Norwalk is a city, and it works like one. Office parks, apartment buildings, retail strips and older neighborhoods all sit within a few miles of each other, linked by I-95, the Merritt Parkway and the Route 7 connector.
South Norwalk, or SoNo, is the busy end, with restaurants on Washington Street, the Maritime Aquarium and newer apartment buildings near the train station. Rowayton, on the Darien side, is a small waterfront village with its own station. East Norwalk runs toward Calf Pasture Beach, and Silvermine, up near New Canaan and Wilton, is wooded and much quieter. Cranbury and West Norwalk are mostly single-family homes.
The Merritt 7 office park sits at the north end beside its own Danbury Branch stop, and Main Avenue and Connecticut Avenue carry a long run of shops and services. From Fairfield it's a straight run down I-95, past Westport.