Fairfield is an ideal community for elegant living with its unique neighborhoods, a vibrant downtown, pristine beaches and numerous leisure activities. The Metro North Railroad, Interstate 95 and the Merritt Parkway are all easily accessible and make it convenient to travel to nearby metropolitan areas like Westchester County, New York City, Stamford and Hartford.

For sun worshippers and water sport enthusiasts Fairfield's eight-mile coast on Long Island Sound is a summer playground. There are five public beaches, mooring and docking facilities, sailboat storage, a marina and boat basins. Penfield Beach and Jennings Beach have sandy shorelines and food concessions.

Lovely landscaped parks offer walking, hiking, picnicking, bicycling and nature study overlooking the Mill River. For residents who enjoy freshwater swimming there's Lake Mohegan. During the winter, ice skaters glide across Sturges Pond, Owen Fish Park and Gould Manor Park. Ranked by Money Magazine as the best place to live in the Northeast in 2006, the community has six public and private golf courses, five year-round clay tennis courts and dozens of asphalt courts at parks and schools.

The city has an extensive and diverse range of housing from stately colonials dating from the late 1700s, Greek Revival, Federal and Victorian homes to striking contemporaries and a variety of condominiums both inland and by the sea. Many of these well-preserved buildings are historic landmarks.

Ogden House and Gardens is an Eighteenth Century saltbox farmhouse furnished to portray the lives of its Revolutionary-era inhabitants. The city's Historical Society Museum located on Old Post Road features over 350 years of artifacts, and includes permanent and changing exhibits.

Of the three public libraries, Pequot Library located in Southport, houses one of the nation's most impressive collections of rare volumes and Americana.

The town's school system is modern and thriving. The Continuing Education offers a variety of learning opportunities for adults.

Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts produces theater series featuring a wide variety of performing arts attractions throughout the year in an 800 seat theater. Westport Country Playhouse offers music and theater in a quaint and charming renovated Red Barn. The Quick Center for the Arts has two large theaters.

The Connecticut Audubon Center and the adjoining 155-acre Roy and Margot Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary features live education animals and other nature-related exhibits. A butterfly garden is open from late spring and throughout the summer. The Center's "Birds of Prey" aviary is home to a variety of owls and hawks, two Peregrine falcons, and a turkey vulture.

Fairchild-Wheeler Golf Course, Black Course is an 18-hole regulation length golf course. The Brooklawn Country Club and Golf Course regularly receives accolades as one of the top 100 classic courses in America.

Connecticut Yankee Balloons offers hot-air balloon flights over the Litchfield Hills, central Connecticut and the Housatonic and Naugatuck River valleys, weather permitting.

There are many independent and parochial schools and colleges including Fairfield University and Sacred Heart University. These colleges offer arts and athletic programs for the community to enjoy, including theater, lectures and Division I intercollegiate sports.