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New York may have historic sites, museums, farmers’ markets and plenty of retail shopping ops, but does it have places where you can twist your own pretzel, fill up on stroopies or take an Amish horse-and-buggy ride? Pennsylvania sure does, and if all of those examples appeal to you, Lancaster County makes for a fun weekend getaway option.
Just under a three-hour drive from NYC, the county and the city proper of Lancaster are located within South Central Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Both destinations offer their own unique draws. Established in 1729, Lancaster County is situated within the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country and contains river towns and a family amusement park called Dutch Wonderland. It’s home to the oldest Amish population in the United States and a major agricultural hub with a strong emphasis on farmland preservation, with many family-run farms.
But it’s not all country: The city of Lancaster is an urban destination with artistic venues, Federal-style buildings, a fun dining scene and independent stores and boutiques. Once our nation’s capital for a single day in 1777 (as the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia in the face of advancing British forces), Lancaster city can hold its own as a metropolis and make for a great weekend getaway.
Whichever you choose—and really, why not both?—here’s what to do within the City of Lancaster and Lancaster County.
Shop around Lancaster Central Market
In business since 1730, the Lancaster Central Market is the oldest continuously operated public market in the U.S. Based within a historic brick building, this public market (open on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) puts Pennsylvanian-associated foods and farm-grown produce front and center.
Walk along a grid of stands and booths run by vendors and merchants selling produce and baked treats, specialty groceries, kitchen staples and local ready-to-eat foods. Pick up a bottle of chocolate milk from Maplehofe Dairy, or whoopie or shoofly pie (a rich molasses-based pastry) from Marley’s Country Goods, or cured and smoked meats like the regional Lebanon Bologna from S. Clyde Weaver. You’ll find a small number of tables on the building’s upper level to enjoy your purchase on-site—but make sure to bring a bag of Pennsylvanian-made crunchy hard pretzels back home with you.
Delve into the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History & Democracy
If you’ve watched the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, you probably most remember Daniel Day-Lewis portraying our 16th U.S. President. However, fellow actor Tommy Lee Jones had an important supporting role in the film, as Republican Congressman and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens.
The real-life Stevens, who grew up in Vermont, moved to Lancaster city as a young man to start a law practice. As a radical Congressman, he fought to give African American men the right to vote after the Civil War and played a key role in shaping and introducing the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Stevens also hired Lydia Hamilton Smith to be his housekeeper. She would not only become his confidante but also a prominent local and influential businesswoman.
Opened in May 2026, the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy is based at his former Lancaster home and law office. Along with sharing both these persons’ stories, the center delves into civil rights work and educates about freedom seekers and their allies.
History buffs should also head to Historic Rock Ford, a homestead once owned by Edward Hand, an Irish-born physician who served during the American Revolution. An accompanying on-site museum delves further into the history of the region. Or you can learn more about Pennsylvania’s German communities through the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum. Based at a rural German village once occupying its location, this living history museum was founded by two brothers, George and Henry Landis, who wanted to preserve their heritage through their massive collection.
Dine around Southern Market Lancaster
Originally a food market and then office space for city agencies, this public market restarted its culinary chapter in early 2022. Southern Market Lancaster comprises a first-floor hall with Bar 1888 within the middle and a 30-seat establishment helmed by mixologists. A total of 13 chef stations serve everything from schnitzel and sushi to pizza and tacos. Trivia nights and other themed events take place here regularly. Just note that it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Lancaster’s multicultural and multi-optioned dining scene is reflected in fusion restaurants and cuisines whose range and representation go from Burmese to Puerto Rican to French and Japanese. Try Passerine, with a bottle shop and a seasonally driven brunch and dinner menu. Start with a brûléed grapefruit topped with a cornflake streusel, wildflower honey and Maldon salt. As a nighttime option, Tellus 360 is an Irish-rooted music venue with regularly scheduled live performances and pub grub.
Admire works at Lancaster Art Vault
The first floor of this former bank building on North Queen Street is now a vault for open gallery spaces displaying pieces from locally and nationally renowned artists, while its administrative offices have become mini studios.
