Whether or not you’re an alumnus of Princeton University, it’s impossible to visit the historic town of Princeton, New Jersey, and not feel a teensy bit inspired. The spires and stonework, gargoyles and Gothic architecture have come to symbolize academia in pop culture (rewatch A Beautiful Mind as a primer), with the stately Nassau Hall, built in 1756 when Princeton was still the College of New Jersey, at its center. Currently an administration building, “Old Nassau” once housed the entirety of the college; it also hosted the Continental Congress in 1783 and was the site of a pivotal British surrender at the Battle of Princeton in 1777. Two bronze tigers—the school’s mascot—flank the entrance, guardians of the past and present.
There’s nothing stagnant about Princeton, though. The campus is under constant construction—a revamped university art museum designed by Sir David Frank Adjaye (of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. fame) is slated to open in 2025—and the surrounding town has received a facelift in the past few years. New roads, restaurants and shops, an overhauled train station, and a shiny Graduate by Hilton hotel have remade the visitor experience. Now’s the time to hop a train from NYC or Philadelphia—less than two hours from either—for a weekend of strolling, culture, sports, and conversation.
The best (and worst) time to visit
Autumn is a picture-perfect time to visit for all the obvious reasons: School is in session. Campus is buzzing (all that cold brew from Small World Coffee). The leaves are turning, and the event calendar is full of lectures, concerts, football games, and theater performances. The one time to avoid (as a non-alum) is Princeton Reunions, typically the last weekend in May, when 25,000 alumni return with suitcases full of orange clothing and a desire to pull all-nighters in the least academic way possible. Tents go up across campus, cover bands get booked a year out, and Budweiser delivers a beer order second only to the Indy 500. There’s even an on-campus parade (“P-rade”). Hotels will be full; come any other time, seriously.
Blazers of famous graduates are on display in glass cases at the brand-new Graduate by Hilton Princeton.
Courtesy of Graduate by Hilton Princeton
Where to stay in Princeton
The Nassau Inn has been the only game in town for . . . ever? At least as long as the university. The original site on Nassau Street, known as the College Inn, acted as a tavern and “hostelry” for guests like Paul Revere. It has since moved to Palmer Square, a central location for exploring the town’s best boutiques and restaurants, with the oak-timbered, beer-filled Yankee Doodle Tap Room still a gathering place for thinking out loud. (The 157 guest rooms could stand an update, though.)
The brand-new Graduate by Hilton Princeton, which opened on August 1, 2024, just two blocks away, has definitely raised the local hotel stakes. Recently acquired by Hilton, the Graduate brand has 38 hotels in U.S. and U.K. university towns, a reputation for clever design, and a mission to “celebrate and commemorate the optimistic energy” of each community. During the concept phase, each hotel hosts a writers’ room of sorts, with students, faculty, alumni, and locals joining the design team to mood-board decor fit for a Tiger. The result? In Princeton, it’s as if one of the famed “eating clubs” is now open to the public. Guests follow orange-and-black tiles into the lobby, which is one part library, one part British pub, with a hint of Hogwarts. Tufted leather sofas and high-backed mahogany chairs evoke the dining halls of Princeton’s residential colleges, while alumni will geek out over the class blazers (gifted at the 25th reunion) of famous graduates behind glass. Speaking of celebrities: Your room key may have Brooke Shields’ face on it—a replica of her student key card.
Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and the Graduate by Hilton Princeton will win over anyone with a university connection—and, frankly, anyone who loves a cozy room with Ritz-Carlton–level hospitality. Who can resist the rich textiles and classy tiger prints? The attention to detail (like lyrics to Princeton’s alma mater, “Old Nassau,” framed on every floor)? Even the bed posts have a story to tell—ask at the front desk about the canes and their markings. It’s warm, inviting, elevated, and a welcome addition to the town.
Hoagie Haven has been slinging sandwiches since the ’70s.
Photo By EQRoy/Shutterstock
Where to eat and drink in Princeton
Follow the students’ lead and start your day with a NOLA-style iced coffee (with chicory, like in New Orleans) at the original Witherspoon Street outpost of Small World Coffee. This shop is beloved for good reason; it’s been brewing small-batch coffee from all over the world since the early 1990s. Grab a breakfast sandwich and a couple of the infamous chocolate chip cookies up the block at Olives delicatessen; while you’re at it, make a reservation across the street at Agricola for dinner. The perpetually full farm-to-table restaurant plays with local produce to make standout seasonal dishes like NJ corn ravioli and mushroom flatbread. For dinner the following night, book a table at Mediterra, a Mediterranean taverna where everything’s tasty (though there’s something about the papas bravas that’s extra chef’s kiss). University faculty or trustees might be dining next to you.
Spend happy hour (or after hours) at the indoor-outdoor patio of Alchemist and Barrister; alternatively, opt for affogato hour—I’m trying to make this a thing—at one of the town’s many ice cream shops. Halo Pub and The Bent Spoon are steps away, and Thomas Sweet down Nassau Street has a chocolate chip cookie dough I’ve been devoted to for more than 20 years.
Looking for a dive? Ivy Inn is always a sticky-floored good time, and Hoagie Haven satisfies all late-night cravings with its extra-large, extra-sloppy hoagies (long live the chicken parm).
The Lewis Center for the Arts offers more than 100 public performances per year, most of which are free to attend.
Photo By EQRoy/Shutterstock
What to do in Princeton
This is a place best explored on foot. Consider letting the Historical Society of Princeton be your guide. Its comprehensive Sunday tour ($15) is one of the best deals in town: a two-hour, two-mile stroll around downtown Princeton and across campus, with stories shared about Nassau Hall, the University Chapel, and the area’s Revolutionary past. It also offers nature hikes in Institute Woods, two miles from Nassau Street, where Albert Einstein and other Institute for Advanced Study fellows have rambled, and architecture tours of the centuries-old eating clubs.
Nature lovers should make time for the Marquand Park and Arboretum, once a 19th-century estate that’s now a beautifully cultivated public park, home to more than 140 tree specimens: rare evergreens, a Dawn Redwood, native beech and hickory among them.
Enough history and trees, you say? Then plan a night out at McCarter Theatre Center, a Tony-winning regional theater known for workshopping future Broadway-bound shows. Debuting this fall is Empire Records (Sept. 6–Oct. 6), a musical adaptation of the 1995 coming-of-age movie about teenage record-store staff and their boss trying to save their beloved indie shop from corporate overlords. It’s also worth checking the lineup at the university’s Lewis Center for the Arts for student and professional works—contemporary art exhibits, dance, conversations with Joyce Carol Oates—often open to the public.
If you, like Flavor Flav, got hooked on women’s water polo at the Paris Summer Olympics, watch the future of the program at Princeton’s DeNunzio Pool, where goalie Ashleigh Johnson (class of 2017) played. Olympians Maia Weintraub, class of ’26 (a gold-medal winner!), Hadley Husisian, ’26, and Tatiana Nazlymov, ’27, are on the roster for the 2024–2025 women’s fencing season, and the nationally ranked men’s lacrosse team will play to keep its top 10 position this fall. Following an NCAA run last season, the men’s basketball team kicks off its new season at home against Iona on November 4.
