Things to do in New London
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Monte Cristo Cottage
Part of a well-laid-out walking tour is Monte Cristo Cottage, the boyhood summer home of Eugene O’Neill, America’s only Nobel Prize–winning playwright. Near Ocean Beach Park in the southern districts of the city (follow the signs), the Victorian-style house is now a research library for dramatists. Many of O’Neill’s belongings are on display, including his desk. You might recognize the living room: it was the inspiration for the setting for two of O’Neill’s most famous plays, Long Day’s Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness! Theater buffs should be sure to visit the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in nearby Waterford, which hosts an annual summer series of…
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Nathan Hale Schoolhouse
Part of a well-laid-out walking tour is the tiny Nathan Hale Schoolhouse is one of the many Connecticut schoolhouses that bear the name of this peripatetic pedagogue. Hale (1755–76) is famous for his patriotic statement, ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country, ’ as he was about to be hanged for treason by the British without trial. He taught in this schoolhouse before enlisting in the Connecticut militia.
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Ocean Beach Park
- New London, USA
- Sights › Park
Part of a well-laid-out walking tour is at the southern end of Ocean Ave: Ocean Beach Park, a popular beach and amusement area with waterslides, a picnic area, miniature golf, an arcade, a swimming pool and an old-fashioned boardwalk. The parking fee ($9 on weekdays, $13 on weekends) includes admission for everyone in your car, or else it’s $5 for adults and $3 for kids. After Labor Day (early September), weekdays are free.
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Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Part of a well-laid-out walking tour is the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, a neoclassical building with exhibits that span the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including impressive collections of early American silver and Asian, Greco-Roman and European paintings. Among the highlights are the American impressionists gallery and the charming doll and toy exhibit. There’s also a self-guided children’s art park on the grounds.
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Hempsted Houses
Part of a well-laid-out walking tour are two Hempsted Houses, the wood-framed older one (1678) is one of the best-documented 17th-century houses in the country. Maintained by the descendants of the original owners until 1937, it is one of the few 17th-century houses remaining in the area, having survived the burning of New London by Benedict Arnold and the British in 1781. The house is insulated with seaweed, of all things.
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Timothy’s
Blessed with a stunning view of the Sound and decorated with hand-carved chandeliers, this dining room at the Lighthouse Inn Resort promises gracious food in equally gracious surroundings, and excellently named chef Timothy Grills delivers. The menu is seasonal with a focus on seafood, starring such dishes as lobster at dinner. Try the sautéed salmon medallions with roasted onions served on jasmine rice ($20).
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Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock
The Coast Guard knows a thing or two about the sea, and you’d be remiss if you didn’t follow students of its academy to the place for seafood in the summer. The setting’s just a series of picnic tables by the water, but you can feast on succulent (hot or cold) lobster rolls, followed by steamers, fried whole-belly clams, scallops or lobsters.
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Hygienic Art
- New London, USA
- Sights › Art
Done up in a Greek Revival style replete with a sculpture garden, mural plaza, fountains and a large performance area, Hygienic Art is centered on a gallery featuring exhibits in many media. It hosts poetry readings, film screenings and other events. The gardens and amphitheater are open during daylight hours.
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Frank’s Place
For a quarter-century, Frank’s has provided the area’s gay community with a comfortable place to eat, drink, play pool and sing karaoke. No matter what the evening’s entertainment may turn out to be, there’s never a cover charge. Its birdcage room is not something you see every day.
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Bang Kok City
The amiable servers here can guide you through the large menu, and the spice level is under your control. Use it. Try their memorable tom yam kong (spicy shrimp soup) and leave space for custard dessert. Under the same roof is Little Tokyo where a filling yakitori bento lunch is $8.
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Whale Oil Row
On Huntington St right next to the St James' Church, Whale Oil Row features four identical white mansions (Nos 105, 111, 117 and 119) with imposing Doric facades built for whaling merchants in 1830. They're now private businesses not open to the public, but the exterior is impressive.
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Dutch Tavern
Raise a cold one to Eugene O’Neill at the Dutch, the only surviving bar in town that the playwright frequented (though back in the day it was known as the Oak). It’s a good honest throwback to an earlier age, from the tin ceiling to the century-old potato salad recipe.
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Recovery Room
The family-run Recovery Room has New London’s best pizza – thin crusted and one-sized – with a variety of topping options some of which (barbecue chicken or sour cream) you might want to pass on. Makes for a good stop en route from a day at Ocean Beach Park.
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Custom House Maritime Museum
Part of a well-laid-out walking tour is the 1833 Custom House Maritime Museum, the oldest operating customhouse in the country. Its front door is made from the wood of the USS Constitution.
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US Coast Guard Academy
Visitors can stroll the grounds of the US Coast Guard Academy, one of the four military academies in the country. Pick up a self-guided walking tour booklet at the museum.
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Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Theater buffs should be sure to visit the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in nearby Waterford, which hosts an annual summer series of readings by young playwrights.
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Golden Street Gallery
Golden Street Gallery features rotating exhibits by local artists, with a focus on painting and printmaking.
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Captain’s Walk
A well-laid-out walking tour starts along the restored pedestrian mall called the Captain’s Walk.
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Ya-Ta-Hey
Ya-Ta-Hey presents sculpture, painting, pottery and jewelry by contemporary Native American artists.
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Historic Houses
As well as the Hemsted Houses, further downtown in New London, you'll find a lovely strip of Historic Houses.
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