A novel day in New Haven, CT

I celebrated my birthday this past weekend. It’s always hard to plan a fun getaway in the middle of winter. It so happened that this weekend also brought low windchill too! I decided that my love for books would make New Haven a perfect destination. Last Fall, I met two women in Kent, CT at a bookstore. They had been bookstore hopping that day. I never ever had done bookstore hopping and thought that was a brilliant idea!

There are so many bookstores, libraries and museums within walking distance, and all indoors! The best part? It was very low cost. I only had to pay for parking and snacks. I ate lunch beforehand and didn’t stay long enough to eat dinner in New Haven, so if you do - look into the pizzerias. New Haven is known for their pizza!

Here is the itinerary of my bookish day:

Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library

For the longest time, I’ve been seeing photos of this library on Instagram. I had to finally check this off my bucket list! The largest building in the world devoted to books. There were over a million books, manuscripts and more. It was a beautiful sight to see all the books. I took my time, sitting in one of the comfy chairs around the library to take in the sights!

Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library

I’ve passed this iconic library several times on my walks around Yale campus but have never gone inside. On reason why is cause I’ve always had my pup with me. It was too cold for her to join me this weekend so I finally got my chance. I WAS BLOWN AWAY. The library was GORGEOUS. It is built in the collegiate gothic style (resembling a European cathedral). There are many beautiful stained glass windows everywhere (later on, I read there is a total of 3,300!). All the study spaces were stunning, I’m jealous of the students who gets to enjoy the beauty of the library on a daily basis! It would be a dream to work there!

Grey Matter Books

A small bookstore with many used books! The books were mostly unique, rare and unusual. I enjoyed looking through the older editions of classics. The atmosphere was very laid back and relaxing. Chairs were scattered throughout the bookstore for people to take a seat while browsing. There were multiple piles of book stack everywhere.

Atticus Bookstore Cafe

Located on the first floor next to Yale Center for British Art, it is a small bookstore and cafe. The bookstore had beautifully curated organized sections of books. I loved browsing through the ‘staff recommendations’ and ‘best books of 2022’ sections. The cafe was bustling, with nearly every table occupied.

Yale Center for British Art

This isn’t a ‘bookish’ spot but worthwhile to check out! It had a large collection of British art. It was organized by time period, making it easy to maneuver through the gallery. They suggest starting at the 4th floor and working your way down. My favorite was The Long Gallery on the 4th floor. A gallery with the walls covered in paintings. I could see myself take a seat and study the art!

Free admission. Also note YCBA will be closed February 27th until 2024 for a building conservation project.

Yale University Art Gallery

The oldest university art museum has four levels of extensive art collections from African Art, Asian Art, paintings, sculptures, Early European art, photographs, drawings, coins and many more. It had plenty to see! I didn’t get to see the entire gallery because of timing, so be sure to plan at least half a day for this. I was excited to spot some of my favorite painters like Monet. The building itself is also gorgeous!

Free admission.

Book Trader Cafe

This bookstore was really crowded when I visited. I didn’t get to see much of it unfortunately, but I did see that it had a good selection of used books from $1-$10. The atrium side of the shop was really busy, it is a cool spot where the tables were surrounded by bookshelves. The cafe sold coffee, drinks, pastries and more.

The Yale Bookstore

Every time I come to the Yale campus, I always pop into Barnes and Noble (The Yale Bookstore) to browse through the Yale memorabilia and souvenirs. Of course, I also browse through the books, especially the Yale authors section. Did you know that the author of Ninth House and recently released Hell Bent, Leigh Bardugo is a Yale alumni? I bought a Yale mug for all the tea I tend to drink while reading!

It was a fun book themed day and I enjoyed my time in New Haven! I love Yale with all of its gorgeous gothic architecture. There’s so many details that I continue to find new-to-me every time I visit. New Haven has plenty more that I didn’t share here such as shops, restaurants, more museums, so forth. It’s easy to do a day trip here during the winter! I had the perfect evening at home reading Ninth House which the opening scene was at the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library while drinking delicious tea in my new Yale mug!