Montclair

We came to Montclair for a gallery opening a friend was showing at, expecting the usual quick train-out, train-back suburban errand, and instead found ourselves still wandering its tree-lined streets past ten that night, arguing about which Victorian porch we’d steal if we could. Perched on the first ridge of the Watchung Mountains just twelve miles from Manhattan, Montclair has built a genuine identity of its own — part bedroom community, part art town, with a diversity and cultural density that surprised both of us.

Downtown and the art scene

Montclair’s several small downtown centers — Church Street, Walnut Street, the Upper Montclair business district — each have their own character, but all share a density of independent restaurants that rivals much bigger cities. We spent an afternoon at the Montclair Art Museum, a surprisingly serious collection strong on American and Native American art, then wandered past the Wellmont Theater, a restored 1922 movie palace now hosting touring bands. Lia found a used bookstore on Bloomfield Avenue and disappeared into it for the better part of an hour while I people-watched from a coffee shop patio.

Victorian streets and Edgemont Park

The residential blocks around Upper Mountain Avenue are lined with grand Victorian and Colonial Revival homes, many dating to the late 1800s when wealthy New Yorkers began building summer estates on the ridge for its cooler air and views. We walked through Edgemont Park, its small lake ringed by willows and joggers, then climbed toward the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, timing our visit for late May when thousands of irises bloom in terraced beds overlooking the Manhattan skyline in the distance — an unexpectedly grand view from such a quiet neighborhood park.

Food and the farmers market

Montclair takes its food seriously, with a restaurant density that punches well above the town’s size — everything from decades-old Italian red-sauce joints to newer Ethiopian and Peruvian spots along Bloomfield Avenue. On Saturday morning we joined the crowd at the farmers market on Church Street, buying peaches from a Jersey orchard stand and a wedge of local cheese, before finishing our visit with dinner at a small BYOB tucked into a converted storefront that Lia is still talking about months later.

Getting There

Montclair is served directly by NJ Transit’s Montclair-Boonton Line, with a roughly 45-minute ride from New York’s Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal, making it an easy train trip without a car. By road, it’s about a 30-minute drive from Midtown Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge and Garden State Parkway, traffic permitting, and Newark Liberty International Airport is roughly 20 minutes south.