• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
  • Travels With The Crew Free Resource Library
  • Our favorite travel items

Travels With The Crew

September 28, 2018 United States Travel•New England Travel

A fall weekend in New Haven, Connecticut

There may be affiliate links in this post. Read my disclosure policy to learn more.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

yale streetMost people think of Yale when they think of New Haven, Connecticut. If they think of New Haven at all, that is. When my husband and I moved to Connecticut many years ago, I think the only thing I knew about Connecticut at all was Yale. Almost 20 years later, I know a few more things about Connecticut. For example, do you know there is no real name for a person from Connecticut? Someone from Virginia is called a Virginian, Washington a Washingtonian, etc. Someone from Connecticut is a . . . . Connecticutter? Most people say they are Nutmeggers (we are the nutmeg state) or simply New Englanders. But there is no official word!

new haven boys
yale architecture
Despite the quirks of this tiny state, we have loved living here and we love how close New Haven is! It is a town with endless charm and so many things to do. A few weekends ago we played tourist in our own state to bring you A Fall Weekend in New Haven, Connecticut.church on the green new havennew haven alleywaychapel street new haven

Table of Contents

  • To do in New Haven
    • East Rock Park
    • Wooster Street
    • Yale University
    • Yale Museum of British Art/ Yale Art museum
    • Peabody museum of natural history
    • Beinecke Library
  • What to eat in New Haven
  • Pizza
    • Arethusa

To do in New Haven

East Rock Park

To help you get the lay of the land, and to see a beautiful display of reds and oranges, drive up East Rock mountain, and be rewarded by the view of the city. You can pick out Yale campus, Long Island Sound, and many surrounding neighborhoods. While you are there, you can picnic at one of the many picnic benches. There are also great hiking and running trails leading all over the park!

east rock jason

Plan on 30 minutes

Wooster Street

Wooster Street is probably aptly named Little Italy in New Haven. Italians who had immigrated through Ellis Island at the turn of the last century made their way to New Haven and became the largest immigrant group in the area. As they settled in Italian neighborhoods, the cultural phenomenon known as pizza began to make its mark on New Haven. If you are not from the area, you probably had no idea that pizza is big business in the Elm City.

pepes fresh tomato pizza.jpg

A story of pizza rivalry unfolded in the early 1900s on Wooster Street that has continued through today. Two of the top contenders for the New Haven pizza crown are on Wooster Street: Pepe’s (voted by thrillist.com as best pizza in the country for 3 years running) and Sally’s. (We will talk more about pizza in our good eats section) Other Italian eateries line the street, and you can’t walk down this street without running into some deliciousness.

Plan on 10 minutes to walk around or longer if you are going to eat.

Tip: while you are waiting for your food, there is a playground on that street

Yale University

Although New Haven is more than just Yale, Yale does dominate a lot of the things to see and do in New Haven. Yale University was founded in 1701 and is well known as one of the best universities in the world. It was built to represent the great universities of the old world, particularly Cambridge. Tours are offered almost every day of the year, and I really recommend the architecture tour. If you choose to just look around Yale instead of do a tour, you will still see plenty. Pay attention to the architecture of the different doors. That alone could be a tour.

yale street architectureyale doorwayyale architectue 2yale archwayyale architecture door scuplutre

Evergreen 468x60banner

Plan on 1-2 hours depending on the tour

Yale Museum of British Art/ Yale Art museum

These two museums are right across the street from each other and are both free! Now, if your kids are like my kids, museums are not high up on their list of fun things. However, when a museum is free you can take them in for 10-15 minutes and leave without remorse. I slightly prefer the British art museum to the Yale Art museum, but they are both great.

yale british artyale british art queenyale british art stairway

Plan on 30 minutes to an hour

Peabody museum of natural history

This is a museum your kids will like! New Haven has its very own Dinosaur Museum. Alas, it is not free but on Tuesday afternoons it is pay as you wish. My kids love this museum because it has dinosaurs! They also love the ancient Egypt exhibit and the hall of minerals.

Plan on 1-2 hours.

Beinecke Library

This is a must see in my book because of the architecture alone.  This is Yale’s rare book library and is one of the largest repositories of rare books. The main part of the library has no windows but the walls are made out of square slabs of thin marble. When the sun shines, the entire library is filled with a gentle glow. It is gorgeous. It is free to the public, and children are more than welcome as long as they use their inside voices. While you are there you can check out an original Gutenberg bible.

beinekebeineke interiorrare books

Plan on 30 minutes.

