Anthony Licciardello | July 3, 2026
Montclair, NJ
Moving to Montclair · Essex County, NJ
This is the part of Montclair that makes it feel like a small city rather than a suburb. A serious art museum, a nationally recognized film festival, a landmark concert hall, a free jazz festival that shuts down the main avenue, and more than two hundred restaurants across five walkable districts — it's a cultural life most towns this size can only envy. For New York transplants worried they'll miss the city's energy, this is the reassurance. Here's the scene you'll actually live in.
See downtown and the arts district — Watch on YouTube →
This is part of our complete guide to moving to Montclair, and it pairs with the neighborhoods guide.
Art Museum
American and Native American art, with arboretum grounds.
Montclair Film
A national festival plus year-round cinemas.
The Wellmont
A restored 1922 concert and comedy hall.
200+ Restaurants
The self-styled Restaurant Capital of NJ.
Just off Bloomfield Avenue sits a museum that would be the pride of a much larger city. Over a century old and on the National Register of Historic Places, the Montclair Art Museum is one of the few American institutions devoted specifically to American and Native American art, with rotating exhibitions that punch well above the town's size. Its grounds double as an arboretum dotted with sculpture, and — a small luxury — parking is free. It's the anchor of Montclair's identity as an arts town, and an easy, repeat-worthy afternoon once you live here.
Did You Know
The museum holds the only gallery dedicated to George Inness, the father of American landscape painting — who did much of his celebrated work while living in Montclair itself.
Montclair Film is one of the town's crown jewels. Its nationally recognized festival takes over downtown each October — the 2026 edition is set for October 16 to 25 — with more than a hundred films, panels, and events drawing filmmakers and audiences from across the region. But it isn't just once a year: Montclair Film runs year-round programming and operates two downtown cinemas, the restored Clairidge and the reopened Bellevue, along with story slams and improv nights out of its headquarters. It's a big reason the town has such a genuine creative pulse.
The restored Wellmont Theater, which first opened in 1922, anchors the live scene — now a Live Nation venue hosting national concerts and comedy just off the main avenue. Each summer, the free Montclair Jazz Festival, organized by the acclaimed Jazz House Kids, closes down Bloomfield Avenue for multiple stages and big-name performers — a genuine community highlight. And just up the road, Montclair State University's PEAK Performances brings world-class theater, dance, and music to its Kasser Theater. Between them, there's serious live culture within walking distance or a short drive most weeks of the year.
A Friday night out that doesn't require getting back in the car.
Montclair leans hard into its self-styled title as the Restaurant Capital of New Jersey — and the numbers back the swagger, with more than two hundred eateries spread across five walkable business districts. Pedestrian-friendly Church Street is the beating heart of it, with the Walnut Street district and South Park Street offering their own clusters. The range runs from farm-to-table and French-inspired rooms to global street food, bakeries, breweries, and old-guard staples. It's the kind of dining scene that turns a random Tuesday into a night out, all on foot from much of town.
Insider Tip
Most Montclair restaurants are BYO, which keeps a night out affordable. Forgot a bottle? At many spots you can ask the staff to have a nearby wine shop deliver one right to your table.
The culture spills outdoors, too. The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens burst into color each spring with thousands of blooms, and the Van Vleck House & Gardens offer a serene estate to wander any time of year. Downtown hosts a full calendar of street festivals — among them Montclair Pride, which takes over Bloomfield Avenue — plus farmers' markets and seasonal celebrations. Add in nearby parks and reservations for hiking, and Montclair delivers a genuinely full life beyond its front doors, in every season.
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From the Broker
When a city client asks what they'd do here on a weekend, I don't have to reach. Montclair answers that question by itself.
Come see the town for yourself.
We'll build a weekend around the Montclair you'd actually live in — the museum, a show, dinner on Church Street — then browse Montclair homes for sale nearby. The Prodigy Team moves New York and Staten Island families into New Jersey for a living. We work both sides of the water.
Anthony Licciardello, Broker, The Prodigy Team · 718-873-7345
Montclair is known as one of New Jersey's leading arts and dining towns — home to the Montclair Art Museum, the Montclair Film Festival, the historic Wellmont Theater, a free jazz festival, and more than 200 restaurants across five walkable districts, all with a direct train to New York City.
The festival is held each October; the 2026 edition runs October 16 to 25. Montclair Film also programs year-round at its downtown cinemas, the Clairidge and the Bellevue. Check the current schedule for exact dates and lineups.
Many are. Montclair has a large share of bring-your-own restaurants, which helps keep dining out affordable. Policies vary by establishment, so it's worth checking ahead, but BYO is a hallmark of the town's dining scene.
Very much so. Between a major art museum, a national film festival, a landmark concert hall, a free jazz festival, university performing arts, and a deep restaurant scene, Montclair offers a cultural life unusual for a town its size — a big draw for New York transplants.
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