The only place approaching an urban scale in this part of Pennsylvania, Lancaster (pop. 56,438) is the region’s commercial center, a bustling city that, for a single day during the Revolutionary War, served as capital of the country. Though most visitors view it as little more than a handy base for exploring nearby Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Lancaster does have a couple of attractions in its own right, such as the redbrick, pseudo-Romanesque Central Market at King and Queen Streets in the center of town. It hosts the nation’s oldest publicly owned, continuously operating Farmer’s Market, currently held all day Tuesday and Friday, as well as Saturday mornings. A block south on Queen Street, the ground-floor windows of the local newspaper trace local history through headlines, starting back in 1794 and continuing up through the present day.
Two miles northeast of Lancaster, the state-run and well-signed Landis Valley Museum (daily; $9) is a popular 40-acre living history park preserving and interpreting traditional rural lifeways of eastern Pennsylvania.