What to eat in New Haven

If you are a food lover, New Haven is the town for you. This small city boasts more restaurants than days of the year. So, in trying to pick the best, I was flummoxed in trying to pick the most authentic New Haven meal that you can have. Bear in mind that there are many fabulous places to eat.

Pizza

As I mentioned above, pizza is the food to eat in New Haven. It even has its own special name, abeetz (which means pizza in Italian). The pizza has its roots in Naples and is a thin crust with a slightly chewy texture. It is generally cooked in a coal fired oven at very high temperatures (which results in a slightly charred crust).

clam pizzapepe pizza

If you want authentic abeetz, head over to Wooster Street and hop in line for Pepe’s pizza. Order the white clam pizza (the best pizza in America according to thrillist.com) or the fresh tomato (summer availability only) and wash it down with locally-produced Foxon Park Birch beer. You will truly taste New Haven in that meal.

If you have kids who want some more traditional toppings, my recommendation is Modern Pizza. They have more topping options and more seating space, so it’s a great place for kids. It is every bit as delicious as its Wooster Street competitors.

Arethusa

This is my very favorite ice cream in all of Connecticut. It is produced in a dairy in Northern Connecticut and sold in the New Haven scoop shop. What makes Arethusa special is that they concentrate on a few flavors but make those flavors perfect. Don’t go in here looking for ice cream with tons of candy or swirls of caramel and marshmallow. They don’t cover up their perfection with add ins. Try the strawberry or chocolate and be prepared to have the best ice cream you have ever had. A waffle cone with a generous scoop of ice cream is only $3.75. You will find yourself going back a few times before your New Haven weekend is over.

arethusaarethusa 2

 

Like this? Pin it for later

The top 5 things to do in New Haven CT! Enjoy museums, pizza, parks, and the beach! #NEWHAVEN #newhavenpizza The top 5 things to do in New Haven CT! Enjoy museums, pizza, parks, and the beach! #NEWHAVEN #newhavenpizza

 

Share
Pin1K
Tweet
1K Shares

Connecticut fall weekend family travel New England travel new haven

Best Travel Gifts

Bestseller No. 1 The Best Ever Back Seat Games: Fun games to play... $12.95
SaleBestseller No. 2 Paint by Sticker Kids: Unicorns & Magic: Create 10... $7.29
SaleBestseller No. 3 Anywhere Travel Guide: 75 Cards for Discovering... $11.66
SaleBestseller No. 4 Paint by Sticker Kids: Zoo Animals: Create 10... $5.90
Bestseller No. 5 I SPY Travel Card Game for Kids, Entertain... $7.99

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Previous Post
Next Post

Related Posts

United States Travel

Visiting Hershey Park at Christmas

READ THE POST
Harpers Ferry West Virginia
United States Travel

What to do in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

READ THE POST
The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts is a great summer destination. Flowers as far as the eye can see! #newenglandtravel #shelburnefalls #gardentour
United States Travel

The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts...

READ THE POST
European travel

4 days in Ireland with the kids

READ THE POST

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Travels With the Crew

I am so happy that you stopped by! My name is Alicia and I run Travels with the Crew. Travels With the Crew is a family travel blog designed to help make travel easy and help your family make lasting memories. Are you planning a weekend get away, a road trip, or an international vacation? We can help you with that! Click here to learn more. Click here to learn more.

Popular posts

5 tips to prepare your kids for a trip

Traveling with kids is often seen as a frustration, but it can be a rewarding experience. Here are my best 5 tips for traveling with kids

Why I Travel With My Kids And Why You Should Too!

Why I travel with my kids and why you should too! The main things is to help your kids understand the world around them and how they can be participants or observers.

Hotels vs. Home rental

When is a home rental better than a hotel. Why you might want the amenities a hotel has to offer.

Search

Best Travel Gifts

SaleBestseller No. 1 4 Pack Travel Bottles, TSA Approved Containers,... $11.59
SaleBestseller No. 2 Universal Airplane in Flight Phone Mount.... $12.97
Bestseller No. 3 BAGSMART Large Toiletry Bag Travel Bag with... $27.99
Bestseller No. 4 Toiletry Bag, WDLHQC Travel Hanging Makeup Bag... $24.99

Categories

  • Canadian Travel
  • Christmas Travel Destinations
  • Eastern Canada
  • European travel
  • How to explore the world from home
  • Miscellaneous
  • New England Travel
  • New York City Travels
  • Posts
  • South America Travel
  • travel tips
  • United States Travel
TRAVELS WITH THE CREW is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
Copyright ©Travels With The Crew 2019 2021 Travels With The Crew
Theme by SheShoppes

Copyright © 2021 · Smitten for Genesis on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Travels With The Crew
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.