Essentials

Shop for handsewn quilts and homemade jam, ice cream and fudge at Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse .

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Go antiquing at one of the many pickers' markets in Adamstown —some of the bigger multi-dealer bazaars are Renninger's, Shupp's Grove and Adamstown Antique Mall.

Tour the area's first religious commune, Ephrata Cloister , founded by German immigrants in 1732.

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Sample the delicacies at Lancaster's Central Market, in operation since the 1730s. Pennsylvania Dutch specialties include sausage, scrapple, cheese, fresh-baked breads, soft pretzels and pickled vegetables.

Sneak a kiss under one of nearly 30 covered bridges in the area—the Hunsecker Bridge in Lancaster, the Mill Bridge in Ronks and the Paradise/Leaman Place Bridge in Paradise are especially scenic.

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Watch the livestock sale, peruse the flea market and sample fresh-picked fruits and vegetables at the Green Dragon Farmers Market in Ephrata .

Experience the heritage of Pennsylvania Germans at the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum , a working farm that replicates life in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Visit the Hans Herr House , the oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in the country, and tour its farmhouses, barns and orchards.