Princeton - Backgroud - Overview

There's cheap diner-type food along Witherspoon Street. Panera's , 136 Nassau St (tel 609/688-1692), serves tasty, reasonably priced sandwiches, or for a more upmarket feast, the popular Annex , 128 Nassau St (tel 609/921-7555), serves quality Italian dinners by candlelight. Mediterra at 29 Hulfish St (tel 609/252-9680) is an upscale Mediterranean restaurant with a welcoming atmosphere and well-prepared food. Nightlife is limited, especially out of term time, but the Tap Room bar downstairs at the Nassau Inn is usually full of ancient revelers drinking, reminiscing and enjoying live jazz.

Self-satisfied PRINCETON , on US-206 eleven miles north of Trenton, is home to Princeton University the nation's fourth oldest, which broke away from the overly religious Yale in 1756. It began its days inauspiciously as Stony Brook in the late 1600s and then in 1724 became known as Princes Town, a coach stop between New York and Philadelphia. In January 1777, a week after Washington's triumph against the British at Trenton, the Battle of Princeton occurred southwest of town. This victory, a turning point in the Revolutionary effort, bolstered the morale of Washington's troops before their long winter encampment at Morristown to the north. After the war, in 1783, the Continental Congress , fearful of potential attack from incensed unpaid veterans in Philadelphia, met here for four months; the leafy, well-kept town was then left in peace to follow its academic pursuits. Graduates of the university include actor James Stewart, jazz-age writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, and presidents Wilson and Madison. Today, there is little to do in this sleepy place other than tour the university and see the historic sites.

A shuttle bus, the Princeton Airporter, makes the run from Newark (1hr 30min) and JFK (2hr 40min) airports to town (daily every hour 7am10pm; $23 and $38 respectively; tel 609/587-6600). The in-town train terminal, on campus at University Place, a block north of Alexander Road, is connected by SEPTA shuttles (tel 215/580-7800) to Princeton Junction, three miles south, where both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit stop on their New YorkPhiladelphia runs. Suburban Transit buses from New York's Port Authority bus station (tel 1-800/222-0492) stop every thirty minutes at Nassau Street.

Information is available from Stanhope Hall at the university (MonFri 8.45am5pm; tel 609/258-3600) or from the Chamber of Commerce at 216 Rockingham Row (MonFri 8.30am4.30pm; tel 609/683-1760, www.princetonchamber.org ). The Historical Society museum , 158 Nassau St (TuesSun noon4pm), organizes walking tours through town (Sun 2pm; $6) and also provides maps so you can do it yourself.