Start your adventure in Great Britain. The Yale Center for British Art houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. You’ll find paintings, drawings, prints, rare books, and sculpture from the Elizabethan period onward. New Haven’s dining scene is the most eclectic in the state. Visit Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant or Mother’s Homestyle Kitchen (Caribbean). There’s also Thai, Malaysian, Middle-Eastern, and more. What suits your fancy?

Wander through Yale University Art Gallery, whose 80,000 objects include paintings by Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, and Picasso. Yale’s Asian collection includes vessels from the Changsha region of Hunan Province (spanning ca. 500 B.C. to A.D. 1000). The African collection features ritual figures and masks from ancient civilizations, such as the Djenne, Nok, and Koma.

Check in to the Historic Mansion Inn, a 1830 restored mansion five blocks away from theaters, museums, restaurants, and Yale University.

See an art film at Criterion Cinema, the centerpiece of Temple Square. The complex includes a beer and wine bar, a 23-foot lobby mural depicting classic screen stars, a classic sidewalk box office, and late-night cult films for insomniacs (as well as a Movies & Mimosas screenings on Sunday mornings).

Head into the daylight and take a tour of Yale University, home to students from all 50 states and 74 other countries. Stroll down Chapel and College streets and search for international treasures at one of the area's many boutiques and specialty shops.

Before you head home, try another ethnic restaurant.