Explore Allentown, Pennsylvania: A City of History, Culture, and Family Fun

Head to the Allentown Art Museum of Lehigh Valley which was established in 1934 by well-loved impressionist painter Walter Emerson Baum, who was born in nearby Bucks county.

Baum and a group he organized founded both the museum as well as the Baum School of Art. The museum originally consisted of 70 impressionist paintings by local Pennsylvania artists and was held in the Hunsicker School. Later, the city gave the museum a permanent Federal-style house to display the collection.

Today the collection mostly consists of European paintings, a collection of textiles, works on paper, and a few other significant pieces.

Address: 31 N. 5th Street, Allentown, PA 18101, Phone: 610-432-4333

Visit America On Wheels, a transportation museum that celebrates America’s love of all things on wheels. The museum features several galleries related to virtually every form of transportation you can imagine.

You will be able to experience unique, self-propelled forms of transportation in their bicycle collection, innovative personal transportation vehicles like Segways, and huge tractor-trailers that transport goods and food across the country. The museum is very focused on education, in particular on teaching the general public about the transportation industry in an enjoyable way.

There is a kid-friendly area called the Restoration Learning Center, which is designed for children up to the age of 16 to learn about the steps involved in restoring a vehicle.

Address: 5 N. Front Street, Allentown, PA 18102, Phone: 610-432-4200

Recommended Activities for Families

Take the kids to Da Vinci Science Center, a museum of science and an educational institution with a large number of hands-on and interactive exhibits related to science, technology, math, and engineering. The exhibits are designed to be fun and engaging for children younger than 12 years old.

Some highlights include a preschool area called Engineers On a Roll, which is a playground combined with a learning laboratory for young visitors, a water play table, and the KEVA Build It Up! exhibit, where visitors can practice their building and design skills.

Special events and programs are often on offer and include career exploration days, museum sleepovers, an inventors lab, and much more.

Address: 3145 Hamilton Blvd. Bypass, Allentown, PA 18103, Phone: 484-664-1002

Have fun at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, a combination amusement park and water park that sit in between the cities of Emmaus and Allentown. The park has a number of exciting attractions for visitors of all ages, including eight roller coasters, a variety of other thrill rides for adults, and family-friendly rides for visitors of all ages.

While many of their roller coasters are modern, steel coasters, the roller coaster named Thunderhawk is a wooden roller coaster that was built in 1923.

It is one of the oldest roller coasters in the world that is still in operation. The water park has several wet and wild rides, which are great for cooling off after several hours in the park.

Address: 3830 Dorney Park Road, Allentown, PA 18104, Phone: 610-395-3724

Attractions for Couples

The Allentown Farmers Market has long been a tradition in the Lehigh Valley area. The market has more than 60 local vendors each week who offer a wide range of goods for sale.

Compared to other area markets, this particular farmers market has one of the better selections around. Items include meats and poultry from local farms, locally made deli items, homemade baked goods, seafood, and farm-fresh vegetables. There is a grocery store as well as gourmet specialty shops and an Italian market for all of your gourmet grocery needs.

If you get hungry while strolling through the market, don’t worry, you won’t have to wait until you can get home and cook up your goodies. There are plenty of restaurant options, ranging from a homestyle Amish eatery to a Vietnamese bistro and everything in between.

Address: 1825 W. Chew Street, Allentown, PA 18104, Phone: 610-432-8425

The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum is one of the largest historical society-run museums in the country. The museum has six galleries spread across approximately 13,000 square feet of exhibits in their 30,000-square-foot museum.

The museum also has a very nice collection of resources in their historical research library, which can be used by visitors and professionals who are performing research. The heritage museum has both permanent and temporary exhibits that display artifacts, photos, documents, and other items related to the region’s history. The exhibits cover the time before Europeans settled the area all the way up to the present.

Address: 432 Walnut Street, Allentown, PA 18102, Phone: 610-435-1074

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs Minor League Baseball team that plays baseball in the International League.

The team plays at Allentown’s Coca-Cola Park, and sports fans who visit the city may want to catch a game at the park. The full game schedule is available on the team’s website. The stadium also offers tours of the park, whereby visitors get to see the action behind the scenes. The walking tours take about 60 minutes and stop at the IronPigs and visitor’s clubhouses, dugouts, suites, club level, press box, and more.

Tour reservations are required in advance, and personalized tours are available for groups of 10 or more.

Address: 1050 Ironpigs Way, Allentown, PA 18109, Phone: 610-841-7447

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms Minor League Hockey is affiliated with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and plays in the American Hockey League.

Since 2014, the team has played their games out of the PPL Center, which is a modern, multi-purpose arena. They consistently sell out of tickets to their games, so if you are hoping to catch a hockey game during your visit, you should plan ahead.

The arena has quality concessions, including Tim Hortons, Chickie & Pete’s, and other concession stands throughout, so you will be well fed throughout the games.

Address: 701 Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101, Phone: 610-224-4625