Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, has undergone a remarkable transformation that has repositioned it as an exciting urban destination worth exploring. Once overlooked by travelers heading to nearby Manhattan, Newark now stands proudly on its own merits with world-class cultural institutions, diverse culinary offerings, and revitalized public spaces that reflect its rich history and vibrant communities.
The city’s location—just a 20-minute train ride from Manhattan and home to one of the nation’s busiest airports—makes it an accessible destination for both day trips and longer stays. What visitors discover upon arrival is a city embracing its future while honoring its past, where industrial buildings have been reimagined as art spaces, historic sites have been carefully preserved, and local entrepreneurs have created unique experiences that can’t be found elsewhere.
In 2025, Newark offers travelers an authentic urban experience with significantly fewer crowds and more accessible price points than its neighbors across the Hudson River. Here are the 12 experiences no visitor should miss when exploring this dynamic city.
1. Branch Brook Park’s expanded cherry blossom experience
Newark boasts the largest collection of cherry trees in the United States—yes, even more than Washington D.C.—and 2025 marks the completion of a major expansion project at Branch Brook Park that has added over 1,000 new trees to its already impressive collection. The park now features extended walking paths, enhanced lighting for evening strolls, and a new visitor center dedicated to the history and cultivation of these magnificent trees.
Time your visit between late March and early May to witness more than 5,000 cherry trees erupting in pink and white blooms across the park’s 360 acres. The 2025 Cherry Blossom Festival has expanded to three weekends of programming, including traditional Japanese cultural performances, botanical workshops, photography contests, and guided tours explaining the dozens of cherry tree varieties found throughout the grounds.
Even outside blossom season, Branch Brook Park rewards visitors with its serpentine lakes, historic bridges, and cathedral-like paths designed by the renowned Olmsted Brothers firm. The park’s recent restoration has enhanced its original design elements while incorporating modern amenities like a new boathouse where visitors can rent paddleboats and kayaks to explore the park from a different perspective.
2. Newark Museum of Art’s immersive expansion wing
The Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey’s largest museum, debuts its much-anticipated expansion wing in early 2025, creating a stunning new entrance on Washington Street and adding 50,000 square feet of exhibition space. The expansion focuses on immersive art experiences that blend traditional museum displays with interactive technology.
The museum’s renowned collections span American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and ancient art from around the world. Its Tibetan collection ranks among the finest in the Western Hemisphere, displayed in galleries surrounding a consecrated Buddhist altar. The 2025 expansion adds dedicated space for digital and new media art installations that change seasonally.
Don’t miss the museum’s historic Ballantine House—a restored 27-room Victorian mansion that offers a glimpse into Newark’s prosperous past. In 2025, the house features a new exhibit exploring the domestic lives of the various immigrants who helped build Newark, told through period rooms representing different cultural experiences throughout the city’s history.
The museum’s MakerSPACE, expanded for 2025, offers drop-in creative workshops where visitors can try everything from traditional crafts to digital design techniques. The new rooftop sculpture garden provides stunning views of the downtown skyline, along with a seasonal café serving locally sourced refreshments.
3. New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s anniversary season
2025 marks the 28th anniversary of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), and the venue celebrates with its most ambitious programming yet. As one of the nation’s largest and most diverse performing arts centers, NJPAC hosts approximately 600 events annually across multiple venues within its campus.
The center’s 2025 season features an expanded jazz series honoring Newark’s significant contributions to the genre, world music showcases representing the city’s diverse communities, dance performances ranging from classical ballet to contemporary street styles, and Broadway productions direct from New York City.
Beyond the performances themselves, NJPAC’s Arts Education program offers pre-show workshops where visitors can learn about the cultural contexts and artistic techniques they’ll experience later on stage. The center’s expanded food program now includes a restaurant showcasing rotating guest chefs from Newark’s diverse culinary scene.
For summer visitors, NJPAC’s outdoor concert series transforms Chambers Plaza into a vibrant venue for free performances spanning jazz, R&B, gospel, and world music. The plaza’s redesign for 2025 includes improved acoustics and flexible seating arrangements that create a more intimate concert experience despite the open-air setting.
4. Ironbound district’s culinary passport program
Newark’s Ironbound district—named for the railroad tracks that once surrounded it—has long been known for its Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian influences. In 2025, the neighborhood launches a digital “Culinary Passport” program that guides visitors through its extraordinary international food scene spanning more than 170 restaurants.
