If you happen to find yourself driving across Pennsylvania, we’d highly recommend a stop in Harrisburg, PA. As the capital of Pennsylvania, you can see the political atmosphere in the downtown area near the capitol building. However, with cute areas like Midtown, this town has a lot more to offer than we originally thought. Check out our recommendations below.
Getting to Harrisburg
As with most of America, Harrisburg is a driving city. We drove in and found it so helpful to have a car as it’s pretty spread out. There is the Harrisburg International Airport to fly into and the Amtrak runs through it if trains are more your style. As for getting around, there is limited public transportation aside from a few bus routes (Capital Area Transit, CAT), but like I mentioned, a car will be your easiest way to get around. As for parking, almost everything is free. There are a few blocks around the capitol building that are paid parking or limited by permit parking but drive a few blocks out and there is plenty of free public parking.
Where to Stay
We stayed at The Manor on Front. I’d definitely recommend it. It’s an old but very clean brick mansion that was recently renovated to a guest house. The rooms are delightful and clean. They serve breakfast every morning in the dining room so you can dine with other guests. We enjoyed lovely conversations with other guests and enjoyed the home cooked meal.
Every brand of hotel is also located in the city so you can find regulars like Hilton, Holiday Inn or Fairfield Inn.
What to Do
The downtown area of Harrisburg is the best place to walk around. We strolled through the streets walking through many small locally owned shops like bookstores, history society, coffee shops, clothing stores, and bakeries.
The thing that caught our eye the most was the sheer amount of incredibly colorful murals that were everywhere downtown. It gave the city a fresh vibe compared to the streets of colonial style buildings. The city has gone through a revitalization project where they are putting in plants near the cross walks and it’s honestly adorable.
The main attraction downtown is the capital building. There are free guided tours Monday through Friday from 8:30am-4pm, every 30 minutes and a few weekend slots. We highly recommend taking this tour. The tour lasted a little more than 30 minutes but we learned so much about the history of the building, including the paintings, the materials used to build, and the updates made. It was quite fascinating.
Head down the capitol steps to State Street where you’ll find the majestic Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. The outside of the Cathedral dome has that distinctive green from the oxidized copper and it’s gorgeous. Inside is a traditional catholic church with beautiful paintings and stained glass.
Just a few blocks away, you’ll find Broad Street Market which is the oldest continually operating market house. Opened in 1860 to feed union soldiers, it now houses a farmers market open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Get your baked goods, deli meats, veggies, coffee or flowers in this adorable market. Our favorite cookie was from Taylor Chip.
Food
As you know, we love to eat as well. We were only able to try a few restaurants but here are our recommendations. Millworks (across from the Broad Street Market) is a really cool brewery with delicious food. The space is worth visiting even if you can’t eat here as there are three floors of artist studios. Walk through each space to buy very unique paintings, jewelry, candles, and much more.
The LA Squared is an amazing Vietnamese restaurant right there on Reily Street. I would recommend that you skip the Thai Tea as it was too sweet and inauthentic tasting. But you must have the Pho. We had the basic broth with beef and it was so flavorful. I am dreaming about that broth now. The lemongrass beef rice dish was outstanding with flavor and texture too. Definitely recommend both dishes.
If you want to be blown away with authentic Mexican food, check out Tacos Mi Tierra in the Allison Hill neighborhood. Although the storefront isn’t inviting, the people are friendly and the food is amazing. All the tacos we had, we would recommend: al pastor, chorizo, carne asada. Yum. Served on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions, it was so good!
We weren’t here long enough to try all the restaurants but our host recommended Cork & Fork, Sammy’s Italian, Burger Yum, and Dockside Willies across the river. There is a wide variety of food for all appetites.
Parks
Harrisburg also has a lot of green spaces. Not only are the streets lined with lush trees, shrubs and landscaping, the city has set aside many large green spaces to enjoy. We recommend the following parks.
Wildwood Park is a 3.1 mile loop around a marsh land that is teeming with wildlife. We saw birds, turtles, frogs and even deer enjoying the water and woods of this park. The walking path is well laid out but the only downside is that the south end of the park is near a highway so the traffic noise is loud. Once you walk far enough away, the traffic noise dissipates.
The 5 Senses Garden is an adorable garden which uses all 5 senses to immerse you in nature. With a few trails, water feature, garden, and benches, it makes a great short stop to get out and walk in nature. The parking lot is across the street and you can use this lot to connect to a vast network of mountain biking trails along the Capital Area Greenbelt.
City Island Park is located in the middle of the Susquehanna River. Today it houses the Harrisburg Senators Baseball Stadium (FNB Park), the Penn Football Club (previously the City Islanders), and The Harrisburg Beach Club. There is a mini golf too! A walking path around most of the island makes for an enjoyable stop. If you are driving, just cross over the Market Street bridge and turn off to park on the island. If you want to walk, take the Walnut Street Bridge as it’s a pedestrian/biking-only bridge. It makes for a fun way to enter the island.
Museums
If you are looking for something to do inside or needing your history fix, check out The State Museum of Pennsylvania located right next to the capital. It showcases Pennsylvania’s history and culture while also having many exhibits and interactive displays for kids. The National Civil War Museum is a well laid out museum with lots of details and facts that walk you through the events of the war to understand what life was like for both the confederate and union sides. The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum has exhibits on firefighting history, from vintage trucks to artifacts, in an 1899 Victorian firehouse. The Susquehanna Art Museum is a bank-turned-art museum featuring original exhibitions, performances & classes, plus a gift shop.
Nearby Harrisburg
If you love chocolate, no stop is complete without a trip just 30 minutes east to Hershey, PA. Yes, the Hershey’s Chocolate that we all know and love is made right here. They have done such a nice job building up a wonderful town, complete with Hershey Kiss lamp posts, for you to enjoy. If you are looking for daring and thrill seeking, check out the theme park Hershey Park to ride roller coasters and water rides. If a relaxed chill vibe is your style, The Spa At The Hotel Hershey offers traditional spa services with a chocolate twist! For an elegant outdoor experience, wander the Hershey Gardens, a botanical garden with a butterfly house and a children’s garden. And last but not least, visit Hershey’s Chocolate World. This store brings the history, the chocolate, and the fun together in a free experience. It’s a great way to learn more about Hershey and buy treats!
About a 2.5 hour drive away from Harrisburg is the Flight 93 Memorial. On 9/11, 40 heroic passengers downed a 4th plane that was involved in the attack. The airplane landed on land in middle Pennsylvania. This touching tribute has a long walking path to the actual crash site and a really well done visitors center that is a National Park to give you detailed information about the day’s events. The tribute to the passengers who died that day is evident.
All in all, if you are in the Harrisburg Area, we recommend you make a stop to this town and surrounding area. It’s not the flashiest or busiest of places, but the people were so kind and helpful, the food was delicious, and the space was beautiful to explore. It’s well worth your time!
