Notable Cities and Towns in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's notable places include historic towns of extraordinary significance, university communities, and postindustrial cities reinventing themselves.

Bethlehem
A Moravian settlement (1741) and later the home of Bethlehem Steel (1857–1995) — the combination of 18th-century religious community architecture and 20th-century industrial heritage is found nowhere else in the US. The SteelStacks arts campus (on the former blast furnace site — the towering orange steel furnaces are preserved as industrial monuments) hosts music festivals (Musikfest — the largest free music festival in the US, 10 days in August, 500+ performances), film events, and markets.

Gettysburg
Beyond the battlefield — Gettysburg's Victorian-era town center, Lincoln's ghost tour scene (the most ghost tour operations of any US city), the Gettysburg College campus (founded 1832, used as a field hospital during the battle), and the regional inn scene make it an exceptional overnight destination.

Jim Thorpe
In Carbon County — a Victorian coal mining town in the Lehigh River gorge that has reinvented itself as a mountain biking and outdoor recreation hub. The Mauch Chunk name was changed to Jim Thorpe in 1954 (a PR stunt — the body of the Native American athlete was purchased by the town). The Victorian Asa Packer Mansion and the gravity railroad history make it distinctive.

New Hope
On the Delaware River at New Hope-Lambertville Bridge — an arts colony and LGBT-friendly small town with galleries, the Bucks County Playhouse (one of the most historic regional theaters in the US), the New Hope Canal Boat tours, and the Bucks County countryside.

Wellsboro
Pennsylvania's most New England-like town — gas-lit streets (real gas flames, not electric replicas), a village green with Victorian buildings, and the gateway to the Pine Creek Gorge (Pennsylvania Grand Canyon). Wellsboro's character is unique in Pennsylvania.