The village of Tarrytown in upstate New York offers visitors far more than the ghosts and goblins immortalized in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Perched on the eastern shore of the majestic Hudson River, Tarrytown, which is part of the town of Greenburgh, entices visitors with waterfront views, historic homes, unique shops and restaurants, outdoor recreation, and superb cultural attractions.
Carol M Highsmith
The Lyndhurst Mansion.
STAY
Not far from downtown, Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center (49 East Sunnyside Lane, 800-553-8118, www.tarrytownhouseestate.com, summer rates $199-$329) welcomes guests to its 26-acre estate with 202 modern rooms and 10 rooms in the Kings Mansion, each decorated in 19th-century style. Amenities include a casual tavern, indoor gym with pool, and an outdoor pool, tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts. Those with deep pockets should check out Castle on the Hudson (400 Benedict Ave., 1-800-616-4487, www.castleonthehudson.com, summer rates from $335), where one can live like royalty in this Relais & Châteaux property reminiscent of an early Norman castle with canopy beds, an outdoor heated pool and Jacuzzi, and a supremely elegant restaurant.
DINE
Sweet Grass Grill.
Tarrytown offers a range of dining options, including places specializing in farm-to-fork fare. Enjoy stellar morning java and pastries at the eco- and dog-friendly Coffee Labs Roasters (7 Main St., 914-332-1479, www.coffeelabs.com), which roasts its own beans on premise. For heartier fare, like a three-egg omelet stuffed with cheese, onions, potatoes, and ham (with toast and hash browns), yogurt-fruit parfaits, and banana nut pancakes, head to Eldorado (460 South Broadway, 914-332-5838, www.eldoradodiners.com, $1.75-$18.50). Come lunch, savor house-made charcuterie platters, mussels steamed in white wine, or quiche with salad at the French-style Chiboust Bistro & Bakery (14 Main St., 914-703-6550, www.chiboust.com, entrees, $9-$28). Or head to Lubins-N-Links (38 Main St., 914-909-4198, www.lubinsandlinks.com, $2.25-$4.50), where you’ll find beef, chicken, turkey, and vegetarian wieners with a dozen plus toppings, like New York-style red onion sauce, along with the signature lubin — fall-apart sliced beef heaped on a hot-dog bun with any two toppings. For fresh Greek fare served in what feels like an old-style luncheonette, Lefteris Gyro (1 North Broadway, 914-524-9687, www.lefterisgyro.com, $3.95-$19.95) satisfies with homemade soups, gyros, spinach pie, salads, kebobs, and specialty platters, like vegetarian moussaka served with pita and a Greek salad. If you find yourself in need of an afternoon pick-me-up, treat yourself to handcrafted ice cream, gelato, or sorbet all made with organic, local ingredients in small batches at Lighthouse Ice Cream & Coffee (127 Main St., 914-502-0339, www.lighthouseicecreamkompany.com, small cups or cones, $3.50). For a dinner based on locally grown ingredients in a charming atmosphere, reserve a table at Sweet Grass Grill (24 Main St., 914-631-0000, www.sweetgrassgrill.com. Entrees about $15-23), where you’ll find dishes like hand-cut pappardelle with duck confit and whole smoked eggplant topped with beans, a farm egg, and garlic puree. The cozy Tarry Tavern (27 Main St., 914-631-7227, www.tarrytavern.com. Entrees $14-$25) also offers regional fare like roasted beet salad with lemon ricotta, pumpkin seeds, and a golden raisin purée and warm Portuguese octopus with potatoes, arugula, olives, and lemon aioli. Should a craving for Italian hit, Isabella’s Bistro (61 Main St., 914-332-1992, www.isabellabistro.com. Entrees, $15-$34) won’t disappoint with the bountiful antipasti della casa featuring rolled marinated eggplant, stuffed peppers and mushrooms, shrimp oreganati, fried calamari and baked clams, along with brick oven pizzas, pastas, seafood and meat dishes, like milk-fed veal chops with white wine and fresh sage.
DURING THE DAY
Historic mansions and stunning artwork abound in and around Tarrytown. Children especially will enjoy a tour from a guide in period dress at Washington Irving’s restored 1835 home, Sunnyside (3 West Sunnyside Lane, 914-631-8200 on weekdays and 914-591-8763 on weekends, www.hudsonvalley.org, adults $12, children $6, under 3), where the tour includes games, a scavenger hunt, some 19th century dominos, and a “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” picture book. Then, stop by to see Lyndhurst (635 South Broadway, 914-631-4481, www.lyndhurst.org, free admission to tour the grounds, interior tours, $6-$16), one of America’s finest Gothic Revival estates and a National Trust Historic Site. Built in 1838, the mansion is set on 67 landscaped acres and is filled with period furniture and artwork, as well as the oldest regulation bowling alley in the nation. Nearby lies another gorgeous Gothic Revival-style stone mansion, Kykuit (381 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, www.hudsonvalley.org, tickets $23-$40), overlooking the Hudson River with gardens and fountains and home to four generations of Rockefellers, who collected works by such artists as Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol, along with classic automobiles and horse-drawn carriages. Art buffs also will delight in the outdoor sculptures by such artists as Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, and Auguste Rodin in the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo (700 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase), located on the grounds of the soft-drink giant’s corporate headquarters. It is free and open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. Also worth seeing are the striking stained glass windows by Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse in the Union Church of Pocantico Hills (555 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, 914-631-2069, www.ucph.org, $5). For shoppers, happiness can be had hunting for antiques along Main Street and adjoining side streets with printed maps of the area available at the Sleepy Hollow Tarrytown Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Center (1 Neperan Road, Tarrytown, 914-631-1705, www.sleepyhollowtarrytownchamber.com).
Jim Logan
Guided tours by lantern of The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are offered in the evening.
AFTER DARK
Avoid the day crowds and go on an evening guided walking tour by lantern of The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (540 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, 914-631-0081, www.sleepyhollowcemetery.org, $24.99), the resting place of such luminaries as Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, Leona Helmsley, and Elizabeth Arden. Tarrytown Music Hall (13 Main St., 914-631-3390, www.tarrytownmusichall.org) puts on musical performances, comedy shows, and stage productions Wednesdays-Saturdays.
Cap off the night with a Brutini (Stoli Vanilla, Kahlua, Frangelico, and espresso shot) at the small, quaint bar, Brute on 9 (17 North Broadway, 914-703-6022).