This historic southeastern Connecticut seaport — part of the borough of nearby Stonington — was settled in 1654 on the Mystic River, just north of Fishers Island Sound, an arm of Long Island Sound. It was a small but important fishing and whaling port before 1840; then it grew into a major shipbuilding center. At least 600 vessels were built and launched here between 1784 and 1919, including the Union navy’s ironclad Galena, built during the Civil War.

Today Mystic (population 2,600) has a major tourist attraction — Mystic Seaport, a private, not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving and conveying New England maritime history. For an admission fee, visitors can stroll through a re-created nineteenth-century waterfront village that includes homes, shops, exhibits, the last surviving American wooden sailing ship — the Charles W. Morgan — and other historic ships and boats. There is a children’s museum full of the toys, games, and clothing known to their nineteenth-century counterparts.

The nearby Mystic Marinelife Aquarium has more than 3,500 living sea creatures in 40 exhibits.

Among them are Seal Island, an outdoor exhibit with seals and sea lions, and the Penguin Pavilion, an outdoor exhibit of African blackfooted penguins. There are daily dolphin and whale demonstrations in the Marine Theater.

May through October, visitors can board the 1908 steamboat Sabino for daytime and evening excursions on the Mystic River.

Also nearby are the Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Sun Casino. Captain Nate Palmer, who discovered Antarctica in 1821, sailed from the town of Stonington, and visitors can tour his 1852 mansion. Also in Stonington is the Old Lighthouse Museum, located inside an 1823 stone lighthouse.

Mystic and Mystic Seaport are located 10 miles east of New London, just south of I-95. Trains serve Mystic daily from both New York City and Boston. There is also ferry service to and from nearby points.