Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Reborn

Pittsburgh has pulled off one of the great urban reinventions. The old steel city now runs on universities, hospitals and technology, and its museums and galleries punch well above what the population numbers would suggest. The Carnegie Museums cover natural history, art and science under one roof. The Andy Warhol Museum is the largest in the world dedicated to a single artist. The neighbourhoods of Lawrenceville and the Strip District are energetic, walkable and full of places that make you want to stay longer than planned. The three rivers that converge here frame views that earn their reputation.

Landscapes That Earn Superlatives

Between the two big cities lies a state of extraordinary natural variety. The Pocono Mountains are a four-season destination, drawing hikers in summer and skiers in winter, with waterfalls scattered through the forest that feel like genuine discoveries. The Laurel Highlands in the southwest offer rafting, cycling and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater perched impossibly above a creek. Lake Erie gives Pennsylvania a sliver of Great Lakes shoreline and a winery region that produces serious Riesling and Gruner Veltliner from cool-climate vines. The state parks are plentiful and largely uncrowded, which remains one of Pennsylvania's more pleasantly kept secrets.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country and Regional Character

Lancaster County is home to the largest Amish community in the world, and the patchwork of farmland here is beautiful in every season. Horse-drawn buggies share the road with cars in an arrangement that has worked for generations, and the farmers markets are genuinely excellent rather than touristy. The food culture of Pennsylvania is proudly regional: a Philly cheesesteak from a corner shop at 11pm, a Primanti Brothers sandwich piled with coleslaw in Pittsburgh, shoofly pie from an Amish bakery in Lancaster. The state has a character that resists easy summarising, which is probably exactly why it keeps rewarding return visits.