Courtesy Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park packs a powerful dose of history and culture into one ZIP code. Renowned as the birthplace of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and home to various Vanderbilts (plus The Culinary Institute of America), it’s a fun place to watch the past come alive.
9 a.m.
Fuel up at Cranberry’s at Tilley Hall with quality coffees, homemade scones, and stellar omelets — all served up in a grandma-chic atmosphere.
10 a.m.
Step back into the Gilded Age at the Vanderbilt Mansion. An hour-long guided tour gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lavish lifestyle of one of America’s wealthiest families. The stunning grounds include formal gardens, one of the continent’s oldest ginkgo trees, and scenic Hudson River views.
1 p.m.
Hyde Park Brewing Company offers craft beers and a locally sourced menu of beer-centric items, like crispy beer mac ’n’ cheese and cheddar-cheese lager soup.
2:30 p.m.
Experience the legacy of Hyde Park’s most famous resident at the Roosevelt National Historic Site. Pair a guided tour of FDR’s lifelong home, Springwood, with a self-guided experience at the FDR Presidential Library & Museum. Highlights among the museum’s 35,000 objects include FDR’s Oval Office desk and a recreation of his secret White House Map Room. From May to October, you can also tour Eleanor Roosevelt’s home, Val-Kill Cottage, as well as Top Cottage, FDR’s “getaway.”
6:30 p.m.
Start your Culinary Institute of America (CIA) experience with a drink at Post Road Brew House, a seasonal pop-up restaurant/bar featuring Hudson Valley craft beers, wines, and spirits. For dinner, reserve a kitchen-view table at The Bocuse Restaurant and watch CIA students spin out sophisticated modern French fare. (Other on-campus options include American Bounty Restaurant and the Tuscan-style Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici.)
Getting Here:
Don’t feel like driving? The National Park Service runs “Roosevelt Ride,” a free shuttle between the Poughkeepsie Metro-North station and the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites from May to October.
