Yale Center for British Art

While Yale [1] has many attractions worth visiting, the Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St.‚ 203/432-2800, http://ycba.yale.edu [2], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sat.; noon–5 p.m. Sun., free) is particularly worth singling out. British art is frequently overshadowed by its more showy European neighbors from Italy and the Netherlands. But the United Kingdom has a style and artistic history all its own, and the Yale Center for British Art is the largest and most comprehensive collection outside of the British Isles themselves.

Highlights of the museums include the psychedelic drawings of poet-artist William Blake, the luminous seascapes of J. W. Turner, and the bucolic landscapes of Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable.

The building itself is no slouch either; designed by Louis Kahn, it is a modernist grey cube confronting the adjoining plaza.