Top Rated Attractions in West 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.

A Gutenberg Bible, rare prints by the famed ornithologist John Audubon, and other remarkable manuscripts and journals are all located in this library in the heart of the Yale campus. Beinecke houses one of the largest rare book collections in the world, including more than 500,000 printed volumes and several million priceless manuscripts. The building is a rarity itself, designed to protect its holdings from solar damage with translucent marble "windows" that allow in only minimal light.

The Congregational United Church of Christ, as it is more formally known, has stood on the New Haven Green since 1639. The current Georgian structure dates to 1812. Architect Ithiel Town incorporated large windows into the design to capture sunshine, as there was no heating system. A beautiful Tiffany window, installed in 1890, depicts the Rev. John Davenport leading the first service in the new colony. The historic crypt contains the remains of Benedict Arnold's first wife. There is a small burial ground behind the church, where regicide John Dixwell is laid to rest.

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.

Named after the fraternal brotherhood, the Knights of Columbus museum is one of the finest religiously themed museums in America. Situated beside the Supreme Council office, the museum strives to put the various activities of the Knights of Columbus fraternity into the forefront of the world. The numerous material sources and artifacts pertaining to the fraternity are on show in this Columbus Plaza museum.