, Groton is pretty. And New London is cute. But none of them are spectacular.)
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In reading the article, I began to question whether or not the authors know much about Connecticut colleges and their campuses. With respect to New London, for example, Connecticut College, which offers the most impressive collegiate arboretum in the state, is not even mentioned.
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Agree. Or the towns. As an example, University of New Haven is a fine school, but I wouldn’t exactly call it “prestigious”.
Willimantic is a fine town, but but it’s not exactly charming.
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Fairfield is the nicest of the lot IMO.
The rest I wouldn’t consider “beautiful” either - even if some have nice parts. CT does have some lovely small towns, but those aren’t them..
Other than Middletown, I don’t know any of them very well. But Connecticut’s a pretty small state and if there is a theme that could somehow explain the aesthetic appeal of some of these towns, it’s a renaissance in the so-called, “New England Mill" look which is pervasive throughout MA, CT and RI:
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I am sort of a Post-Industrial guy in general–I just find the complex history of these sorts of towns and cities to make for an interesting cultural and built environment. Then I’m not a huge ocean guy myself, but I at least understand the appeal. So these New England Post-Industrial towns, including although not limited to the ones near the ocean, make sense to me as interesting places to live, or at least go to college.
However, “beautiful” is in the eye of the beholder, so I understand some people are looking for something else, in New England or generally.
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I mean, there is certainly * A * prestigious school in New Haven… perhaps they got confused? 
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And that other college is more manicured, has historic and restored buildings, and is closer to the water!
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East Hartford? Are they serious?
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As a Connecticut resident, here is my alternative list of “most beautiful college towns in Connecticut”:
- New Haven (a true college town) - Yale, Southern Connecticut, Albertus Magnus
- Fairfield - Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University
- West Hartford - University of Hartford, St. Joe’s
- Middletown - Wesleyan
- New London (underrated) - Conn College, Coast Guard Academy, Mitchell College
- Hamden - Quinnipiac
- Storrs (lovely bucolic setting) - UConn
- Willimantic (one of the best collection of Victorian houses anywhere) - Eastern Connecticut
Note: Hartford can’t be passed off as a beautiful city although it does have its spots. But Trinity College is unquestionably a classic, beautiful campus; UConn Law School is a beautiful albeit compact campus & together with neighboring Hartford International University (small) form a graduate higher Ed complex in a lovely neighborhood; and UConn/Hartford + UConn School of Social Work + UConn Business Learning Center combine to form an interesting downtown niche.
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Surprised you don’t have New London higher. Some beautiful areas.
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I agree - especially the setting of Conn College & USCGA on a bluff overlooking the Thames River. I’d be happy to bump it up. Any suggestions? Of course taking into account that the3 towns above it all have their charms as well.
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Given my bias for the water I’m not sure I could do it fairly. The ones above it are nice suburban towns, with West Hartford being particularly well-manicured, and I’ll take your point that New Haven is definitely a college town, but my best friend went to Yale and my brother went to New Haven and I don’t remember thinking it was a beautiful town or city. I’d do West Haven over it.
I think this list conflates towns and campuses and still gets it wrong leaving off ConnColl and Trinity. I dunno.
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To me, New Haven is the epitome of a great college town if our category is medium sized city. Yale IS downtown New Haven with the historic New Haven Green as its front lawn. There are great restaurants all along Chapel Street with theater & concert venues off on the side streets. The Yale architecture itself is beautiful. As you drive up Whalley Avenue from campus, the street is lined with beautiful stately mansions all along the way with lovely town houses on the side streets to the east. Wooster Square is a beautiful Italian neighborhood where the battle still rages over who makes the better pizza - Pepe’s Napolitana or Sally’s Apizza.
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I’d put Storrs over Hamden - mainly as Hamden just doesn’t seem “college town” to me - it has a college, but nobody even thought of it as a college town until the dynamic growth of Quinnipiac in the last 20 years IMO. Maybe I am just an old fuddy-duddy. lol
You make a fair point - especially since the development of Downtown Storrs. The main campus of Quinnipiac, OTOH, is tucked away in a quiet corner of Hamden, across the street from Sleeping Giant State Park. Almost like it’s not even part of Hamden. Hamden has more to offer than Storrs - but not to the local college students.
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Probs not too many people outside EH even know Goodwin exists. Also, Willimantic?!
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