Lambertville
Across the Delaware River from New Hope PA on the New Jersey side is historic Lambertville which was founded in 1705 and incorporated in 1849. It is a great spot to wander and explore some wonderful galleries, antique stores and some great restaurants and cafes. It also has some excellent lodging options. I have been three times and have always enjoyed the experience.
My recommendations include:
Under the Moon Cafe: Located at 23 N. Union St., this is a restaurant and bar serving American, Italian and Spanish cuisine. They are open for lunch, brunch and dinner. They have a bar as well as outdoor seating. In July 2025, I went with a NJ friends for Sunday brunch and enjoyed the pork roll benedict. The enjoyed the experience!
To the north is La Chocolate Box at 39 N. Union St. This is an attractive, local chocolate shop which features chocolates and confections. I enjoyed the dark chocolate bark.
Nearby is Union Coffee at 49 N. Union St. I stopped in for a latte before my brunch and enjoyed it.
Across the street is Panoply Books at 48 Union St. This is a small, local bookstore that sells used and rare books along with vinyl LP records and other items.
For dinner I was pleased that I chose to eat at Revolution Woodfire Grille. This is an attractive restaurant along with The Boat House bar, across the patio, that features seafood and meats cooked on a woodfire grill. I enjoyed some great fish and chips. They have a large outdoor patio for both. It opened 2024 in the former space, along the river, of Hamilton’s Grill Room where I had eaten in the past. The Boat House bar is popular with locals and is filled with nautical memorabilia. 8 Coryell St.
For coffee downtown, I also suggest Lambertville Trading Company at 43 Bridge Street.
Chez Alice Patisserie: Located at 15 Bridge St. this is a small French bakery with a menu of macarons, pastries, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The hazelnut macarons were excellent.
At 45 Bridge St., Sandy’s Scoops is a small, local ice cream shop. I stopped in and enjoyed the cannoli flavor.
Another place to try is the Broadmoor Restaurant, for fine dining, at 8 N. Union St. It is a BYOB Italian restaurants that gets great reviews.
Bucks County Dry Goods, This is a fun store for womens apparel, jewelry, artwork, accessories and mid-century furniture. They also have a store in nearby Princeton. 5 Klines Ct.
Lambertville is a short drive from Princeton, NJ and an easy day trip from the Jersey Shore, Philadelphia and NYC. But if you want to stay in town, I recommend staying at the Chimney Hill Estate Inn which is located just outside of downtown in an historic mansion from 1820. Having been totally renovated a few years ago, it is a lovely property with seven Colonial rooms in the main house, seven Barn Suites and a spacious Carriage Suite. Breakfast is included and there are common areas to enjoy. I spent two nights in Room #1 on the second floor which was a beautiful room with a king bed and private bathroom. I highly recommend it. The staff was very helpful and the breakfast was very good.
The Lambertville House, 32 Bridge St., gets good reviews. Local friends also love the Lambertville Station Restaurant and Inn. Their rooms are excellent and they have several good dining options. 11 Bridge St.
For history buffs, just south is the Washington Crossing State Park, where you can see the spot where General George Washington and the Continental Army troops landed after crossing the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War on December 25, 1776. They went on to the Battle of Trenton, The Second Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton.
There is also the D&R Canal State Park. The park contains 70 miles of linear multi-use path along an historic canal. You can access the path from downtown Lambertville.
Frenchtown
The small, charming town of Frenchtown, NJ is 21 miles north of Lambertville and also on the Delaware River. You can easily combine a visit here with your trip to Lambertville. It is 1.5 hours from Philly and NYC.
It has a small downtown with a number of shops, cafes, galleries and restaurants along Bridge St.
My recommendations include:
Early Bird Espresso & Mercantile at 33 Bridge St. is good for coffee, tea, pastries and other food items. I stopped in again on my last trip and enjoyed my latte before my lunch.
The Bridge Cafe is a casual spot along the river with burgers, sandwiches, salads plus coffee, pastries and breakfast items. 8 Bridge St. Across the street is The Frenchtown Inn is currently a popular restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating plus counter service. It is located in a former hotel building from 1838. I went on my last trip for lunch and enjoyed the veggie burger.
Make sure to visit the Frenchtown Bookshop, an independent bookstore, at 28 Bridge St. It was formerly The Book Garden. On a prior visit, I had heard that author Elizabeth Gilbert, of Eat, Pray, Love fame lived in Frenchtown with her husband and that they had opened an Asian import store called Two Buttons. I had wanted to visit it, but heard that they had separated and that the store had closed in 2015. The Frenchtown Bookshop has all of her books in stock along with other best sellers and children’s books.
Make sure to stop in at Modern Love which is an attractive gift shop at 39 Bridge St. They feature several collections including stationery, gifts, jewelry, kitchen items, home goods and more.
Make sure to stop in at the ArtYard which is an art center and performance space that has rotating art installations. It has moved to a new location at 13 Front St. in May, 2021.
I recently saw a segment on CBS Saturday Morning about a restaurant in Milford, NJ, four miles north of Frenchtown. It is Canal House Station Café and Restaurant. It was opened by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, James Beard Award winning cookbook writers. They have a culinary, photography, and design studio called Canal House. where they have published a number of cookbooks include many featuring seasonal recipes. They love cooking and offer their weekend dinners in the restaurant located in an old, rustic train station at 2 Bridge Street.