Best Places To Visit In Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania, the 33rd largest state of the Unites States, also known as Keystone State and Quaker State, has plenty of things to offer its visitors. Major cities are cultural and diverse, national parks are suitable for many recreational activities from hunting to hiking to skiing, amusement parks are great for family weekends, and cozy resorts are perfect for romantic getaways. And even though it is difficult to put Pennsylvania on must-visit in America list, there are some places and cities here that are really worth a trip.
Philadelphia (or Philly, that’s how many of us call this city tenderly) is not only largest city in Pennsylvania, but also probably the most interesting city to visit. The history of the city goes back to 1682, therefore Philadelphia has many historical sites, buildings and monuments. From Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 proclaiming American independence, to Penn's Landing, named after the influential and charismatic governor William Penn, America’s first capital city has much to teach visitors about the early years of America. At the same time, Philadelphia is a bustling city with modern attractions and entertainment. The city offers great diversity in accommodations, restaurants and nightclubs. From luxurious The Rittenhouse Hotel to cozy Alexander Inn to elegant Thomas Bond House – Philadelphia hotels can easily satisfy the most sophisticated traveler. And the most demanding epicures also wouldn’t be hungry here – some Philadelphia restaurants such as Le Bec-Fin, the Fountain, Barclay Prime, and Morimoto are among America’s best and most famous.
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Great French Paintings From The Barnes Foundation: Impressionist, Post-impressionist, and Early Modern
Price: $38.35
List Price: $65.00 |
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Art Held Hostage: The Battle over the Barnes Collection
Price: $14.14
List Price: $25.95 |
The Barnes Foundation, in Merion just outside of Philadelphia, is a unique and one of the world's largest collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings, with extensive holdings by Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir and Modigliani. For art lovers, the Barnes Foundation is a must visit place in Pennsylvania and among must see museums in the USA. The 12-acre arboretum, which surrounds the Foundation’s Art Gallery, is a great place for relaxation and to be surrounded by tranquility and beauty of flower gardens and exotic trees.
Longwood Gardens, located about 30 miles from Philadelphia, one of the premier botanical gardens in the United States, consists of 1,050 acres (4.2 km²) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows. With 20 outdoor and 20 indoor gardens it hosts 800 horticultural and performing arts events each year, from flower shows and gardening demonstrations to concerts, organ and carillon recitals, fountain shows, and fireworks displays. Longwood Gardens are open all year round, and it is a great place to visit at any time of the year, even during Christmas holiday season. 500,000 outdoor lights and holiday magic await visitors during Longwood's Christmas display, as well as dazzling trees, seasonal concerts and ice skating shows.
Gettysburg is a popular place to visit in Pennsylvania, particularly among American history buffs. It is here where one of the most important battles of the US Civil War took place and 51,000 men gave their lives for what they thought was a cause worth dying for. For those who want to go back in time and learn more about the US Civil War, to tour battlefields and visit numerous Gettysburg museums could be very entertaining and informative. For those who want to spike their blood with adrenaline, to stay in one of haunted hotels in Gettysburg or take a ghost tour through the streets of historic Gettysburg could be very exciting. Supposedly, Gettysburg is one of the most haunted places in America!
Most Haunted Live: Gettysburg PA
The Pocono Mountains cover a hefty 2,400-square-mile expanse of the northeastern portion of Pennsylvania and offer its adventurous visitors about 170 miles of racing rivers, 18 scenic waterfalls and 500 lakes with Lake Wallenpaupack the most impressive one. The Pocono Mountains is a popular destination even among avid skiers and hikers. And Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a water part of the region, is an absolute paradise for aqua-lovers. So, if you are looking for an adventurous vacation in Pennsylvania – The Pocono Mountains is a perfect place to go!
Hershey is not only the sweetest place in Pennsylvania, but probably the sweetest place on earth. The town was built by Milton S. Hershey as a lovely place to live, work and play for the employees of his chocolate factory. And today, it is a great family resort destination with deluxe accommodations, chocolate-themed spas, amusement park, chocolate tour rides and chocolate tasting adventures, great golf courses and even the zoo. Hershey is a perfect entertainment place to visit in Pennsylvania for families and guests of all ages.
