America’s Best Small Cities on the Rise
Smarter Traveler
July 20, 2014 by Jamie Moore
New Haven, Connecticut
What’s Hot: In the arts hotbed where Yale University makes its home, there are so many impressive new collections and performances that you’ll need more than a weekend getaway to experience even a fraction of them. The university operates two art galleries and a Tony Award-winning repertory theater. Two other theater companies bring live drama to the stage, and music venues range from the Yale School of Music to the local symphony to Toad’s Place, where U2 and The Rolling Stones have played.
Why We Love It: So influential are the arts in New Haven that each summer the 15-day International Festival of Arts & Ideas draws great minds and performers from around the world along with crowds of 100,000.
If You Go: Eat at one of the oldest and most revered establishments in New Haven: Louis’ Lunch, which stakes a claim as the birthplace of the hamburger. Local legend Pepe’s is known for its unusual white clam pizza.