Weekending in New Haven, Connecticut
Come for the pizza. Stay to discover why this city has earned a reputation as the state’s cultural capital.
Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven / Photograph by Jon Bilous/Alamay Stock Photo
New Haven, the Connecticut city on the north shore of Long Island Sound, is probably best known as the home of Yale University. But its second illustrious claim to fame is its pizza, or, rather, apizza — the thin-crust, coal-fired pies that first sprang from Italian immigrant Frank Pepe’s brick oven in the 1920s. Taking a self-guided pizza crawl is reason enough to make the three-hour road trip from Philly, but there’s much more to explore once you’re there.
Where to stay
Hotel Marcel in New Haven / Photograph courtesy of Hotel Marcel
Check in to the Bauhaus-style Hotel Marcel (rooms from $337), part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection. Designed in the 1960s by Marcel Breuer (also behind the original Whitney Museum in New York City), the architectural gem was originally built to be a tire company’s headquarters but today is among the country’s greenest hotels. Stop in to the on-site restaurant BLDG for a sustainable cocktail, made with organic spirits.
What to do
Start with a free museum: Yale Art Gallery’s collection includes fifth-century B.C. Greek vases and works by realist painter Edward Hopper, while the Yale Peabody Museum is home to a 100-million-year-old Brontosaurus skeleton. Beyond campus, walk through New Haven Green — the park in the city’s center dates back to the early 17th century — and browse the surrounding shops, like Dwell, for home goods and stylish souvenirs.
Where to eat
Sally’s Apizza / Photograph courtesy of Sally’s Apizza
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana is still churning out its famed tomato pies, plus an excellent white clam version. (Get it with smoked bacon.) At Sally’s Apizza, sit in a booth surrounded by vintage family photos and order another Parmesan-dusted tomato pie and a local Foxon Park birch beer. Need a pizza break? Try Arethusa Farm Dairy for ice cream made with milk from their farm, and Sherkaan for Indian street food. Close out the day at Fair Haven Oyster Co., where you can tip back briny oysters with a view of the Quinnipiac River.
The Can’t Miss List
1. Plot out a path to try the city’s four famous pizzerias, including Modern Apizza and BAR. The latter serves its traditional pies with house-brewed beer.
2. Climb to the summit at East Rock Park to take in panoramas of the city and waterfront.
3. See an exhibition at NXTHVN, a dynamic arts incubator supporting underrepresented artists and co-founded by a Yale School of Art alum.
4. Watch a play at the Yale Repertory Theater (Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong’o have performed here).
5. Drive to Lighthouse Point Park to walk the coastal trails, see the historic tower, and take a spin on the 1916 Lighthouse Point Carousel.
Published as “Jaunt: Weekending in … New Haven, Connecticut” in the August 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
