Newark boasts the nation’s largest collection of cherry blossoms, and each April more than five thousand Japanese cherry blossom trees burst into bloom in the expansive Branch Brook Park. 

Every June nearly three hundred thousand revelers from far and wide head to Newark’s Ironbound to celebrate Portugal Day, which is actually an entire weekend! For three days (and into the night), the cuisine, music, and art of Portugal highlight this awesome open-air festival.

Head to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark’s most breathtaking sacred structure, to experience the glory and the grandeur of the fifth-largest cathedral in North America. Visitors of every race, culture, and creed will have a truly spiritual experience at this stunningly gorgeous Gothic structure that is home to the largest stained-glass window in the world. 

Prepare to fall head over heels as you visit the beautifully appointed galleries of the Newark Museum. With more than eighty galleries to explore, it boasts the largest collection of Tibetan art outside of Southeast Asia. Don’t miss the Buddhist altar that was consecrated by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama himself in 1990. (altar photo attached)