Outside Hartford Is A Connecticut Town With Historic Charm, Popular Restaurants, And The PEZ Candy Headquarters

It's not particularly well known for skiing and lacks a city that's quite as flashy as Boston; so, for many traveling through the Northeast, Connecticut is nothing more than a place to stop. But there's more than meets the eye in The Constitution State — in fact, there are plenty of one-of-a-kind tourist attractions you won't find anywhere else. The town of Orange is a great example. 

Orange sits just outside the city of New Haven and about a 45-minute drive south of the state capital of Hartford. To get there by plane, you can possibly fly into the international airport in Hartford depending on where you're coming from. If you're visiting New York City and looking to escape the hustle and bustle, hop on the Metro North train at Grand Central Terminal and get off in West Haven; from there, hail a ride share or catch a CT Transit bus over to Orange. 

Whether you're a visitor with a sweet tooth and a penchant for PEZ candies or a history buff interested in diving into the town's development, you'll leave Orange satisfied with your visit. 

Candy lovers around the world are familiar with PEZ candies and their iconic dispensers, but did you know they're produced in Orange? The company has Austrian origins but became a U.S. enterprise and set up its operations in Orange in the 1970s. The PEZ visitor center has everything for the candy lover in your family. 

PEZ opened the visitor center at its Orange headquarters in 2011. Though you can't tour the production floor of the factory here, you can peer into the candy creation process in a designated viewing area. You can find candies, dispensers, and other souvenirs at the gift shop here, as well as a museum of sorts dedicated to PEZ dispensers of the past and other novelty items and historical pieces from the brand's lengthy past. There's even a motorcycle sculpture made entirely out of — you guessed it — PEZ. 

Aside from that sweet history, there are other pieces of knowledge you can pick up in Orange. The Orange Historical Society maintains three properties in town, each telling a unique piece of Orange's story. 

The Stone-Otis Home dates back nearly two centuries, originally built by Dennis Stone, one of the town's first general store owners and political figures. It was later occupied by Charles Otis, an inventor who had patents for novelties like car alarms and machines to create fishing line, and his wife Phebe. The Bryan-Andrews House's history goes back even further to the mid-18th century; it was built for shipping magnates Alexander Bryan and his son Richard, who were known for helping found what would later become Orange. The Academy Museum — not to be confused with the film institution in Los Angeles — is a former schoolhouse that now serves as a place of learning for all ages, housing the biggest portion of Orange historical documents and artifacts. 

Orange is a largely residential community, so many of the town's restaurants are concentrated along the main travel artery of U.S. Route 1. But don't just expect standard American fare, as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Italian restaurants abound in Orange. For a spicy fix, check out KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot and Ji Bei Chuan. Less-spicy options include Italian at Gabriele's Ristorante Italiano, 700 Degrees Pizzeria, and Andini's Restaurant and casual American classics at Chip's Family Restaurant and Mission BBQ.