Compared to other LGBT-friendly resorts in the Northeast, sophisticated but laid-back New Hope and its attractive Jersey neighbor Lambertville are romantic and relaxing hideaways for couples on the weekends. This quaint and artsy village is just an hour from Philadelphia and 90 minutes from New York City, but the hectic hustle and bustle of either city is definitely absent.
Location
Quaint little New Hope sits on the west bank of the Delaware River, right across from Lambertville, New Jersey. The New Hope District is one of the small towns on both sides of the Delaware, just three miles north of Washington Crossing Historical Park, which commemorates George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River in 1776.
Traveling there
Most visitors to New Hope, a popular weekend destination for Philadelphians and New Yorkers, arrive by car. But New Hope is also easily accessible from any of the major airports serving Philadelphia and New York.
You can rent a car from any airport and drive here, but there is also a daily Trans-Bridge Lines bus service between New Hope and Newark Airport, New York City, and JFK Airport. From Philadelphia and its airport, you can take the SEPTA regional rail service to Doylestown, where you can take a taxi the 10 miles to New Hope.
Things to see and do
Visitors will want to visit the shops and cafes in the town of New Hope and across the river in Lambertville. New Hope is also an excellent base for interesting excursions.
In addition to the Washington Crossing Historical Park, which celebrates the region’s crucial role in the Revolutionary War, there is historic Peddler’s Village, a community of about 70 specialty restaurants and shops, and in nearby Doylestown is the James A. Museum of Art. Michener.
Knowing New Hope
New Hope is the name of a small town, but also what many visitors call the surrounding region, which comprises several rustic Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities in the Delaware River Valley. It is a land of forested estates and horse farms, winding country roads, restored canals and towpaths, and towns of antique shops and cafes.
New Hope has a very festive and popular Pride festival, which takes place in mid-May.
There has been an LGBT presence in the area for decades, mostly on the Pennsylvania river side, dating back to when New Hope developed a following as an artist community.
The actual town of New Hope itself is small – roughly a square mile of preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings, most of them now inns, restaurants, shops, and private homes.
Story
In the 1930s and 1940s, the area began to attract musicians and writers, many of them from New York City, including Dorothy Parker, SJ Perelman, Oscar Hammerstein, Moss Hart, and Pearl Buck.
The opening of the Bucks County Playhouse in 1939 precipitated a gay presence in the city. Built in the rustic shell of Benjamin Parry’s old 18th-century grinding mill, the theater brought New Hope a regular summer tour of actors and actors, many of whom began to settle here for at least part of the year. The theater reopened in 2012 after a major renovation.
