Princeton sits in central New Jersey within easy reach of several worthwhile destinations. Lambertville, twenty minutes northwest on the Delaware, is the prettiest small town in the state — a strip of antique shops, restaurants, and a footbridge over the river to New Hope, Pennsylvania, on the other side. Washington Crossing State Park between them marks the spot where Washington crossed the icy Delaware on Christmas night 1776 — combine with the battlefield for the full opening week of the Trenton-Princeton campaign.
Trenton, ten minutes south, is the state capital and has the New Jersey State Museum, the Old Barracks Museum (the only surviving Revolutionary War barracks), and the State House. New Hope and Doylestown in Pennsylvania add a half-day each: galleries, the Mercer Museum, and the Moravian Tile Works.
For longer day trips, New York is about 90 minutes by train and Philadelphia is about 70 minutes by car. Both are perfectly doable as one-day trips from Princeton if you start early.
