Top Rated Attractions in Springfield

Springfield's Museum of Fine Arts includes collections of fine works by some of the world's greatest painters and sculptors. Highlights of the permanent collection include works by Monet, Gauguin, Degas, Pissarro, and Renoir, 19th-and 20th-century Japanese prints, and modern artworks by O'Keefe. The Fine Arts Museum also boasts the only permanent collection of Currier & Ives lithographs.

Take a break from your hectic schedule and enjoy a few moments of relaxation at Elizabeth Park Conservancy. Operating since 1897, this beautiful park has been a place of interest for the locals as well as the tourists due to its charming gardens. The property spans an area of 102 acres (41 hectares) and is home to a heritage rose garden, horticultural garden, shade garden and four other gardens. Besides the lush greenery, it features four century-old Greenhouses verdant pathways, lawns and many more things to do on a sunny day. It also provides facilities for recreational activities like tennis courts, basket ball courts, picnic groves and many others. All in all you are sure to enjoy your time here.

This home on Farmington Avenue is where Mark Twain lived from 1874 until he moved to Europe (due to bankruptcy) in 1891. It is also the place where Twain wrote some of his most famous works, such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The estate is in constant renovation and the curating team is always looking to restore it as it was when Twain lived here. Nonetheless, the adjacent Museum offers an exclusive documentary about the writer by director Ken Burns and the home was one of the first 100 architectural sites to be registered as a National Historic Landmark in the United States.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is dedicated to the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and it offers a profound insight into the life and times of this suffragette. This is the home in which Stowe lived from 1873 until her death in 1893. The house includes authentic, restored furniture pieces as well as souvenirs from her journeys around the world. A library, located on the grounds of the nearby Day House contains books, manuscripts, images and more. Visitors can also view eight Victorian gardens on the grounds of the estate as well as several special events held throughout the year.

Come visit the birthplace of one of America's best-loved authors, Emily Dickinson, who was born here in December 1830. The famed poet spent most of her life here composing over 1800 poems. The property consists of two different residences that are open to the public: The Evergreens, home to Emily's brother Austin, and The Homestead, where she lived and where her numerous unpublished poems were found after her death. Visitors can see both houses through special guided and audio tours.

Learn about the history of Springfield during the 19th and 20th Centuries at the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. This 40,000 square-foot (.9 acres) museum shows how the city developed during the Industrial Revolution as well as the city's place in American history. You can walk through interesting exhibits, like the Smith & Wesson Gallery of Firearms History, the John Brown, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Exhibit, and the Automobile Gallery. The museum also hosts fun events.