Princeton

From World travel guide

Princeton is a town in central New Jersey, population approximately 30,000. Home of the prestigious Princeton University. The University's Nassau Hall served as the Capitol of the United States for a single summer in the late eighteenth century. Princeton counts among its former residents Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann.

Get in

A small rail station in close proximity to both the University campus and the downtown district provides a shuttle service, known locally as "the Dinky," to the nearby Princeton Junction train station, from which New York City, about an hour's ride to the north, and Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, to the south, can be accessed.

Reaching the center of campus from the Dinky is a bit tricky. Train travelers from New York should purchase a NJ Transit Northeast Corridor line train ticket from Penn Station to Princeton (not Princeton Junction). The southbound train from Penn Station will stop at Princeton Junction; disembark there and hold on to your ticket, as you'll need it to take the shuttle train ("dinky") from Princeton Junction to Princeton. The shuttle's Princeton terminus is at the south edge of campus; to reach the center of campus (containing the Admissions Office, Nassau Hall, the University's oldest building, etc.), walk north from the station through a group of triangle-shaped buildings, continue north on a road past a gymnasium (on your right) and a dormitory (on your left). This road dead-ends in a loop behind another dormitory, continue walking north until you reach an immense staircase terminating at an archway; this is the Blair Arch. Walk up the stairs and continue eastward along the path. When you reach a white marble building (Clio Hall), the admissions office (West College) will be just to the north, on your left, and Nassau Hall will be further north. A stair-free, less confusing path, is to take the same path through Spelman, but walk behind the gym to a road through the center of campus (Elm Drive), which leads north to West College and Nassau Hall. Visitors may wish to visit the Frist Campus Center for a campus tour. Tours depart from the Welcome Desk on the main floor of the Campus Center (take the stairs down, not up, at the front of the building). To get to Frist from the Dinky Station, the least confusing (albeit far from the shortest) path is to take Elm Drive until one reaches an east-west path running behind a white marble building. Make a right (east) on this path, and walk until you reach a major street (Washington Road). Don't cross Washington; just turn right (south), and continue until you reach the Campus Center, which is easily recognizable by "Fristhenge", a thin brickcourse supported by pillars in front of the building. (Preferably, one would continue north on Elm Drive and ask for a map at West College.)

A commuter bus line runs north from Princeton to Manhattan. This bus stop is located across the street from Palmer Square, at the heart of downtown Princeton. Buses leave on every half-hour between 8.30 am and 9 pm weekdays, and irregularly before and after those hours. The Saturday schedule is similar, and the Sunday schedule is hourly.

Sleep

Travellers on a shoestring budget should be aware that it is difficult to secure inexpensive lodging in town. There are a number of hotels and motels along Route 1 to the east, but those without hired transportation must note that there are no public transportation links to downtown Princeton from this area. There are no known hostels or lodging-houses in the Princeton area.

The Nassau Inn and Peacock Inn are hotels in downtown Princeton.

Buy

Downtown Princeton is full of shops. Many are high-priced boutiques catering to the town's non-student residents, although some are worth mentioning.

The Princeton Record Exchange is one of the best record stores in the country. It is also very inexpensive.

Micawber Books (named after a character in David Copperfield) is a very good, but somewhat expensive, book store. There are two side by side storefronts -- one for used books and one for new.

This article is still a stub and needs your attention. Plunge forward and help it grow!