Fairfield Draws Summer Vacation Visitors

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – To people who live here full time, Fairfield may not be an obvious summer vacation hot spot. But attractions, beaches and proximity to New York City all make Fairfield County an attractive destination for others.

“It’s absolutely a place people come to visit in the summer,” said Janet Serra, executive director of the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitor Bureau, which promotes tourism in Fairfield County and Litchfield Hills. “What’s interesting to me is, with Fairfield County, we get to promote hills, lakes and coast.”

Of the two regions that make up the Western bureau, Serra said Fairfield County is probably the most attractive summertime destination. Litchfield Hills sees more visitors in the fall, she said.

The biggest attractions in Fairfield County are the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport and the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Serra said. Other big draws include Norwalk’s Sheffield Island, Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, SoundWaters in Stamford, the Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan and the Stamford Museum & Nature Center.

Connecticut’s major tourism market is from within the tri-state area, she said. Fairfield County’s greatest strength is its accessibility.

“It’s so easy to get to Fairfield County by train, and the towns are generally walkable,” she said. “Norwalk, for example, is very walkable, so in many cases, people can just get out off the train and walk around. It’s harder to do that in other parts of the state.”

Although it’s difficult to track numbers of tourists coming and going, Serra said that last year, the Fairfield County tourism website had the most page visits of any regional website, including Mystic Country.

So far this year, Serra said there’s a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in website activity and inquiries. “Since Fairfield County is such an important part of Connecticut tourism, we’re certainly delighted by this increase,” she said.

Day trippers aren’t the only ones attracted to the area. Brian Russell owns a group of homes he rents out along the beach area each summer. Although Russell hasn’t seen an increase in demand for the homes in the seven years he has rented them out, he said he steadily finds buyers to take them.

One reason people flock to Fairfield is because it's a cheaper vacation than other popular spots in the Northeast. “Here you can rent for a whole summer for what it might cost you for just a few weeks on the Jersey Shore or Cape Cod,” Russell said.

Although Fairfield’s beach area rentals are often stocked with college students during the school year, Russell says the area is much more “family-friendly” in the summer. He recalls his own children finding the same group of beach friends each year at their summer rentals on the beach. 

That atmosphere, along with Fairfield’s shops and restaurants downtown, draw in the same crowds each year. “It’s not as popular or populous as some other places,” Russell says. “But there is still stuff to do around here.” 

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