I had been to Gillette castle many times and twice inside, but don't know why it took me a while to blog about this unique castle and the state park. Just 30 minutes from Connecticut's capital Hartford, it sits right above a cliff overlooking the Connecticut River. This amazing stone castle's outdoors is as mesmerizing as its indoors. It has so many characters whether intricately carved wooden doors, bars, walls, or as detailed as wooden switchboards. While visiting this castle you admire this incredible man called William Gillette, his vision, and the creative ideas which were incorporated to build this castle. It took us back to 1912, William Gillette an accomplished actor who portrayed Sherlock Holmes, was born in Hartford in 1853 and discovered this location in a boat trip in the Connecticut River in 1912. Since he didn't own a permanent home, he decided to build one here. It was completed in 1919 and cost about 1 million us dollars. With a 184-acre property, this 14,000 square feet castle is truly whimsical and a creative brilliance as it consists of a private railroad, a disappearing bar, and 47 doors with every door being unique.
What to do
- You can take a tour of the castle, it's worth the price. Only 6 dollars per person and a youth aged 6-12 is 2 dollars and children 5 and under are free. There is a maximum of 12 people per tour. The tour leaves every 15 minutes. It is advisable to book the tickets in advance. Tickets can be booked here: https://connecticutstateparks.reserveamerica.com/tourList.do?parkId=101150&contractCode=CT
- Discover the ground or park, it has a beautiful pond and a stone bridge, and walking along the park itself is wonderful.
- Go for a picnic.
- You can take a short walk.
Gorgeous photos!! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos tahnks for the information
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love visiting castles. Thanks for sharing your post and creative photos. It looks very interesting where you have photos with the flower on focus and the castle in the background. And the water lilies, of course.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I will definitely put this on my travel list! thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAdding this to my local bucket list!
ReplyDelete