New Canaan is known for its wide range of architecture and vast public parks such as Waveny Park, and a signature town center with classic boutiques. Residents carol on God’s Acre every Christmas Eve, a town tradition since 1916. It is also known for its public school system, which in 2018 was ranked as the top public school system in Connecticut, and in 2008 the third-best in the country.
The New Canaan Public Schools system is considered to be one of the best in Connecticut. It has also gained national recognition for its high performance; for example, a recent edition of Forbes rated New Canaan as the third-ranked school district in the United States "for home value" for communities with a median home price of $800,000 or greater. In 2019, New Canaan High School was ranked the sixth-best public high school in Connecticut behind Darien and Weston, and one of the top in the nation.