The passport program divides the neighborhood into themed culinary routes: the Iberian Experience featuring Portuguese and Spanish establishments, the South American Journey highlighting Brazilian, Ecuadorian, and Colombian spots, and the Global Fusion tour showcasing how the district’s chefs are blending culinary traditions in exciting new ways.
Participating restaurants offer passport holders special tasting menus, behind-the-scenes kitchen tours, and cooking demonstrations on select dates. The digital passport tracks your visits and rewards exploration with progressive discounts and exclusive dining experiences as you collect more stamps.
Don’t miss Ferry Street, the neighborhood’s main artery, where restaurants spill onto the sidewalks during warmer months, creating a European-inspired atmosphere. New for 2025, the street hosts monthly Sunday evening promenades when the road closes to traffic and becomes a pedestrian-only dining boulevard with live music and street performances.
For the full experience, visit during one of the Ironbound’s cultural festivals, when the neighborhood’s Portuguese Day celebrations, Brazilian Independence festivities, or Spanish heritage events transform the streets into immersive cultural experiences centered around spectacular food, music, and dance.
5. Newark’s Black history landmarks trail
In 2025, Newark debuts a comprehensive Black history trail connecting historical sites, cultural landmarks, and public art installations that tell the story of the city’s significant African American heritage and contributions. The self-guided route can be explored through a dedicated mobile app that provides historical context, archival photographs, and oral histories tied to each location.
The trail includes the recently renovated home of literary giant Amiri Baraka, the influential writer and activist whose work profoundly shaped American literature and Black political thought. The home now serves as a museum and cultural center hosting regular readings, discussions, and community events.
Another highlight is the expanded Harriet Tubman Monument unveiled in 2022, now surrounded by an interpretive plaza that places her work in the context of Newark’s role in the Underground Railroad. The monument anchors a reflection garden where visitors can contemplate Tubman’s legacy and Newark’s place in the struggle for freedom and equality.
The trail also features significant landmarks from the city’s civil rights movement, including locations associated with the 1967 Newark Uprising and the subsequent community organizing that transformed the city’s political landscape. The recently opened “Voices of Resistance” audio stations along the route feature testimony from participants in these pivotal historical moments.
For a deeper experience, the trail connects with scheduled walking tours led by local historians who provide additional context and personal stories that bring Newark’s Black history to life in compelling ways. These tours operate year-round but offer expanded schedules during Black History Month and Juneteenth celebrations.
6. Prudential Center’s enhanced entertainment district
The Prudential Center—affectionately known as “The Rock”—has expanded beyond being just a sports arena to anchor an entertainment district that comes alive before and after events. Home to the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and hosting major concerts and family shows throughout the year, the venue has created a vibrant experience that extends well beyond its walls.
For 2025, the newly completed Championship Plaza offers pre-event festivities including interactive games, live music, and seasonal activities like an outdoor ice rink in winter and splash pads in summer. Local food vendors occupy rotating kiosks that showcase Newark’s diverse culinary talents.
Inside, the arena has undergone technological upgrades including state-of-the-art sound systems, the largest in-arena scoreboard in North America, and interactive exhibits celebrating New Jersey’s sports and entertainment achievements. The new Prudential Center app helps visitors maximize their experience with real-time information about wait times, food options, and special in-arena activities.
Even on non-event days, the district offers attractions including the Grammy Museum Experience, which explores New Jersey’s outsized influence on American popular music through interactive exhibits that let visitors try their hand at producing, performing, and songwriting. The museum’s 2025 special exhibition focuses on Newark’s contributions to jazz, gospel, and R&B with listening stations featuring rare recordings from the city’s musical heyday.
The surrounding streets have developed into a restaurant and entertainment zone where visitors can find everything from quick pre-game meals to upscale dining experiences, many offering special menus and promotions tied to arena events.
7. Gateway Center’s transformed atrium marketplace
The Gateway Center, once simply an office complex connected to Newark Penn Station, has completed its transformation into a vibrant marketplace and food hall that serves as a welcoming front door to the city. The reimagined space brings light, art, and culinary excitement to what was previously a utilitarian passage.
The centerpiece of this transformation is the soaring glass atrium that now hosts more than 25 food and retail vendors showcasing the best of New Jersey’s culinary creativity. The market emphasizes businesses with local roots, creating a dining destination that couldn’t exist anywhere else.
