Boston to New Haven. Advice needed for OS Visitors.
G'Day Guys,
My wife and I will be flying into Boston to start our Honeymoon and couldn't be more excited. We're hiring a car and driving down to NYC, and thought we'd stop off in New Haven or somewhere else along the way. I know it's only a couple hours between Boston and NYC, but we've got 2 nights to kill and would LOVE to see as much scenery as is possible. I know we could easily spend a lot of time exploring, but not much we can do about since we're already booked.
So my question is, is there somewhere else besides New Haven we should stay for one of those nights and is there a scenic route we could take that isn't the big standard highway connecting the two cities?
I really appreciate any help anyone can lend, can be pretty difficult trying to organise something when you've never been before.
Thank you!
A Relatively Romantic Route
The one place that I immediately thought of when you said you were looking for a scenic route and a nice place to stay on the way from Boston to New York through New Haven was, of course, Newport RI. During the Gilded Age Newport was the summer home of such people as the Astors and Vanderbilts and their seaside 'cottages' are some of the most sumptuous homes in America. One was used for the opening scenes of the movie 'True Lies' and many are open to the public. You can also dine courtside at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. So, if you're looking for a place to stay on your first night, with a stay in New Haven on the second, Newport is where I'd suggest.
It is also very easy to string all those cities (Boston, Newport, New Haven, and New York) together with a nice, relaxing, and scenic drive with other notable venues along the way. From downtown Boston you'd take I-93 south to MA-24/RI-24 south all the way through Fall River to Portsmouth RI and then RI-114 to RI-138 and over the bridge into Newport. From Newport take RI-138 west across another very scenic bridge to US-1 south. US-1 is the old Boston Post Road and through this area of New England at least is quite pleasant, connecting a number of old seaside fishing towns including Mystic (home of Mystic Seaport), Groton (home of the US Submarine Museum), and Lyme/Old Saybrook. It is only between New Haven and New York City that the coastline becomes heavily industrialized and urban in nature, but even here there is a more scenic option to the heavily traveled I-95. Just head a little bit inland and take CT-15, the Merritt Parkway, and pay particular attention to the many architecturally unique bridges that cross overhead.
AZBuck
