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All the United States Connecticut New Haven

The Atlas Obscura Guide To New Haven

17 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in New Haven, Connecticut

Updated May 16, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in New Haven

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

New Haven, Connecticut

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Yale University's home for rare works, including the mysterious Voynich Manuscript.
Louis’ Lunch

New Haven, Connecticut

Louis' Lunch

While many places make the claim, the Library of Congress says this restaurant is the birthplace of the hamburger.
A view of the Cushing Center from the entrance

New Haven, Connecticut

The Cushing Center

An archival collection of over 2,200 case studies which includes human brain specimens and tumor specimens.

New Haven, Connecticut

Crypt at Center Church-on-the-Green

137 graves holding New England's earliest residents.
East Rock

New Haven, Connecticut

East Rock Park

Panoramic views of the city of New Haven and the Long Island Sound, with a side of history.
Sarah Winchester

New Haven, Connecticut

Grave of Sarah Winchester

Connecticut grave of the woman responsible for the Winchester Mystery House in California.
Skull and Bones Tomb

New Haven, Connecticut

Skull and Bones Tomb

The headquarters of the famous Yale society.
Hurdy Gurdy.

New Haven, Connecticut

Yale Collection of Musical Instruments

A quirky assortment of musical marvels from around the world.
See All 17 Things To Do in New Haven

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in New Haven

Louis’ Lunch

New Haven, Connecticut

Louis' Lunch

While many places make the claim, the Library of Congress says this restaurant is the birthplace of the hamburger.
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

6 Unusual Eats Curiously Cooked Up in Connecticut

For superb pizza, most people look to New York. Excellent burgers are available in every one of the 50 states. But where can you find hamburger recipes caught in the early 20th-century, cooked in steamers or served on toast with absolutely no ketchup allowed? Or, for that matter, fancy cheese made by trailblazing nuns who launched their dairying business at a time when Velveeta was still the norm? Connecticut may be an odd place to designate as a culinary cradle, but the state contains everything from the last of a generation of feminist vegetarian restaurants to what the Library of Congress dubs the very first place to have served up a hamburger. Unique culinary institutions cropped up in every corner of the state. Some have survived, while others have fallen by the wayside (R.I.P. to the Frisbie Pie Company). Here are six remarkable gastronomic institutions in a place that has proved to be fertile ground for unusual eats.

View Itinerary
Pizza, burgers, and a feminist restaurant: Connecticut has it all.

Explore New Haven, Connecticut

Memento Mori 4
Libraries 3
Catacombs And Crypts 3
Architecture 3
Cemeteries 2
Repositories Of Knowledge 2
Statues 2
Universities 2
Colleges 2

New Haven Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Annetta Black
    3
  2. JWOcker
    3
  3. Raychael
    1
  4. hollander
    1
  5. mpapowitz
    1
Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to New Haven.

Places Edited

  1. Ragnar of Ballard
    11
  2. Calvin the Courageous
    9
  3. missingfilm
    6
  4. Collector of Experiences
    4
  5. Rachel
    4

Places Visited

  1. Ragnar of Ballard
    16
  2. johnscottzink50
    15
  3. morganpatterson57
    13
  4. e1savage
    13
  5. SKR1186
    12

Recent New Haven Activity

  • jonahboss

    has been to The Cushing Center

  • aano00

    has been to Judges Cave

  • aano00

    wants to go to The Institute Library

  • aano00

    has been to Statue of "King" William Lanson

  • aano00

    wants to go to Yale Collection of Musical Instruments

Stories About New Haven

Podcast: Voynich Manuscript

A strange medieval document, housed in a stunning modern library.
by The Podcast Team
May 16, 2023
Gordon Parks captured this image of protest on the streets of Harlem in 1963. It is among 222 pictures by the famed Black photographer recently acquired by Yale University.

A New Home for Hundreds of Photographs by the Legendary Gordon Parks

Yale has acquired some of the Black photographer’s best-known images.
by April White
February 2, 2022
Vertical Cities.

See Scale Models of the Greatest Skyscrapers Never Built

A new exhibition is full of diminutive versions of big buildings and even bigger ideas.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
December 4, 2017

Lists Featuring New Haven

A view of the Cushing Center from the entrance
Brain of Helen Hamilton Gardener

The World's Most Fascinating Displays of Preserved Brains

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

8

Including The Cushing Center, Mammalian Brain Collection, and Brain Museum

Become an Atlas Obscura Member

Join our community of curious explorers.

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