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Moon Handbooks Pennsylvania
Price: $7.40
List Price: $19.95 |
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Compass American Guides: Pennsylvania, 3rd Edition
Price: $12.69
List Price: $21.95 |
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Backpacking Pennsylvania: 37 Great Hikes
Price: $10.25
List Price: $18.95 |
Pittsburgh, the second largest city in Pennsylvania, is consistently ranked among the nation’s most livable cities. For visitors Pittsburgh offers great outdoor activities on its rivers and parks, unique shopping downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods, and excellent dining in some of the state's most interesting locales. Take one of the city’s two 19th century cable cars to Mt. Washington for the best views of Pittsburgh, or just stroll unique Pittsburgh neighborhoods for breathtaking views of rivers and architectural masterpieces of the city.
Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania’s largest natural lake, is a fantastic place for fishing, swimming, water skiing or simply relaxing by the water. Conneaut Lake Resort Area, established as a mecca for hunters and fishermen in the 1880’s, is nestled on Pennsylvania’s scenic RT. 6, just in about two hours from Pittsburgh. Whether you're looking for peaceful waterfront serenity, or the thrill and nostalgia of a ride on classic wooden roller coaster at Conneaut Lake Park – Conneaut Lake is a great place for a vacation in Pennsylvania or just for a weekend getaway from the city.
Have a great time in a state of Pennsylvania and please share with us your Pennsylvania travel experiences!
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Lisa thank you for sharing. I guess we all have sentimental attachements to particular places. My favorite in Pennsylvania is Philly, I spent a lot good times there for work and pleasure and still love to go there once in a while for weekend. There were some art exibitions which were showed in Philadelphia and never been showed in New York. And The Barnes collection is my favorite place in Philadelphia suburbs.
Very interesting hub with beautiful photos. Longwood Gardens looks absolutely gorgeous! Would love to stroll through there someday.
I can remember driving with a friend through Hershey during my last visit to the US, the Kiss-shaped streetlights were a wonderful touch, and the 4th of July fireworks were amazing :)
I'll be heading back to Pittsburgh in June for another visit and I'm looking forward to exploring more of the city :)
Last summer was my first visit to Gettysburg and it was fantastic. We'll be making a return trip this summer and spend a week doing extensive investigations. After all, Gettysburg is America's most haunted town!
Great hub!
Great stuff. I'm a Philly girl and it's always so nice to see my city getting some hub love.
And I highly suggest everyone go to Hershey park and get Hershey park happy. The chocolate does indeed taste better when you buy it straight from the factory!
thanks for information about this place. I'll visit this city someday. looking for travel tips, don't hesitate to visit:
This is a great hub! I am actually going to Pennsylvania for the first time this June and this opened my eyes to different places I could visit. Thanks!
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I've really enjoyed visiting Longwood Gardens. Good recommendation.
I would like to visit Pennsylvania, but don't know where to go. I would rather be outside than inside ( have a favorite state park or campground) or favorite hiking trail, or anything off the beaten path? What did you do in Gettysburg that was interesting? Same about Philadelphia. I wish Rick Steves would write a book about Pennsylvania though the back door. M
well, mb, for you if you like hiking trails or state parks, I specifically mentioned Poconos with plenty of hiking trails and Conneaut Lake, which is totally off the beaten path. And before Rick Steves write a book about Pennsylvania through the back door (where I am sure he will mention the same places) I suggest you will give these places a try!
Having lived in PA for most of my life, I'd say the Poconos Mountains are a good pick... I've been to 4 of these places and the rest don't appeal to me at all.
