Location: Princeton
Top Things to do in Princeton
Top 10 Free Things to do in Princeton, New Jersey (NJ)
Princeton, New Jersey, the home of Princeton University since 1756, is one of the most famous college towns in the world. The university, with its massive endowment and long history, has made the town of Princeton an exciting place to visit. The Princeton University Art Museum owns over 72,000 works of art, displaying everything from Latin American folk art to Italian Renaissance paintings. The school also hosts dance, theater, and performance art at the Lewis Center and other assorted venues.
Restaurants in Princeton
1. Princeton University
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 996 reviews
The ivy league campus is ideal for a stroll, where some interesting buildings may be visited.
Reviewed By johnbZ8051LU - Princeton, United States
Princeton University is many things: quaint, with one of THE most beautiful campuses in the world (and where the word “campus” was coined in the 19th century); historical, as George Washington defeated the British for the first time in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, and marched down its Main Street in pursuit with his aid Captain James Madison (a graduate of the college) while his Captain of Artillery Alexander Hamilton canonnaded Nassau Hall, the college’s main building where the British were quartered; intellectual, as a college town often is, but in Princeton’s case moreso with such luminaries as Albert Einstein living there, working at the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s most prestigious think tanks: and finally gracious, as many of its older faculty houses reflect a bygone era of serenity and spaciousness. Princeton University, founded in 1746, is the smallest of the Ivy League schools, yet one of the most influential if any United States colleges in terms of its alums attaining the highest of positions: several Presidents of the United States, Secretaries of State, Federal Reserve chairs, three current Supreme Court Justices, several heads of foreign goverments, world renowned scientists, an astronaut, famous actors, corporate and financial heads, a Heismann Trophy winning athlete, highly decorated military leaders, and a faculty which has made it one of the top ten research universities in the world, with 63 Nobel Laureates, Turing Award Laureates, and hundreds of other prestigious awards. Its Chapel is the third largest college chapel in the world, seating over two thousand. The university campus occupies one side of the entire Main Street of the town evoking a hint of Oxford or Cambridge, not accidentally. It is a university and town worth a visit to soak in its rich and long history as well as its incomparable dedication to academics, culture and the pursuit of higher knowledge in service towards a better world.
2. Princeton Public Library
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 203 reviews
Reviewed By dschuchman - West Windsor Township, United States
The Princeton Public Library is a wonderful facility with outstanding programs and staff. Their "Librarian by Appointment" program gives you up to 1 hour dedicated with a Reference Librarian to learn how to use the online databases and to easily navigate the resources of the library.
3. Princeton University Art Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 731 reviews
The Princeton University Art Museum is one of the nation's finest art museums, housing collections of over 72 ,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of world history and all the world's major cultures. The Museum also presents special exhibitions and educational programs throughout the year. Admission is free.
Reviewed By ProfessorCharles
Allow time during your visit in Princeton to spend time at the Uni Art Museum. There's a superb permanent collection that spans centuries across the globe, and there's always the added attraction of a special exhibit. Everything is perfectly curated (as one would expect), and the museum itself, though large, will invigorate rather than tire you. Highlights include a fabulous window by Burne-Jones.
4. Savory Spice Shop
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 13 reviews
Savory Spice Shop Princeton features over 550 freshly ground spices, herbs, salts and blends from all over the world.
5. Princeton University Chapel
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 161 reviews
Reviewed By rccaia - Princeton, United States
Princeton University's Chapel is amazing! The word 'chapel' conjures up the image of a small space for quiet reflection and prayer. While it is quiet, as it should be, it is anything but small. The chapel is beautiful and very large. Built around 1920 I believe and in the collegiate gothic style as many of Princeton's building are it is a wonderful place to visit if you are in Princeton. Just a short walk, maybe 100 yards into the campus from Nassau Street, you will come to the front entrance. When inside turn around to see the huge pipe organ in the balcony above the entrance. Christmas concerts there are amazing! Very cool place that is worth the visit especially if you like gothic architecture.
