New Rochelle
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County in New York. It is the home of Iona College.
Understand
New Rochelle was founded by Huguenot refugees from persecution in France and named after La Rochelle. Huguenot Street is today one of the main streets in the city, and the fleur de lis is the city's symbol; you can see colorful plastic fleur de lis sculptures on several streets in Downtown New Rochelle. The city is only a little beyond the northeasternmost reaches of the Bronx and reachable from there by bus, car and commuter train, but it has its own character. It is an ethnically diverse city with many private houses, low-rise brick buildings, some pretty churches, classic 19th-century to Art Deco commercial and office buildings Downtown, the neo-Gothic buildings of the College of New Rochelle and some secondary schools, some modern high-rises, upscale cafes and inexpensive shops and taquerias.
Get in
By train
New Rochelle is a stop on the New Haven Line of Metro-North between Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, New York City and Stamford. Travel time from Grand Central Terminal is approximately 35 minutes. Additionally, Amtrak serves the city via its Northeast Regional trains between Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Richmond. 🌍 New Rochelle station is at 1 Penn Central Railroad, next to downtown.
By car
The New England Thruway (I-95) traverses the city. Main Street, which is not a limited-access highway, is US Route 1.
By bus
A number of Bee Line Westchester County bus routes connect other towns in Westchester County and places in the Bronx such as the ends of subway routes with New Rochelle, and if you are transferring from or to the subway or another Bee Line or New York City Transit bus, you can use your MetroCard and get a free transfer. However, the Bee Line buses often run only once an hour, and actual bus arrival times are often as much as 15-20 minutes behind schedule but can also be ahead of schedule.
Get around
Taxis are not too expensive if you need them, but while some wait near the train station, you may have trouble hailing them on the street. Uber and Lyft are also available.
Some of the Bee Line buses can be useful for local travel if they happen to arrive at a convenient time.
Much of the city is walkable.
See
- Church of the Blessed Sacrament, 15 Shea Place (Corner of Centre Ave), ☎ +1 914-632 - 3700, e-mail: 15shea@optonline.net. This sizable Catholic church is a historic neo-Gothic building, completed in 1897, with a tall spire that can be seen for some distance. Outside the front of the church is a statue of Jesus with his hands upraised to bless passersby. Inside the church are fine stained glass windows. In the yard to the right of the front doors is a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes.
- College of New Rochelle, 29 Castle Place, ☎ +1 914-654-5000, e-mail: info@cnr.edu. This Catholic college's campus is pleasant and full of neo-Gothic buildings. Unless you are visiting for professional reasons or to consider attending, it probably isn't worth a huge detour, but if it's not out of your way, it is a nice sight to see, especially in April and May when many trees and bushes are in bloom. Toward the southern end of the campus, there is a building with a very peaceful though relatively plain chapel, with very nice paintings of the Stations of the Cross.
- 🌍 Davenport Park.
- 🌍 Thomas Paine Cottage Museum, 20 Sicard Ave, ☎ +1 914-633-1776. Open Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10AM-5PM. Admission $5.
- Trinity Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, 311 Huguenot St (At Division St), ☎ +1-914-632-5368. This medium-sized church and the adjoining Parish House are quite pleasant neo-Gothic buildings, and they are very close to the train station, so it's quite worthwhile to walk past them if you are traveling on foot from the station. If you can get inside, you will have a chance to see beautiful stained glass windows in the very pretty sanctuary. The church is usually open only on Wednesdays, Sundays and church holidays.
Do
Buy
- Squiggy's Dugout, 237 Main St, ☎ +1 914 636-7585. Exemplary comic and card retailer. Owner (used to?) teach appraisal classes at New Rochelle Library.
- Lieb's Greenhouses, 1 Askins Pl. Pleasant set of greenhouses, nurseries and garden. Be sure to find the moated gazebo in the rear and cross its bridge.
Eat
.JPG)
Drink
- R Cafe & Tea Boutique, 302 Huguenot St (Between Division St and Centre Ave), ☎ +1 914-358-1841. Daily, 7 am - 7 pm. Serious coffee and very tasty tea and pastries from Balthazar Bakery 2 1/2 blocks from the train station. The atmosphere is relaxing and they play nice Latin music on their sound system. They will ice any kind of tea for you. The rooibus is excellent. Pastries $1.45-6.00; tea $8.00/pot; coffee $1.50-5:50 except for large quantities of coffee for brewing at home. All teas $4.50/cup to go.
Sleep
- 🌍 Residence Inn, 35 LeCount Place (downtown area), ☎ +1 914 636-7888. Check-in: 12:00 noon, check-out: 3:00 p.m.. All rooms are suites, with kitchen and living room area. Walk through the garage to the grocery store next door. The largest suite has two bedrooms and can sleep six. Free breakfast buffet on top floor each morning, and free supper or snacks on some evenings. $189 and up.
Go next
New York City or nearby Long Island Sound towns in Westchester County like Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Rye.
| Routes through New Rochelle |
| Philadelphia ← New York City ← | SW  |
→ Stamford → New Haven |
| New Haven ← Larchmont ← | N  |
→ Bronx → Manhattan |
| New Haven ← Larchmont ← | N  |
→ Bronx → Manhattan |
| New Haven ← Scarsdale ← | N  |
→ Eastchester → New York City |
| New York City ← Pelham ← | SW  |
→ Larchmont → Stamford |