New Hope is known for its vibrant art community, which goes back decades and has made the town a hub for expression.
“People who care about being creative and the arts tend to migrate to New Hope,” said Tamara Cannon, the owner of Gallery Piquel, who moved to the area nearly 20 years ago after decades of traveling the globe.
Art isn’t the only draw, though. The Bucks County borough of about 2,600 people boasts a smorgasbord of restaurants, historic buildings, picturesque walks, and scenic views of the Delaware River — qualities that can make it hard to decide how to spend a visit.
PA Local has you covered. I spoke to four locals to put together this guide to activities, eats, and attractions in New Hope. The below itinerary gives a taste of what a daylong trip to the borough could look like.
Morning
“To really get a flavor of New Hope,” Stephanie Leister, a member of the New Hope Historical Society’s executive board, told PA Local, “the best thing you can do is the least expensive thing you can do, which is walk around.”
“Walk around, walk into the galleries, walk into the shops, walk into the little mom-and-pop restaurants,” Leister said. “Everything is very bespoke, very curated, very one of a kind.”
Before you can do that, though, you’ll need to park. Cannon cautioned weekend visitors should budget time for parking into their schedules, because the area’s popularity can make it challenging.
Be prepared to pay; street parking is metered and accepts cash, card, or the ParkMobile app. If you prefer a parking lot, Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce President Michael Sklar recommends keeping your car at Union Square or New Hope-Solebury High School. The school’s lot is open to the public on the weekends (and sometimes charges a fee that benefits the booster club).
If you need breakfast or coffee before you head into New Hope’s core, try Poppa-Frank’s (a Sklar recommendation) or Amsterdam Coffee Bar, a Leister fave that boasts a tasty drink called the Lemon Lush and gallery of bonsai trees.
Or you can park and find food along your stroll. Leister recommended Factory Girl Bake Shop for a sweet treat, and Sklar said weekend brunch at Karla’s — “especially their martinis” — is a local favorite.
As you amble, keep an eye out for markers throughout the borough that share the history behind some buildings. And don’t miss dozens of works of public sculpture scattered around the area.
If the weather is pretty, check out some pocket parks and the Towpath Trail, said Victoria Short, secretary for the borough Visitor’s Center and a resident for nearly 50 years.
“One of my most popular pamphlets is called the canal loops, because you can walk from here to Easton on the Pennsylvania side, and then on the corresponding Jersey side, and then cross back and forth at the bridges,” Short said. “So, if you’re cycling or walking, you have an expanse of opportunity there.”
Early afternoon
At lunchtime, you’ve got plenty of options for food. Though it’s a small borough, New Hope has over two dozen restaurants, according to Sklar.
A few of his recommendations: the pizza at Fran’s Pub, the view of the Delaware at Martine’s Riverhouse Restaurant, or the burger at the Salt House. “You can’t go wrong,” Sklar said. “It really depends on what you crave.”
For a crowd-pleasing spot with on-the-go options, the Ferry Market food hall is a good bet. Offerings range from Mediterranean to Peruvian to salads made with locally grown ingredients.
After lunch, you can choose your own adventure.
If you’re a history lover, consider a tour of the Parry Mansion Museum, the former home of the “father of New Hope,” Benjamin Parry, or a visit to the Locktender’s House, which used to serve the Delaware Canal.
You could also keep traipsing, and explore the shopping and art scene along the way. Some artsy suggestions from the locals who spoke with PA Local include Gallery Piquel, the Dancing Elephant, Chromium, Arete Gallery, the Creeper Gallery, and New Hope Arts. Short recommends the Red Tulip Gallery in particular, which she called “one-stop shopping for the art scene.”
For antiquing enthusiasts, Short recommends walking over the bridge to New Hope’s sister city of Lambertville, New Jersey, to check out some of the shops there, including the People’s Store, a four-story treasure trove.
For families with kids, Leister recommends the Bucks County Children’s Museum or driving to nearby Lahaska to visit Giggleberry Fair, an indoor play space.
Evening
New Hope isn’t just a visual arts town; it’s a hub for performance too. So why not finish out the day with dinner and a show?
Evening dining options abound. If you’re looking for an upscale date-night spot, Sklar encouraged getting a reservation at Zoubi, a gastropub with indoor seating and a courtyard where it feels like you’re “dining in a fairytale.”
Short recommended Stella along the Delaware River, or Oldestone Steakhouse. For “an indoor/outdoor feeling” with “fun, shareable small plates,” Cannon highlighted Nektar. And for seafood and steaks, Leister suggested the newly opened Maddy Rose.
Depending on what’s running at the Bucks County Playhouse — one of the borough’s “top draws,” according to Short — you may be able to see a musical, play, or cabaret performance after you eat.
For a double-whammy — dinner and music at the same time — visit Havana, which hosts some of the “best cover bands you’ve ever heard,” Leister said.
Other food-plus-entertainment options include John and Peter’s, a music club that serves fare like burgers, wings, and quesadillas through midnight, and Odette’s, an upscale surf-and-turf restaurant with a piano lounge. Three miles south of New Hope’s main stretch is Bowman’s Tavern, a Cannon-recommended casual dining spot with live piano music.
“There’s a lot of music, there’s a lot of culture, there’s a lot of art in our community,” Leister said, “and it’s very easy to immerse yourself into these experiences.”
For even more New Hope-area restaurants, cafes, shops, galleries, and other spots of interest with stamps of approval from our sources, peep this map.