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Tourism

Fun Things to See & Do

Madison’s range of attractions for all ages makes it a perfect destination for visitors. Year-round entertainment, educational programs, intercollegiate sports, historic sites and hands-on activities are enhanced by the community’s warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Arts and culture venues feature Shakespeare, first- production plays by equity actors, world-class jazz, art exhibits and galleries, university programs for visual and performing arts, historical demonstrations and exhibits at the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts. There are guest lectures, musical programming at the Madison Public Library, the Madison Community House and the college campuses of Fairleigh Dickinson, Drew and Saint Elizabeth’s. Fairleigh Dickinson also hosts the U.S. Headquarters of the Cha”ne des R™tisseurs, the world’s oldest international gastronomic society.

While you can travel to Madison via train, bus or car, visitors are also encouraged to experience our biking trails and the walking tours available. For instance, the Morris County Traction Line runs parallel to the NJ Transit train line extending from Danforth Road, near Fairleigh Dickinson, to Morristown. This abandoned trolley line was converted in the 1990s to a walking, running, rollerblading and biking facility and includes historical interpretative signage along its route.

The Rose City Steppers hold monthly walks that encompass many of Madison’s 60 miles of roadways. A booklet of routes is available as part of their membership package, complete with historical and environmental anecdotes. Madison has two State and National Register Historic Districts—the Bottle Hill Historic District that runs from Park Avenue north to 105 Ridgedale Avenue and has homes pre-dating the American Revolutionary War, and the Civic & Commercial Historic District that encompasses 52 buildings in the downtown. A walking tour and architectural guide to the downtown district is available for free at Borough Hall and the Library and a map and audio version is downloadable from the government Web site.

A variety of bicycle routes connect schools, parks and activity centers, including the Madison Train Station, that is not only wheelchair-accessible, but its mini high-level platforms make train access bicycle friendly. For those not taking their bike on the train to their next destination, bike racks are available at street level at both ends of the station.

Nature discovery and adventure are only a pedal away with convenient access to the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Madison. Two bicycle loop tours are available, as well as a three-mile side trip to Jockey Hollow to see the encampment of log huts used in the winter of 1779-80 by the Continental Army.

Town-wide festivals celebrate Madison’s cultural, historic and ethnic richness, from sidewalk sales, to the AAUW book sale, to the YMCA bocce tournament, to parades— including Memorial Day, the Chamber of Commerce Holiday Walk, an Italian-heritage religious procession up North Street—to annual favorites such as Bottle Hill Day (a downtown street festival on the first Saturday of October) and Le Bazar de Noel, in early November (a shopping, dining, craft and baked goods fundraiser to support the GFWC Thursday Morning Club’s Madison Community House). For an up-to-date view of Madison’s events and attractions, visit our community Web site, www.RoseNet.org.

Hotels serving Madison include the Madison Hotel, near the community’s three universities and colleges along Madison Avenue; and the Dolce Hamilton Park hotel located on Park Avenue, between the Fairleigh Dickinson University and Saint Elizabeth’s College campus back gates. Other major brand hotels are located in nearby Morristown, Short Hills and along Route 10 in Whippany and Parsippany.