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Old Lyme is situated halfway between New York
and Boston, where the Connecticut River flows
into Long Island Sound. It is one of the only
major rivers left in the world that has not been
built up at its mouth with an industrial port.
As a result, much of the area serves as a
wildlife sanctuary, with an abundance of natural
beauty that is continually preserved through
local land trusts.
 THE
HISTORY
- Lyme was prominent in the 1700's before the
American Revolution and through the 1800's with
agriculture and foreign trade. In the early
1900's, the area became host to the
Lyme
Art Colony, America's largest and most
famous Impressionist-oriented art colony.
Artists were attracted by the diversity of the
landscape, from the salt marshes, to the rocky
outcroppings, mixed with stately mansions that
reflected the town's prosperous and prominent
past. The
Florence Griswold Museum, now a National
Historic Landmark still retains the atmosphere
around the house where the colony was centered,
and offers one of the world's foremost
collections of American Impressionism.
Today, Old Lyme is very much alive as an art
center, with traditions of the Lyme Art Colony
carried forward by the
Lyme Art Association in their historic
gallery and the
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts,
distinguished among art schools in America.
RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES - Between beaches,
lakes, rivers and nature preserves, there are
numerous places for outdoor activities such as
boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming
and hiking. There are also three area golf
courses, two country clubs, two beach clubs and
three world class spas close by:
Waters Edge Resort & Spa, the
Saybrook Point
Inn, and the
Norwich Inn.
To see area listings for the performing arts,
theatre, films, symphonies, dance and operas,
visit
www.gardearts.org.
 AREA
SHOPPING - While the Village of Old Lyme is
quiet and quaint, with a number of specialty shops
and stores to handle the essentials, there are a
number of larger shopping areas nearby. With the
convenience of I-95, drive west and within 20
minutes you will pass a
Tanger Outlet Mall in Westbrook and a
Premium Outlet Mall in Clinton with stores like
Barneys, Saks off 5th Ave, Coach, etc. Drive east 20
minutes, and you have the
Crystal Mall
in Waterford, with all the surrounding major
department stores from Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann
Taylor and Talbots to Target and Best Buy.
 SCHOOLS - Lyme and Old Lyme have retained
a small
town
atmosphere
with personal
attention and
community involvement in the local school
system. The Lyme/Old Lyme High School graduating class has
about 100 students, much like a private school,
and approx. $11,000 is spent per student, per
year, which is high. As a result,
Lyme/Old
Lyme
SAT
scores are higher than the national and
Connecticut average. The High School offers a
planetarium, courses in Robotics, Lacrosse,
Crew, Soccer and 87% go on to higher education.
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