Explore history in Clinton, Conn.

Malerie Yolen-Cohen

3 Liberty Green Bed and Breakfast in Clinton, Conn

Clinton, Conn., is quiet study in American history. Colonial homes, such as the "1630 House" (currently the Tourist Information Center), line Main Street. Yale College commenced classes here in 1701, before funds were endowed to build a permanent campus in New Haven. Some residences operating as Historical Society museums were built from bricks used as ballast in merchant ships from England. And none other than Benjamin Franklin, as up-and-coming postmaster general, determined the site for a milestone on the "Post Road" -- now Main Street -- in the 1750s.

Currently, a kitsch-free center of town features churches, antiques emporiums, coffee shops, a stately town hall and firehouse. Banners spanning the road and many signs along the sidewalks -- for blood drives, bingo nights, block parties, U.S. Coast Guard navigational classes, classical music concerts and budget referendums -- indicate a populace imbued with civic pride. As if to underline the town's patriotic bent, American flags extend from every telephone pole like streetlights.

Clinton encompasses natural splendors as well. Two bucolic rivers that cut through town -- the Indian River and Hammonasset -- wind from a protected harbor where lobster boats offload fresh catch and families fish from town docks. Visitors can spend a morning communing with nature by kayaking on these colorful floral and wildlife-rich inlets, then, in the afternoon, sip award-winning wines a few miles north at one of Connecticut's premier winery, Chamard Vineyards.

Another day can be spent perusing an assortment of downtown antiques shops and Clinton Crossing, an upscale outlet mall just-off I95 and the only venue in this small town where the word "jostling" even applies.

ATTRACTIONS

In town, stop first at the Clinton Visitor's Information Center, 49 E. Main St., in the "1630" house in front of the fire station. The Clinton Historical Society (103 E. Main St., clintoncthistory.org), maintains several properties including the 1750 "Brick House" in town and collections in public buildings.

Chamard Vineyards (115 Cow Hill Rd., 860-664-0299, chamard.com) yields 7,000 cases of chardonnays, merlots and cabernet sauvignon each year. Visitors can sample these and other vintages ($10 tour and tasting) in an elegant tasting room within a rustic-yet-refined stone barn or outside on a patio with radiant views of the vineyards.

Rent a kayak at Indian River Marina (58 Commerce St., 860-664-3704, indrivmar .com) by the hour ($12) or day ($50) and ease along with the gentle currents through salt marshes and past swaths of sandy beach brimming with egrets, herons and the occasional osprey. Life vests and laminated maps provided.

WHERE TO STAY

The four-room 3 Liberty Green B&B (3 Liberty St., 860-669-0111, 3liberty.com) ($120-$200 a night), built in 1734 and opened in 2006 as an inn, is situated by the triangle of grass that was once a Revolutionary War muster field. With four-poster beds, luxe linens and Jacuzzi bathrooms, 3 Liberty draws plenty of weekenders. Every afternoon, cookies, tea and cordials, along with homemade appetizers such as spinach in phyllo, is set out for boarders to enjoy. In the morning guests awake to breakfast at a communal kitchen table where they might find egg, cheese and tomato pie and candied-walnut Bundt cake.

In nearby Westbrook, the Captain Stannard House Country Inn (138 South Main St., 860-399-4634, stannardhouse.com) ($135-$185 a night) has been welcoming guests for over 100 years.

In Madison, you can relax in a private English country garden at Tidewater Inn (949 Boston Post Rd., 203-245-8457, thetidewater.com) ($110-$225 a night).

WHERE TO EAT

Lines form quickly at Lobster Landing (152 Commerce St., 860-669-2005, open daily April through December), one of the last (and best) authentic lobster shacks in Connecticut. Just $12 for a toasted roll brimming with fresh-caught-and-steamed chunks of lobster drizzled with butter.

Savor specialty coffee and crepes at the old Major General Horatio Wright Homestead, painstakingly restored as the adorable M. Sarba Fine Art Café (95 E. Main St., 860-669- 5062, sarba.com), meals $6- $15. If asked, owner/artist Marek Sarba will escort guests upstairs to the gallery to see his maritime oil paintings.

Aqua Restaurant (34 Riverside, 860-664-3788), entrees $17-$30, located in Cedar Island Marina, offers good seafood with harbor views. For a burger/wings sports pub atmosphere, Chips' Pub III, (24 W. Main, 860-669-3463), $8-$22, can't be beat.

Malone's Coffee and Sandwich Shop (10 W. Main St., 860- 664-0607, malonescoffee house.com), $5-$10, situated in the old brick town library, showcases local art amid leather couches, crammed bookshelves in a comfy living room setting.

WHERE TO SHOP

Clinton Crossing Premium Outlet Center (20-A Killingworth Tpk., 860- 664-0700, premiumoutlets .com/clinton) -- a high-end outlet center -- draws budget-conscious fashionistas from all over Connecticut and beyond. Barney's, Saks Fifth Ave. and Donna Karan, among an eclectic assortment of retailers separate bargain hunters from their Benjamin's. Downtown Clinton contains a wealth of antiques shops, including the Clinton Antique Center (78 E. Main St., 860-669-3839).