Where to stay

With its mix of Georgian, Victorian and Beaux Arts buildings, Historic Downtown Lancaster is a perfect place to stay for those wishing to explore the city's rich history. Accommodations include modern hotels as well as unique historic properties. South East of Downtown, Strasburg, or "Train Town" as it's known locally, is where rail enthusiasts should choose lodgings to discover the story of Lancaster's heritage railroad. As well as modern hotels, the area has a selection of 19th-century inns. Intercourse is an Amish community where visitors can tour authentic Amish farms and learn about the region's history. Accommodations here range from roadside motels that are perfect for a road trip to family-run inns.

Many restaurants in Lancaster have embraced farm-to-table cuisine and the slow food movement. The City Center is a great place to have a fine dining experience at one of Lancaster's top restaurants. Stay in a boutique hotel or historic property to really appreciate the atmosphere. You can't visit Lancaster without trying Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. Rural inns and roadside motels in Bird-in-Hand are the best place to book a room for the many family-run restaurants offering smorgasbord meals and delicious home-made specialties including shoofly pie, bacon dressing, chicken corn soup, and chicken pot pie.

Strasburg is an ideal place to stay for those traveling with kids. They can ride on a steam train, visit the National Toy Train Museum, or go to the Choo Choo Barn, a huge model train that took 70 years to build. Consider accommodations in Ronks, another Lancaster neighborhood with plenty of attractions for children, including adventure farms, a living history village, and the Dutch Wonderland, an amusement park with roller coasters and water slides. There are plenty of affordable, family-friendly hotels in the area, some with swimming pools. Choose a hotel in Columbia, about a 30-minute drive from the center of Lancaster, where the kids can become ice cream makers for a day at Turkey Hill Dairy Farm.