Princeton, NJ a cute town that is full of shopping, eating and pretty buildings. Princeton is home to Princeton University as Sam’s dad said in “A cinderella story” when asked where princess go to Schoo he respond “Uh, they go, uh where the princes go. They go to Princeton.” I always think of that movie when I think of Princeton. Anyway do I know if princes go to Princeton no I did not actually go to the University but its a fun idea and you cant beat that movie!
Anyway, an afternoon in Princeton is a great way to spend your weekend. Shopping, snacking, lunch and everything in-between. I went out to Princeton on a Sunday with one of my long time friends. Caroline and I have known each other since kindergarten so we try to make time to fun and different things once in a while and especially exploring new places. Princeton is about an hour from my small town at the beach making it the perfect afternoon get away. We left a little after 10:30 and arrived in to Palmer square in Princeton by 12 due to my poor direction skills. Street parking all seemed to be 2-3 hours and since we didn’t want to worry about having to move the car we ended up in a parking garage behind the Princeton public library. It ended up being $5 for the afternoon and it was worth it.
Coffee and Tea
First stop was caffeine, a must for a day full of shopping. Palmer square has lots of cute coffee shops and we had every intention of going to the French themed one but one we saw The Bread Boutique (41 Witherspoon St, Princeton) we knew it would be just as easy. Caroline said her coffee was so good and they carried a classic English breakfast tea so I was happy. If I had not just ate before I left the bread treats all looked very tasty as well.
Shopping
Unfortunately Witherspoon Street was under major construction so it didn’t look as pretty as I remembered but once we walked over to Palmer square it was just the way I remembered it. It’s a small enough square where you can do a lap, see what you see that you might want to buy and then can go back and make your final choices. The nice thing is that there is a mix of small town boutiques and your traditional stores. There is a 2 story J Crew which has mens, women’s and kids.
Down the street is Madewell, Urban Outfitters, Lululemon, Barbour, Paper source and Polo Raplh Lauren. Opening later this fall is a huge Hermes store which is fun to tease yourself with, would have been cool to pop in there but it was not open yet! Maybe Next time! Caroline found some gifts in a small town jewelry store and I found a pair of pants at high Bar boutique the are cute for fall and work.
Lunch
We asked around for some lunch recommendations and were pointed to — but we decided on the Nassau Doodle Inn Tavern because we wanted a hamburger over Pizza/Pasta. It was a pretty good hamburger and the perfect fuel to continue the afternoon of shopping. Speaking of food there are lots of places to pick up a sweet treat including The bent spoon for ice cream which is so taste, coffee shops and even a cookie store called Milk and Cookies (Instagram). I picked up some cookies for my lunch, the snickerdoodle was my favorite!
Princeton is a great spot for an afternoon with friends its easy to get to, park and walk around enjoying the fall things. Definitely a must stop place in New Jersey!
With love from Princeton,
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