6. McCosh Hall
7. Nassau Hall
8. Institute for Advanced Study
9. Princeton Cemetery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By jauchzet
This is owned by the Presbyterian Church but the burials seem non-denominational. The first person buried here was Aaron Burr, Sr., in 1757. His son, Aaron Burr, Jr., who was in a duel where he shot Alexander Hamilton is buried here also, along with Grover Cleveland and Sylvia Beach of the Paris Shakespeare bookstore. The Presidents of Princeton have their special section and because this cemetery is so old, a "Colored" section. If you are interested in history, visit here. Go to the entrance on Wiggins and Greenview and you will find a very nicely prepared guide to the cemetery's most famous people.
10. Westminster Choir College
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 15 reviews
Reviewed By original_chessielass - Roanoke, United States
Since moving to Princeton in 1932 under land gifted to them through a charitable trust by the late Sophia Strong Taylor, who strongly believed in the vision of founder John Finley Williamson, Westminster Choir College has established itself as a jewel in the crown of Princeton, and of the world of choral music. Its choirs have performed at Carnegie Hall, the White House, across this country and around the world, under the baton of such greats as Leonard Bernstein, Arturo Toscanini, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, and Zubin Mehta. The Westminster Symphonic Choir regularly performs with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Their choirs have received multiple Grammy nominations. The school boasts the largest voice faculty in the world and the conservatory education provided on this bucolic campus just a few blocks from Princeton University is unmatched. The Westminster Choir College Princeton campus also houses the Westminster Conservatory, where thousands of Princetonians of all ages have received weekly lessons and musical training. In 1991, during a period of financial difficulty, Westminster Choir College merged with nearby Rider College, a private business school located in Lawrenceville. As a result of this merger (not sale), Rider was able to achieve university status and later co-op the Westminster name to begin music programs on its Lawrenceville campus under the auspices of "Westminster College of the Arts," an umbrella under which Westminster Choir College then resided in name, though still on the Princeton campus which is uniquely equipped for the highly specialized training received by Westminster Choir College students. The recently constructed state-of-the-art Cullen Center on the Princeton campus, built through a generous gift and in part through a state grant, contains one of the two finest choral rehearsal and performance spaces in the United States. In 2015, Rider University hired a new president, Gregory Dell’Omo, an individual with a proven track record of dismantling universities with multiple campus. By the end of 2016, he and his Board of Trustees had fabricated a "financial crisis" and there began the long and winding road that has resulted in enrollment drops approaching a staggering 60%, loss of several key faculty members, and a disheartened, though deeply committed, student body. Though Westminster Choir College had full enrollment up until the time of DellOmo's first announcement in December 2016, and Rider itself had huge deficits of 1000+ students, the proposed solution was to move WCC to the Lawrenceville campus in a half-baked consolidation plan. This was met with great resistance and ultimately this plan was abandoned in favor of seeking a "new partner" to take on WCC, hopefully in Princeton, but possibly not. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on consultant Price Waterhouse Cooper (from which the Rider Board president had recently retired) and ultimately the proposed partner was revealed to be a Chinese bridge manufacturer-turned-education company with ties to Chinese government and military. This company had absolutely no higher education experience and research into its origins revealed a questionable timeline which closely mirrored Dell Omo's path of destruction. Multiple lawsuits were filed, and even the NJ Attorney General came out with a statement voicing serious concerns with this proposed arrangement, and in July 2019 the Chinese company backed out. Shortly thereafter, Rider announced a new plan to move WCC to the Lawrenceville campus. Since the enrollment had been decimated due to their own actions, they feel confident that they can make it work this time. However, instead of preparing adequate facilities in Lawrenceville and THEN moving the Princeton students over, they plan to move the students in the Fall of 2020, with a few enhancements to the Lawrenceville campus, and woefully insufficient practice and performance spaces which they say will be built in future years. Obviously this does not bode well for this historic school, and the loss of their presence in the Princeton community would be immense. But, as they say, it's not over until the fat lady sings! Right now Westminster Choir College is right where it belongs in Princeton. Its choirs still perform dozens of concerts every year. You can attend some kind of musical event nearly every weekend, whether it be choir, organ or piano concerts, recitals, master classes, operas or other, and you will be guaranteed to be impressed. Most recitals are free, though you should check the website for which performances require tickets. The campus is small and easily walkable. The historic buildings house many charming architectural features, and as you walk through the campus, you will catch the sounds of students practicing as their voices float on the wind. If you are in Princeton, be sure to walk the couple of extra blocks over to Walnut Street to see what all the fuss is about. You won't be sorry!
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