About 25 years ago, a Hollywood showrunner came to Connecticut looking for some home decorating ideas.
Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel, made the trip to visit the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford. But during their stay, they found a whole lot more than ideas for paint colors and textile patterns.
They found the seeds that grew into the now iconic show, “Gilmore Girls.”
Shortly before the trip, Sherman-Palladino pitched network executives at The WB. But the idea they latched onto was a throwaway comment she made about a mother-daughter duo who are more like best friends.
She didn’t know what that show was, really. But they bought it. So then all she had to do was … write it.
Thankfully, driving through the leafy hills of northwestern Connecticut gave Sherman-Palladino a lot of inspiration. They made their way to the town of Washington, about an hour outside Hartford, to stay at the Mayflower Inn.
She recently told the Hollywood Reporter:
"It was leafing season; it was bucolic and beautiful in October, the leaves were changing and there were signs up for pumpkin patches and hay rides. And it was like, what the ****? I come from California. There’s no pumpkin patches and hay rides here. It felt like the whole thing was straight out of central casting."
She took notes. Some of what she wrote on the trip even made it into the pilot.
On the show, young mom Lorelai Gilmore runs an inn, similar to the Mayflower in real life.
Sherman-Palladino told the Deseret News that on the trip, she saw a customer help themselves to a cup of coffee from behind a restaurant counter. That's something Lorelai does at Luke's Diner all the time.
So much of what she saw in the town of Washington became elements of the small town featured on the show: Stars Hollow.
To be clear, there’s no town in Connecticut called Stars Hollow. Honestly, not a single episode of “Gilmore Girls” was even filmed here.
But fans still flock to Connecticut to seek it out. A chance to experience the state that inspired Sherman-Palladino to dream up their favorite fictional community.
The podcast team at Connecticut Public has been traveling the state, visiting fan festivals, hoping to understand more about the show’s appeal across generations as the series celebrates its 25th anniversary.
We talked to fans from around the country, who visited Connecticut to find their own taste of Stars Hollow. We even talked to some who moved here because of the show.
Michelle Gorra, who works in economic development for the town of Washington, has given tours to people from around the world who want to see the place that inspired Stars Hollow.
“I was actually contacted by the Connecticut Office of Tourism last year because they had travel journalists coming from Ireland,” Gorra said. “They asked them what they wanted to see and the first thing they asked was, ‘Can we go to where ‘Gilmore Girls’ was based on?’”
The state tourism office confirms Connecticut sees a bump in “Gilmore Girls” interest in the fall, both in visits to Litchfield Hills and in visits to the state’s tourism website.
“The number of readers per day on 'Gilmore Girls' specific content between September 15th and November 15th last year was 143% greater than the average number of readers of the same content throughout the full year,” according to Felicia Lindau, who works with the tourism office.
That traffic coincides with Nielsen data that shows the series also gets an annual bump in streaming numbers during the autumn months.
Over three episodes of "Generation Gilmore Girls", cast members, showrunners, comedians – and more – share how their love of “Gilmore Girls” has shaped them. We’ll also give you our guide to the parts of the state that most reflect the show, and share other things we wish the series had shown about Connecticut.
Plan your trip to Stars Hollow, Connecticut
The fan festivals our podcast team attended, which you’ll hear about in each episode, have information ready for you to plan your trip in fall 2026!
Stars Hollow Saturday and Sunday on Pratt Street in Hartford
- 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 3-4, 2026
- Open to the public
- Hear from the organizer in episode 3, as well as fans from the 2025 event sprinkled throughout each episode.
A Weekend in the Life in New Milford
- September 4-6 in New Milford, Conn.
- Tickets go on sale January 16, 2026
- You'll hear from a cast member who attended the 2025 festival in episode 2, a New Milford local who embraces the festival in episode 3, and a sprinkling of fans from the event in each episode.
Firelight Event in Guilford
- Dates and ticket sales are expected to be announced in January or February 2026
- Hear from the organizer in episodes 2 and 3, and meet fans and cast members from the event sprinkled throughout each episode.
Learn more
- "Generation Gilmore Girls" episodes drop Tuesdays starting December 2.
- Follow wherever you get your podcasts and visit ctpublic.org/gilmore to check out videos, photos and more special content.