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CONNECTICUT was named Quinnehtukqut by the Native Americans for the "great tidal river" that splits it in two before spilling out into the Long Island Sound and washing the old whaling ports of the coast. This small and densely populated state is a sort of conservative, high-rent suburb of New York City, enabling commuters to earn Big Apple salaries while avoiding New York state and city taxes. Its first white settlers arrived in the 1630s: refugees from Massachusetts seeking liberty, good farmland and trading opportunities. Connecticut soon became a center for " Yankee ingenuity ," prospering through the invention and marketing (often by the notorious and not always honorable Yankee peddlers) of many a useful little household object. Although hit very badly by English raids in the Revolutionary War, its role in providing the war effort with crucial supplies made it known as "the provisions state ." After the war, the original charter of Connecticut's first colonists was used as a model for the American Constitution and gave rise to another nickname: "the Constitution state ." It continued to prosper during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with steady industrialization and lucrative whaling along the southeastern coast. Today, much of the old industry, especially in the north, has withered away, leaving areas of green countryside, untroubled by noisy interstates, many verdant forests and the idyllic rural villages that typify New England's PR image - but also unemployment and poverty. New Haven in particular, home to Yale University, faces distinctly urban problems like drug wars, homelessness and violent crime, which belie New England's myth of rural tranquility.

The linchpins of Connecticut's economy - insurance companies, medical research and military bases - hardly make for pleasing aesthetics, as demonstrated by the rather dull capital city, Hartford ; and even the historic and other wise attractive coastline is marred by some unfortunate stretches of sprawling gray concrete.

Except for a few isolated areas in the north, Connecticut is well connected with major roads : I-95 is the main interstate, running from New York to Rhode Island along the shore of the Long Island Sound. I-91 travels north from I-95 at New Haven, weaving its way along the Connecticut River to Vermont. However, in Connecticut, as with the other New England states, it's a shame to miss out on the quiet countryside scenery along the side roads, so it's worth getting off the interstates if you have the time. While the back roads can be poorly labeled, the distances involved are so small that you're not likely to run into major problems if you get lost.

All of the major east coast airlines fly to Bradley International Airport near Hartford, and Greyhound, Bonanza (tel 1-800/556-3815, ) and Peter Pan Trailways (tel 1-800/237-8747, ) buses run to most of the main towns. Connecticut Transit buses (tel 860/525-9181 or 1-888/BUS-RIDE) serve the inland area around Hartford. Metro North (tel 1-800/638-7646) trains carry passengers between New Haven and New York City, with connecting services to numerous other towns; Amtrak's line runs between New York City and Boston with various stops along the shore and a connection to Hartford.

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