i'd say there are plenty of great places to visit in pa infact i can list about 10 of them right off the top of my head that deliver beautiful views and scenery. 1. bushkill falls-located in the great pocono mtns region for only $10 you can walk thro the trails that bring you past 8 georgeous waterfalls including the 100' bushkill falls. 2. now at the other end of pa there is a beautiful place that is known as a great lake, lake erie along with presque isle that offers beautiful lighthouses that you can tour and an intense feeling to be swimming in a lake that makes you think your in an ocean! the waves are huge and you dont get that nasty salt water taste. 3. would definitely have to be the PA grand canyon, this is what really brings people to pa you just have to know where to look. it is located about 10 miles west of wellsburo, pa it offers a cliff of 800ft down to pine creek bellow and be sure to take the turkey path down to the bottom in the east state park called Leanard-harrison state park along the way you'll see awesome waterfalls and a really cool walking path! just like you might see at bushkill falls. i personally would climb back up on the side of the mtn just because you can say you climbed and 800ft cliff. haha. but thats just me. so anyway 4. im going to say about 30 mins west of the grand canyon is a place called cherry springs state park. this place is very well known for what happens after the sun goes down..just look up. you'll see about 50 million stars in the sky and this is because your standing at the darkest place in the eastern U.S. this also offers a view of the milky way galaxy which is seen perfectly from here. 5. Now you'll want to head south to a place i like called harrisburg, pa. this city is the capital of Pennsylvania and is also the only place you'll find the susquehanna river water gaps through the appalachian mtns. this is quite extraordinary to see such a huge river running straight through mtn ranges and while your here make sure you take a hike on the famous appalachian trail that you can find at the clarks-ferry bridge as the easiest access point where you can climb up the mtns that lie on either side of the river this brings me to 6. if you follow the trail to the top of the mtn on the west side of the bridge you will find yourself at hawk rock with a vista to see as far at 72 miles looking north. 7. Hawk mtn (different from hawk rock) is located in hamburg, Pa. here you can find a variety of different species of birds where many people go just to look at them. it costs somewhere between $5 and $10 to walk the trails but there's enough to take up a hole days hiking trip. make sure you explore the north outlook and in the far distance you can see giant wind turbines that look incredible from this view after so journey to the bottom of the valley and you'll find yourself standing on a river of rocks. you'll notice a big building when you first get off the highway on the way to hawk moutain and that building is called 8. Cabela's- this place is very unique in that is contains a mtn of mounted animals ranging from polars bears to elephants. something you can surely bring the kids too and if they dont like that just go to the aquarium that lies inside the building also. 9. i have yet to be here but ive heard many good things about the allegheny state park about an hour and half east of lake erie and could be one of the most scenic parks in all of PA. while your there be sure to check out some of the high points and views such as jakes rocks that overlook the huge allegheny reservoir. 10. the best for last- is in my mind the Deleware national water gap located near the pocono mtns and where you can find bushkill falls. this scenic area contains dozens and dozens of beautiful waterfall ranging from 30' up to probably 200' the lakes in this region of pa are some of the greatest and prettiest lakes the state has to offer. if you are not impressed by these landforms arcoss the keystone state, then i dont know what to tell you, but you must be crazy. haha. so enjoy and i think this little writting is going to inspire me to write a book on the places to travel in pa. so look for it someday. ha. good luck and good day.
I just went to Pittsburgh for the first time. We took a day and went to Mill Run to see the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Fallingwater home. It was incredible. There are hiking trails/state park nearby. We went to the Pittsburgh zoo as well. It is small, but the exhibits show the animals up close. The most interesting animal was the mandrill!
I liked this article very much and sort of miss my birth state as I've been out west since 1965. But your article stirred up fond memories.
so is PA a good place to visit the last week of december??
Thanks everybody for comments! Special thanks to Sam for very detail comment about wilderness of Pennsylvania!
To yanin - Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, like any other big city are very beautiful under Christmas decorations. Poconos is a great place for skiing, and the last week of December is a good time for that. And Longwood Gardens with 500,000 outdoor lights and ice skating shows is a perfect place to visit during Christmas holiday season.
Beautiful hub! I will have to check out some of these places when I'm passing through Pennsylvania next!
Lisa HW says:
8 months ago
Very nice Hub about Pennsylvania. I have to confess that my travels in the Keystone state were always primarily centered around the Scranton area (because my inlaws lived there). It was, by no means, a "vacation spot" - but today it does enjoy the "glory" of being where the tv show, "The Office", takes place.
Still, in spite of Scranton's not having a particularly lustrous reputation at the time (to say the least), I found it kind of nice to be able to see mountains all around, even when doing something as mundane as going to the shopping center or sitting on "Grandma's" and "Grandpa's" balcony. I know my "sentimental attachment" to Scranton is mostly because I associate it with my kids' late grandparents - but I couldn't resist giving it a plug here. :)