The space includes several first-time brick-and-mortar locations for successful food trucks and pop-ups that built their followings across New Jersey, alongside new concepts from established Newark restaurateurs. Communal seating areas, each with distinct design themes representing Newark’s neighborhoods, encourage visitors to sample widely across the offerings.
Beyond food, the marketplace features rotating kiosks where local artisans sell handcrafted goods ranging from jewelry and textiles to woodwork and ceramics. A small performance stage hosts acoustic music performances during lunch hours and after work, highlighting local musicians.
For 2025, the atrium adds a demonstration kitchen offering daily cooking classes, many led by the marketplace’s own vendors who share techniques and recipes drawn from their diverse culinary backgrounds. These classes provide a hands-on introduction to the international flavors that make Newark’s food scene so distinctive.
8. Newark’s waterfront revival parks
After decades of industrial use that limited public access, Newark’s waterfront along the Passaic River has undergone a remarkable transformation with connected parks that create miles of recreational space. The completed segments of the Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area offer stunning views of the river and the Manhattan skyline beyond.
The newest section, opening in 2025, features an ecological restoration area where visitors can observe the river’s improving health through educational displays explaining the environmental recovery process. Birdwatching stations equipped with identification guides highlight the return of native species to this urban waterway.
Floating docks allow for fishing and provide launch points for kayaks and paddleboards, with rental operations available during summer months. The Newark Riverfront Trail connects these recreational areas to residential neighborhoods and downtown attractions, creating a continuous pathway for walking, running, and cycling.
Throughout the warmer months, the riverfront hosts free outdoor fitness classes, movie nights, and cultural performances that activate the space beyond passive recreation. Solar-powered charging stations and free Wi-Fi throughout the parks make them functional outdoor workspaces during pleasant weather.
For those interested in the area’s history, interpretive signs throughout the waterfront parks explain Newark’s evolution from Native American settlement to colonial port to industrial powerhouse to its current revitalization, using historical photographs and firsthand accounts to bring these transitions to life.
9. Newark Public Library’s Centennial celebration exhibitions
The main branch of the Newark Public Library celebrates its building’s centennial in 2025 with special exhibitions and enhanced public access to its remarkable collections. The magnificent 1903 Beaux-Arts building designed by architect Charles McKim undergoes careful restoration for this milestone, revealing architectural details obscured by previous renovations.
The centennial programming includes “Newark Through the Pages,” an exhibition drawing from the library’s extensive New Jersey collection to showcase rare photographs, maps, and documents tracing the city’s evolution over centuries. Interactive digital displays allow visitors to compare historical street views with current locations, creating before-and-after perspectives on Newark’s development.
The library’s renowned art collection receives special attention during the centennial year, with rotating exhibitions of its prints, photographs, and illustrated books. The Philip Roth Personal Library, containing 7,000 volumes from the collection of Newark’s most famous literary son, offers new guided tours exploring the books that influenced this major American writer.
Special behind-the-scenes access during centennial events allows visitors to explore the library’s spectacular architecture, including sections typically closed to the public. The recently renovated fourth-floor gallery hosts contemporary art exhibitions highlighting work by Newark-based artists responding to themes drawn from the library’s historical collections.
For families, the Children’s Room—one of the nation’s first dedicated library spaces for young readers—unveils new interactive elements designed to engage digital-native children with the tactile joys of physical books and storytelling traditions.
10. Military Park’s cultural programming expansion
Military Park, a six-acre green space in downtown Newark dating to the 1600s, continues its renaissance as the cultural heart of the city with expanded programming throughout 2025. The triangular park, which once served as a training ground for soldiers, now serves as an outdoor living room for residents and visitors alike.
The park’s central feature—the massive “Wars of America” monument created by Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum—provides a dramatic focal point around which cultural activities unfold throughout the year. New lighting installed for 2025 dramatically illuminates the sculpture after dark, creating an entirely different experience of this massive bronze work.
Daily activities in the park range from morning fitness classes and lunchtime musical performances to evening film screenings and dance events. The 2025 season introduces themed weeks focusing on the cultural contributions of Newark’s diverse communities, with programming developed in partnership with community organizations.
Chess tables, reading rooms with borrowable books, children’s activities, and an artisanal market feature among the daily attractions. The park’s carousel, based on Newark landmarks and cultural symbols, delights younger visitors while providing a whimsical nod to the city’s rich history.
