New London is a city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States. It is located at the mouth of the Thames River (pronounced as to rhyme with 'James', unlike the river of the same name in London, the capital of England, which pronounces it to rhyme with 'hems') in New London County, southeastern Connecticut. The city is home to Connecticut College, Mitchell College, the United States Coast Guard Academy, and The Williams School. New London Harbor is home port to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Chinook and the Coast Guard's tall ship Eagle. New London had a population of 25,671 at the 2000 census. The Norwich-New London metropolitan area includes twenty-one towns and 266,618 people . The population of the city of New London is 26,174 .