Pennsylvania Travel Guide

Philadelphia

Over the years numerous taglines have been coined to apply to America's most historic city, Philadelphia. It has been called the 'Athens of the Americas', the 'city of brotherly love', 'the friendliest city', the 'most honest city', 'the safest city' and, most recently, 'the city that loves you back'. Fabulous 'Philly', fifth largest metropolis in the United States, is all these things and more, which is why it is regarded as one of the world's most dynamic destinations and the happy home of more than three million people.

The city is sensibly sited 60 miles (97km) inland from the Atlantic coast on a protrusion of land at the merging of the mighty Delaware River and the Schuylkill River, land granted to William Penn, an English Quaker, back in 1682. Penn's vision was to establish a 'green countrie towne', but because of its location controlling the Delaware Valley and its good freshwater port facilities, Philadelphia soon outgrew its original boundaries and by the 18th century was the second largest English-speaking city in the world.

Today Philadelphia draws tourists mainly for its historical wealth, centered around Independence National Historical Park, regarded as the most significant historic square mile in America where the United States was conceived, declared and ratified. The Constitution of the United States was written here in 1787 and the city was the nation's first capital between 1791 and 1800.

Philadelphia is also a shopper's paradise, featuring the world's largest mall, as well as offering some of the finest dining establishments in the country, thousands of acres of beautiful parkland, attractive boulevards where street fairs and parades are common events, and a vibrant arts and entertainment community. In short, to add to all its other tags, Philadelphia can justifiably be said to offer something for everyone.

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Pittsburgh

Built by hard-bitten immigrants who were drawn to her steel mills, the city of Pittsburgh is now sitting back on its laurels and offering a more leisurely and aesthetically pleasing lifestyle to residents and visitors alike. Once dubbed 'the Smoky City', Pittsburgh's mills have closed down and the emphasis now is on making the most of the city's natural beauty. Pittsburgh is finally doing justice to its situation, lying between the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers with the Allegheny Mountains in the background. No wonder the city and environs now boasts the largest concentration of pleasure boats in America, while its thriving ethnic neighborhoods surround a clean, friendly metropolitan center filled with trees, shops, restaurants, museums, galleries and theaters. Attractions abound in this scenic city from the world's fastest continuous track roller-coaster to the largest single-artist museum in the United States; and from an eerie Gothic mansion to free summer concerts in a beautiful park.

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