During winter months, the park transforms with light installations, holiday markets, and cold-weather activities that ensure year-round activation of this historic space. The 2025 winter season introduces a new sound and light show projected onto the surrounding historic buildings, creating an immersive experience that tells the story of Newark’s evolution.
11. Newark’s growing gallery district
The streets surrounding Halsey Street have emerged as Newark’s vibrant arts district, where galleries, studios, and creative businesses create a walkable concentration of visual culture. This area hosts the monthly “Newark First Thursdays” art walk when galleries stay open late for exhibition openings, artist talks, and special performances.
Index Art Center anchors the district with its artist-run exhibition spaces and studios housed in a former industrial building. Its 2025 programming emphasizes interactive installations that invite visitor participation beyond passive viewing. The center’s expansion includes dedicated performance spaces that blend visual arts with music, dance, and spoken word.
Gallery Aferro continues its mission of presenting thought-provoking contemporary art while providing studio space for working artists. Its residency program brings national and international artists to Newark for extended periods, creating cultural exchange between local and global creative communities.
Newark Print Shop offers workshops where visitors can learn various printmaking techniques and create their own artworks using professional equipment. For 2025, the shop launches a special series of classes focused on the rich history of political printmaking in Newark, connecting contemporary practitioners with this activist tradition.
Project for Empty Space presents cutting-edge exhibitions addressing social issues through contemporary art practices. Its feminist incubator project provides support for women-identified artists whose work engages with questions of gender, identity, and power.
Between gallery visits, the district offers specialty coffee shops, small-batch breweries, and independently owned restaurants that serve as informal gathering spaces for the creative community. Many feature rotating art displays, creating exhibition opportunities that extend beyond traditional gallery walls.
12. Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart tours
Often called “Newark’s Westminster Abbey,” the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart stands as one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the United States. This magnificent structure, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, offers enhanced visitor experiences for 2025 that showcase both its architectural splendor and cultural significance.
New guided tours explore the cathedral’s stunning features, including 214 stained glass windows, one of the largest pipe organs in the world with nearly 10,000 pipes, and soaring vaults that reach 168 feet above the floor. Expert docents explain the symbolism embedded throughout the building and the 95-year construction process that created this Newark landmark.
The cathedral’s Sacred Music series presents concerts that take full advantage of the building’s exceptional acoustics, featuring everything from Gregorian chant to contemporary compositions. The 2025 season introduces multimedia concerts that pair music with subtle lighting effects that highlight architectural elements corresponding to the musical themes.
For architecture enthusiasts, specialized tours focus on the cathedral’s French Gothic design elements, stonework techniques, and stained glass artistry. These technical tours include access to areas typically closed to the public, offering unique perspectives on this architectural treasure.
Photography tours, offered on select mornings when the light streams dramatically through the stained glass, provide guidance on capturing the cathedral’s interior while explaining the challenges and techniques of architectural photography. These sessions welcome photographers of all levels, from smartphone users to those with professional equipment.
While the cathedral’s primary purpose remains religious, these cultural programs invite visitors of all backgrounds to appreciate this extraordinary building as both a spiritual sanctuary and an architectural masterpiece that stands among Newark’s greatest treasures.
Planning your Newark visit
Newark’s revival makes it worthy of dedicated exploration rather than just a passing stopover near the airport. The city rewards visitors who approach it with curiosity and openness, revealing layers of history, culture, and community that challenge preconceptions and demonstrate urban renaissance in action.
For accommodations, several new boutique hotels have opened in renovated historic buildings downtown, offering distinctive character that chain hotels near the airport lack. These centrally located options provide easy access to attractions via walking or the city’s light rail system.
Newark Liberty International Airport offers convenient access for those flying in, while frequent train service from New York Penn Station brings Manhattan just 20 minutes away. Within the city, the light rail system connects major attractions, though rideshare services provide good alternatives for reaching destinations beyond the downtown core.
For the most vibrant experience, time your visit to coincide with one of Newark’s major cultural festivals, sporting events, or performances that bring additional energy to the city’s streets. The Newark Visitor Center at Gateway Center provides updated information about current events and can help tailor itineraries to specific interests.
As Newark continues its remarkable transformation, visitors in 2025 have the opportunity to experience a city actively writing its next chapter—one that honors its complex history while embracing a future defined by creativity, diversity, and community pride. The 12 experiences outlined above offer entry points into this dynamic urban story, revealing a Newark that increasingly demands recognition as a destination in its own right.
