Visiting Stamford is like touring Corporate America. Downtown is the flashy headquarters of businesses such as Xerox and GTE. The usual department stores and specialty shops that one might expect to see are absent. To find them, a drive to the huge Stamford Town Center on the outskirts is required..

A small town that's rapidly growing into a corporate Mecca, Stamford offers a good deal of urban amenities. There are excellent restaurants and night clubs adding pizzazz to the scene.

Cultural activities abound here. Evenings can be spent savoring the romantic sounds of the Connecticut Grande Opera and Orchestra at the Palace Theatre or watching a play skillfully presented by Stamford Theatre Works.

SoundWaters, the reproduction of a 19th-Century Chesapeake Bay sharpie schooner, offers adventure cruises on Long Island Sound to examine the ecological wonders of the region. Enjoyable and educational,. this trip is a great way to spend a day in the soft warm breezes and sunny skies searching for lobsters, sand crabs, and other small marine animals.

Nature trails through farmlands, and wetlands dusted with wildflowers are found at the 63-acre Bartlett Arboretum and the 118-acre Stamford Museum and Nature Center. The latter also has a museum with six galleries and a planetarium that's worth checking out.

There are two public golf courses in town: E. Gaynor Brennan Public Golf Course and Sterling Farms Public Golf Course. And there are a number of parks, but the best ones require a resident pass. Resident parks have beaches, fishing, marinas, tennis and a skating rink. Other parks generally have only ball fields and playgrounds. At this time, it is possible to obtain a non-resident pass for $30/car/day , but the cost and regulations are expected to change, shortly.

The exclusive society of Stamford in located on the southwestern tip of Connecticut.