I have ALWAYS been a big fan of visiting tiny, charming, and historic towns. In September 2019, I visited Charleston, South Carolina and fell *in love* with the entire city that echoes Southern historic charm at every turn. Similarly speaking, I went to the charming AND historic Lewes, Delaware – also known as the first town in the first state – over my New Years Eve weekend. Lewes is Dutch-inspired and A LOT smaller than Charleston, but it still has so much charm and history to it. The same goes for Harpers Ferry, West Virginia which I visited with my best friend Bree back in June of 2022. Through it all, I have fallen in love with the charm that historic towns bring. Hence, they have become a favorite of mine to visit!! SO, when my best friend Amanda and I decided to skip our usual weekend visit to her home just outside of Philadelphia in the city to check out New Hope, Pennsylvania, I knew it was a must-go!!!
To read about my adventures to other historic and charming towns/cities, look no further than here:
- Charleston, South Carolina (September 2019): https://pinkchickadee.com/2019/11/30/example-post/
- Lewes, Delaware (December 2020): https://pinkchickadee.com/2020/12/03/my-lewes-delaware-travel-photo-diary/
- Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (June 2022): https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/06/23/a-few-hours-in-harpers-ferry-west-virginia/
- Fredricton, New Brunswick, Canada (August 2022): https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/09/20/4-hours-in-fredericton-new-brunswick/
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire (August 2022): https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/08/30/an-afternoon-in-portsmouth-new-hampshire/
A fun fact about me is that up until I was 8, I lived in Pennington, New Jersey just about 20 minutes away from the gorgeous town of New Hope, Pennsylvania. After moving away from New Jersey, I came back frequently to mainly visit friends and family who live in either Pennington or New Hope or nearby Doylestown, Pennsylvania. I fell in love with the town of New Hope throughout my years of visiting both family and friends. Yet, I never got the experience to simply explore New Hope without family or other commitments looming over my head. This time around, Amanda and I went to downtown New Hope which is a town connected by a driving/foot bridge to Lambertville, New Jersey located across the Delaware River and to Peddler’s Village for an ice sculpture festival. Read more about the bridge between New Hope and Lambertville here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/06/28/the-foot-bridge-in-pennsylvania-and-new-jersey/#/
Getting there: New Hope, Pennsylvania is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and is best to drive to get to. A LOT of Bucks County requires driving through hilly and windy roads that are gorgeous at every turn, so taking Ubers would definitely add up. New Hope is just over 45 minutes of a drive from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and just under a half hour drive from Trenton, New Jersey. If flying, then it is easiest to fly into Philadelphia and if you take the train, then is it best to arrive at either Trenton or Philadelphia (depending on where else you plan to go if any other place, but definitely Trenton is best if just to New Hope). New Hope/Lambertville makes for a nice weekend getaway from Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and even Washington, DC.
About New Hope: New Hope is located along the Delaware River which divides New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As previously mentioned, on the other side of New Hope just across the Delaware River is the town of Lambertville, New Jersey. You can even step foot in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey at the same time which we *of course!!!* did. Just up the road minutes away from New Hope is Washington’s Crossing, Pennsylvania where *yes* former President George Washington crossed the Delaware River at Christmas time during the Revolutionary War. New Hope is notorious for its riverside dining, eclectic shopping, historic charm, scenic views, thriving LGBTQ+ scene, and impressive theater via the Bucks County Playhouse. According to Visit Pennsylvania, “New Hope is a small town with a big city feel”: something I noticed when I was there on many occasions. Additionally, New Hope has been named one of “America’s Favorite Towns” by Travel + Leisure. Last but not least, it’s fun to note that celebrities such as Gigi Hadid and Tina Fey call or have once called gorgeous New Hope home. Celebrity sightings anyone?!
While in New Hope, Amanda and I walked around the gorgeous town. We did not do any activities in particular except for crossing the foot bridge into New Jersey and checking out the eclectic shopping scene. In recent years, the Ferry Market opened up in New Hope – similar to Union Market in Washington, DC as its a mini dining hall full of small businesses. I treated Amanda and I to some coffee and a pastry. We, then, explored the scenic waterfront views of the Delaware River alongside the iconic Bucks County Playhouse which has performances all throughout the year. Afterwards, Amanda and I walked by the only pink house/building in town where we snapped a few photos aka one of my blogger photoshoot bucket list items of mine (!!!). We also saw the historical Carriage House in town AND snapped a few photos there, too. A lot of the buildings in downtown New Hope are being/have been renovated including the Logan Inn (it has an urban, New York City feel to it) and an old cathedral turned steakhouse (something that I want to try on a future trip with family!!). New Hope is definitely gorgeous and has SO much charm to offer!
After we explored a bit of downtown New Hope, Amanda and I headed for the nearby Peddler’s Village. Peddler’s Village is a shopping and dining district in New Hope that is just about 10 minutes from downtown (sorry – no waterfront views here). The BEST part about Peddler’s Village is that it offers some historical charm and feels to it throughout the whole little village. It, indeed, feels like a village!! What Peddler’s Village had when we went to visit was ice sculptures spread throughout the village. Practically every store had its own ice sculpture outside of it AND the Christmas lights were still up for all to enjoy in a magical Winter wonderland kind of way. Here, Amanda and I checked out the shops but didn’t stay for dinner as it was packed and hard to get a table there and *out of all things and days* there was a gorgeous outdoor wedding in the midst of ALL the crowds. But, through it all, I had a blast being able to get time with Amanda and enjoy some Winter Wonderland magic!
I have always loved being able to explore New Hope, Pennsylvania. New Hope and all of Bucks County for that matter is absolutely stunning. I feel extremely blessed to have family and friends nearby this extraordinary historical town and county, too. Til next time, New Hope!
XOXO – Katie <3