The lower level of Lancaster Art Vault still contains three original bank vaults but also holds a large classroom and a photography room for the vault’s member artists to present their works.
Find additional creative outlets within Lancaster’s Gallery Row along North Prince Street, complete with other fine art galleries, creative studios and local shops.
Take a seat at Fulton Theatre
Get tickets for a performance at—or merely try to peek inside of—the Fulton Theatre, a regional gem whose backstory is as old as Lancaster, with architecture that’s a showstopper in itself. This is America’s oldest continuously operating theater, and it presents popular Broadway productions and family shows in its main auditorium plus thought-provoking performances in the intimate Tell Studio Theatre.
Its stage has welcomed top performers over the years, ranging from Ethel Barrymore and Sarah Bernhardt to Louis Armstrong, Debbie Reynolds and Lancaster native Jonathan Groff.
Head out to Amish Country
Taking a side trip to Amish Country brings you to a more rural and slower paced setting within this region. Bird-In-Hand, a village that’s about a 15-minute drive from Lancaster City, is connected to this heritage through working Amish farms, buggy rides and traditional markets.
Aaron & Jessica’s Amish Buggy Rides offers tours that put you right in these horse-led carriages with a local as both your driver and expert guide to the area’s Amish businesses and farmlands.
Engage in a Pennsylvania Smorgasbord, a culinary tradition of a massive all-you-can-eat buffet spread of Pennsylvania Dutch-style comfort foods, at Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant & Smorgasbord. You might find servings of buttered noodles, ham balls, shoofly pie and other regional dishes.
Take a side trip to Lititz
Roughly a 25-minute drive from Lancaster city, Lititz is a lovely small town that holds its own with historic homes in various architectural styles, a welcome center, history museum, antique stores and specialty shops, and interesting dining picks.
With quite the photogenic pretzel statue out front, the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Factory tells about the namesake founder of what’s now known as Tom Sturgis Pretzels. This man is said to have made the hard pretzel popular. The factory started in this historic stone building; in 1970, it moved to its current location in nearby Shillington. Nonetheless, this Lititz site boasts brief introductory tours and the chance to try hand-rolling pretzel dough. The gift shop is also great for buying the brand’s many pretzel varieties, which are otherwise mainly sold regionally.
The Wilbur Chocolate Retail Store is where you can buy—you guessed it—confections and candies. Lititz Shirt Factory is also great for hearing local live music while Lititz Springs Inn holds a British pub and an elegant-yet-relaxed dining room.
Getting to and around Lancaster
Downtown Lancaster is easy to stroll around on foot, and if you’re looking to park your car, public garages are pretty common. Uber and Lyft are active here but your chances of getting an available rideshare driver will likely become harder the farther you venture from Lancaster’s city center.
For more flexibility, driving down or renting a car is the best way to go.
Hertz has two locations in the city, one right at Lancaster’s Amtrak Train Station and another on Marshall Avenue, about a three-minute drive from the station. Enterprise also has a location relatively nearby on Manheim Pike.
It’s about a three-hour drive from Interstate 95 South to Interstate 76 West on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. As another route, taking Interstate 78 West to U.S. Route 222 South toward Reading and Lancaster in Pennsylvania is about three-and-a-half hours (but you can expect somewhat less traffic).
If you prefer to take a train from New York City, board Amtrak at Penn Station’s Moynihan Hall to Lancaster via routes on the Keystone Service or Pennsylvanian.
Where to stay
Lancaster has a mix of accommodations, including common brands of hotels, but also more unique lodgings that make a stay memorable because of their histories and designs. A quick drive from downtown Lancaster, the Lancaster Arts Hotel is a thing of beauty. Originally a tobacco warehouse in the late 19th century, this boutique property has many of its original brick walls and some of the original wood floors still intact. Along with the hotel’s fine art gallery, the onsite John J. Jeffries restaurant introduces the region’s seasonal bounty within this refined setting.