If you love to walk in a city where you can park your car and walk from place to place, and feed your soul as well as your senses, then you will find much to love about downtown New Haven and the multi-faceted campus of Yale University, home to the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale University Art Gallery.  All just 75 miles from New York City (a 1-1/2 hour drive, or Metro North or Amtrak train ride.)

 

 

On Day Two, walk a few blocks from the Omni to Yale  University Art Gallery, a fine-arts museum presenting works of art from ancient times to the present day --- and like the Yale Center for British Art, open year-round free of charge.  The Gallery's main building, designed by American architect Louis I. Kahn, is a masterpiece of modern architecture and design which recently underwent a comprehensive renovation.  The Gallery is located across Chapel Street from the Yale Center for British Art.  Grab a light lunch plus great people-watching at a local favorite, Atticus Bookstore & Cafe.  For a glimpse of college life, take a tour of Yale University campus (tours start at 149 Elm Street, Saturday & Sunday at 1:30 p.m., Monday - Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.)  Hear about Yale's rich 300-year history and aspects of student life at several of Yale's twelve residential colleges.  The tour also includes the Gothic Sterling Memorial Library, Yale's largest, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.  Constructed with more than one hundred panels of translucent marble, the Beinecke is home to one of the world's preeminent collections of rare materials, including the Gutenberg Bible.  That evening, dine at the Union League Cafe, voted Connecticut's #1 restaurant in 2006 & 2007 and enjoy a live performance at the Shubert Theater.

 

On the third day, check-out of the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale and enjoy an authentic Italian breakfast at Caffe Bottega, known for their excellent cappuccino and espresso.  Then, head south on the Merritt Parkway and stop at one of the fine museums and historic sites in Fairfield County: the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, the Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob/Greenwich or the Weir Farm Art Center and National Historic Site in Wilton.

 

For more information on the Greater New Haven visitors district, visit their website or call (800) 332-STAY.  For Connecticut Tourism, visit ctvisit.com.