Old Lyme wears its history lightly: a town green the Impressionists painted, a museum where the art is on the walls because the walls are the art, and river light that has been drawing painters for more than a century. Our Old Lyme designs gather that identity — the clam shell, the 1636 emblem, the colony's light — into wearable form. Painting the light since 1899.
Childe Hassam arrived in 1903 and shifted the colony from misty Tonalism to vivid Impressionist light — earning Old Lyme the nickname "the American Giverny."
Why People Visit Old Lyme Connecticut
- Tour the Florence Griswold Museum, artists colony home with galleries and riverside grounds.
- See the painted panels — 41 works painted directly on the doors and walls of the boarding house.
- Visit Lyme Art Association, historic galleries showcasing regional painters.
- Relax at Sound View Beach, sandy shoreline with gentle surf and boardwalk blocks.
- Walk the Town Green, churches and historic homes along tree lined Lyme Street.
- Enjoy White Sand Beach, neighborhood cove with seasonal access and calm waters.
- Paddle or picnic at Rogers Lake, the freshwater anchor of the town's northern half.
