Top Rated Attractions in New Haven

Famously known as the "most beautiful street in America," the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District is a site that spreads over 18 acres of land. With several traditional homes located here dating to the 19th-century, the site also features homes of some renowned people. The site is worth a visit to watch the beautiful elite constructions of New Haven.

This museum boasts of the most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, which includes paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and rare books that chronicle British life from the Elizabethan period to the present. Fifteen hundred paintings showcase the likes of great landscape painters John Constable and JMW Turner. The museum also hosts concerts, lectures, family education days and symposia. The gift shop offers a wide range of collectibles, art reproductions and literature for both children and adults.

The Yale University Art Gallery, founded in 1832, and with more than 100,000 pieces in its permanent collection, is the oldest university art museum in the country. The gallery offers an excellent overview of art history, ranging from ancient to modern. There is an exquisite collection of American paintings, and an extensive display of 20th-century European paintings. Classic objects from ancient Egypt and the Middle East, and treasures from the South Pacific and Far East are also on display. Guided tours, lectures, and family programs are all available. Admission is free.

Yale Repertory Theatre was founded by the Yale School of Drama in 1966 to engender a closer working relationship between faculty and students and the professional theater, and has helped launch the careers of dozens of now-famous actors. "Yale Rep" is located in the stunning former Calvary Baptist Church, which was built in 1868 and renovated to accommodate the theater in 1970. A landmark in downtown New Haven, the Yale Rep Theater stages everything: musicals, dramas, comedies and new works, both classics and fresh scripts. Yale Rep is an award-winning theater in the circle of renowned, established theaters in the greater New Haven area.

Marsh Botanical Garden is situated within the precincts of Yale University. Its name pays tribute to Othniel Charles Marsh, who bestowed this property upon the university. Beatrix Farrand planned the landscape of the garden that houses a wide variety of plant species. Faculty, students, nature lovers, researchers and many other visitors head to this botanical gardens that has four greenhouses, perennial beds, seasonal plants and much more.

An easy drive from downtown New Haven, this park is a beautiful respite from the hustle and bustle of life. As you meander along the curved, tree-lined roads up to the summit, you will be greeted by a spectacular view of the city, Long Island Sound and the New Haven Harbor. There is a prized bird sanctuary, picnic and playground facilities, and if you are in the mood for a brisk walk, there are 10 miles of hiking trails. Enjoy the great outdoors right in the city.