Hi,
I’m from the UK, and my friends and I are doing a road trip across the US in the summer. We pass through New Haven in late July. We’d love to soak up the university atmosphere in the city, eat some great food, visit some nice bars, and explore the nightlife. It would be great to hear your advice on where to go, what to see, and where to stay!
Thanks
Andy
@Andy4244, I can’t speak to the food, drink, or merriment, but there won’t be much “university atmosphere” in late July. It’s a beautiful campus, but it’s the students that make it vibrant, and they will mostly be elsewhere at that time.
Andy posted the exact same thing on the Harvard forum and my advice is posted below. Yale also has a summer session with many high school students in attendance. And once again Andy, please use Google as your tour guide.
Apologies, maybe i didn’t make myself clear. Google has a limit, and I’d be far more interested in hearing from people who have lived/studied in the city. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated!
Oh, and I have no intention of partaking in underage drinking or chatting up teenagers (I’m 24 and not a weirdo!!)
Thanks,
Andy
The classics:
Pizza on Wooster Street, preferably white clam at Pepe’s. Then you could try Bar closer to the Yale campus http://www.eater.com/2014/3/18/6264277/the-definitive-guide-to-new-haven-pizza
Toad’s Place is the main music club in the campus area. But its offerings can get thin during the summer. http://www.toadsplace.com/
New Haven has excellent theater at the Yale Rep and the Long Wharf Theater, but neither really operates during the summer.
Go to the beach at Hammonasset State Park, and eat seafood at one of the many restaurants in nearby Madison.
Another classic is Louis’ Lunch:http://www.louislunch.com/. Barcelona is fun for drinks and tapas: http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/newhaven.htm. The Owl Shop is an atmospheric tobacco store/bar with live music: http://owlshopcigars.com/.
Truthfully I would just visit Yale and take the tour, go to the Peabody Museum or Yale Art Museum and get lunch somewhere. Then explore somewhere else in CT. During school, the campus is hopping with things to do but not much while school is out. If you want good seafood, go to Lenny and Joes on the shore in Westbrooke. There is a lot to see and do in CT from Mark Twain’s house to Gillettes Castle/Essex Steam Train. We have wineries and creameries and lots of first for food. Its a small state and most of it will be spread out and not in one city location. You can cross the entire state in about 2 hours.
Lighthouse Park is in New Haven, Hammonasset is more than a half hour away.
East Rock Park is beautiful, and teeming with Yalies and squirrels, although a black bear was spotted there recently. Climb (take the trail not the cliff climb) or drive to to top for a wonderful view.
Modern is as good if not better than Sally’s or Pepe’s and less of a tourist spot. The locals favor it.
Eat at the Great Wall on Whitney for serious Chinese food.
Beineke, because how many places can you see a Gutenberg, and in a building designed to disappear underground in case of a fire?
Beineke is currently closed for rehab. The Gutenberg is apparently at the Peabody museum (according to my kid who works for the library system as well as a tour guide).
You should definitely check out the Pez Factory in Orange, CT. It is highly recommended by my kids and is on the way to New Haven if you are coming up from NYC.
The locals may favor it, and it’s easier to get a seat there, but imho Modern is nowhere near “as good if not better” than Sally’s or Pepe’s. Modern is around the corner from an apartment my wife lived in for a year way back when. It’s perfectly good pizza, better than I can get where I live, but not as unique or as excellent as Pepe’s is and Sally’s was (and may still be, but I haven’t been there in a long time).
My wife and I drive through New Haven 6-8 times/year, and at least half of those times we stop for pizza. It’s usually Pepe’s, but we tried Modern again about four years ago. We won’t be going back there.
Another advantage of Pepe’s is that Libby’s Bakery is next door, and they have wonderful Italian pastries and cookies for dessert.
Lucibello’s, a few blocks away, has better pastries. Libby’s looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since it opened.
As for Modern (and Libby’s), de gustibus non est disputandum. I’d have no problem finding opinion ranking it equal or superior to Sally’s or Pepe’s. I’d also throw in Zuppardi’s in West Haven.
But thanks for not going back to Modern. More for me.
Bar is another great option for pizza. Not quite as good pizza as P/S/M, but much better atmosphere and drinks
If you are a true pizza lover, the only option is to try Sally’s, Pepe’s and Modern and judge for yourself.
DS will be in Chicago this summer, and expressed curiosity about “deep dish pizza.” We finally had “The Talk,” not about sex and condoms, but in which I told him that just because it’s called pizza doesn’t make it pizza. Enjoy it if you can, but it isn’t pizza. What’s a parent from NY,NJ,CT to do, other than pray that our years of instilling good pizza taste in our child will see him through the summer?
I have to add that New Haven has nothing- hop on a train headed to Hartford and get off in Berlin and go to Central Pizza… now THAT is good pizza. 
none of that sauce on cardboard thing they serve in New Haven. ha ha ha
The mashed potato and bacon pie at Bar on Crown Street is my all time fave.
Not to high Jack this thread but is visiting Mystic worth it?
And I agree Bar has great pizza! Was the suggestion of kiddo’s future coach
@tonymom YES ITS WORTH IT… There is an old whaling village that can be walked through with original whaling ships and depending on the day there will be concerts on the green and all sorts of things to visit and explore. There is a fee but they might offer student discounts. Our local library gives passes to the town to use. We will bring a picnic and eat it there with the kids. There is also an aquarium that was recently renovated that has won many awards. They usually offer some kind of special exhibit as well. The last time I was there it was all artifacts from the Titanic. There will be a lot of seafood places in the area and the town itself has lots of quaint shops to explore. It is certainly worth the day trip if not two.