Ten Cozy Cold Weather Hideouts
It’s fall y’all, and as the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, you can find us warming up at Hartford’s best spots for cozy, cold weather activities (there’s a ton of them!) all through winter - knit hat and pumpkin spice latte optional.
The classic, red velvet-lined interior of this little theater located on the campus of Trinity College gives seeing a film at Cinestudio that retro “night out at the movies” feel - perfect for curling up with your date and hot popcorn in a couple of balcony seats (yup!) on a cold night. 100 times better than Netflix on your couch? We think yes.
Put on your comfiest cold weather gear (earmuffs and scarves, hello!), lace up a pair of skates, and hit the ice (for free!) under the stars in a Christmas-lit Bushnell Park for the most magical way to warm up on a winter night. If you haven’t skated in a while (or ever) well, that’s just a great excuse to hold hands with friends and laugh your way around the rink... and there’s nothing cozier, or cuter, than that.
(Image source)
We may be a bit biased (Rory did get married here, after all!) but an afternoon spent wandering the breathtaking halls and galleries of the country’s oldest public art museum is pretty much our perfect cold weather day. Finish it with lunch and a glass of wine at the museum’s Untitled bistro and get cozy from the inside out. (Insider tip: Hartford residents and Second Saturdays are always free)
There’s something warm and inviting about the always-live taproom of this Parkville brewery tucked away in the former Pope Manufacturing Company factory that just makes you want to pull up a stool at the bar and enjoy a good beer on a cold night. Thursday nights are for live folk music and something hot and delicious from the food truck outside - if you can peel yourself out of your cozy seat.
There’s a reason that some of the most iconic films are set on trains, and we think it has to do with those comfy cushioned booths and the thrill of watching the landscape flash by outside. Hop on the shiny new CTRail Hartford Line for a cozy ride down to New Haven and back - with a book and a thermos of something warm to sip, there’s no rush to get where you’re going.
Not sure if it’s the cute, tucked-away-from-the-street location, or the warm, living room feel of this Park Street spot that makes it feel so cozy - or the fact that we always end up making friends with the folks at the next table over. Either way, once we’re seated at King and I Thai, it’s hard to leave; bowls full of spicy soup and creamy curry don’t hurt, either.
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(Image source)[/caption]
We’re suckers for incredible Christmas decor, and the Mark Twain House does the holidays right. Take a special seasonal tour through the 19th-century home of Hartford’s famous resident, and imagine yourself curling up with a Twain novel in front of one the house's many fireplaces. Bonus points if you talk with an old-timey accent and wear a tweed coat.
Comfort food and a Guinness pint on a cold night = cozy, Irish style. If you’re already on Pratt Street shopping for Christmas gifts and cards at your favorite local letterpress store (ahem), duck through the lantern-lit doorway across the street for some bangers and mash and a draught in our favorite little pub. Sláinte!
The only thing we love as much as art is making art with friends. And wine. We like wine. Gather a group Downtown and enjoy a warm indoor evening painting your very own masterpieces while the weather does whatever it wants outside. Another January bombogenisis snowstorm? Who cares? You’ve got wine.
One Sunday evening each month, Little River Restoratives - Frog Hollow’s cozy vintage cocktail bar - fills with conversation, laughter, and live poetry, fiction, and essay readings from some of Connecticut’s finest writers. Settle yourself in at this monthly series and enjoy a craft libation while immersing in the masterful words and stories shared by readers of all kinds... it’s like a warm sweater for the soul.
1. CINESTUDIO
The classic, red velvet-lined interior of this little theater located on the campus of Trinity College gives seeing a film at Cinestudio that retro “night out at the movies” feel - perfect for curling up with your date and hot popcorn in a couple of balcony seats (yup!) on a cold night. 100 times better than Netflix on your couch? We think yes.
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2. WINTERFEST
Put on your comfiest cold weather gear (earmuffs and scarves, hello!), lace up a pair of skates, and hit the ice (for free!) under the stars in a Christmas-lit Bushnell Park for the most magical way to warm up on a winter night. If you haven’t skated in a while (or ever) well, that’s just a great excuse to hold hands with friends and laugh your way around the rink... and there’s nothing cozier, or cuter, than that.
View this post on Instagram
(Image source)
3. WADSWORTH ATHENEUM
We may be a bit biased (Rory did get married here, after all!) but an afternoon spent wandering the breathtaking halls and galleries of the country’s oldest public art museum is pretty much our perfect cold weather day. Finish it with lunch and a glass of wine at the museum’s Untitled bistro and get cozy from the inside out. (Insider tip: Hartford residents and Second Saturdays are always free)
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
4. HOG RIVER BREWING
There’s something warm and inviting about the always-live taproom of this Parkville brewery tucked away in the former Pope Manufacturing Company factory that just makes you want to pull up a stool at the bar and enjoy a good beer on a cold night. Thursday nights are for live folk music and something hot and delicious from the food truck outside - if you can peel yourself out of your cozy seat.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
5. THE HARTFORD LINE
There’s a reason that some of the most iconic films are set on trains, and we think it has to do with those comfy cushioned booths and the thrill of watching the landscape flash by outside. Hop on the shiny new CTRail Hartford Line for a cozy ride down to New Haven and back - with a book and a thermos of something warm to sip, there’s no rush to get where you’re going.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
6. KING AND I THAI
Not sure if it’s the cute, tucked-away-from-the-street location, or the warm, living room feel of this Park Street spot that makes it feel so cozy - or the fact that we always end up making friends with the folks at the next table over. Either way, once we’re seated at King and I Thai, it’s hard to leave; bowls full of spicy soup and creamy curry don’t hurt, either.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="662"]
(Image source)[/caption]
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7. MARK TWAIN HOUSE AND MUSEUM
We’re suckers for incredible Christmas decor, and the Mark Twain House does the holidays right. Take a special seasonal tour through the 19th-century home of Hartford’s famous resident, and imagine yourself curling up with a Twain novel in front of one the house's many fireplaces. Bonus points if you talk with an old-timey accent and wear a tweed coat.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
8. VAUGHN'S PUBLIC HOUSE
Comfort food and a Guinness pint on a cold night = cozy, Irish style. If you’re already on Pratt Street shopping for Christmas gifts and cards at your favorite local letterpress store (ahem), duck through the lantern-lit doorway across the street for some bangers and mash and a draught in our favorite little pub. Sláinte!
9. PAINTING WITH A TWIST
The only thing we love as much as art is making art with friends. And wine. We like wine. Gather a group Downtown and enjoy a warm indoor evening painting your very own masterpieces while the weather does whatever it wants outside. Another January bombogenisis snowstorm? Who cares? You’ve got wine.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
10. SYLLABLE: A READING SERIES
One Sunday evening each month, Little River Restoratives - Frog Hollow’s cozy vintage cocktail bar - fills with conversation, laughter, and live poetry, fiction, and essay readings from some of Connecticut’s finest writers. Settle yourself in at this monthly series and enjoy a craft libation while immersing in the masterful words and stories shared by readers of all kinds... it’s like a warm sweater for the soul.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram