attractions

Vacations and Getaways in Historic Bethlehem PA and Lehigh Valley

For your perfect Bethlehem PA and Lehigh Valley vacation and romantic or family getaway, look no further than the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Treat your family or loved one to luxuriously designed, well appointed accommodations, fine dining, safe environment, and a great location. Stay with us and you’ll find that all area attractions, fine dining and shopping are just minutes away.

Restored to its original 1922 grandeur, Hotel Bethlehem is ideally located in historic downtown Bethlehem PA and its quaint shops, charming boutiques, and interesting museums are just steps from the hotel’s front door. Setting a historic tone, the Central Moravian Church can be seen from the large windows that line the front of the hotel on Main Street. The historic district that surrounds the hotel dates to the settlement of Bethlehem by the Moravians in 1741.

When planning a trip to Historic Bethlehem, check out the interactive map on Visit Historic Bethlehem’s site to view historic sites, shopping, dining and more to make your trip memorable.

Bethlehem, a city known for its rich colonial and industrial history, is a unique combination of old and new. Almost every corner of the city exudes its own sense of history. Among its cultural highlights are the Bach Festival in May, the Blueberry Festival in July, Musikfest a nine-day festival that draws a million visitors each August, and Celtic Classic in September. Known as “Christmas City USA,” Bethlehem features a rich calendar of events during the Christmas season, which attract thousands of guests from all over the world to its Christkindlmarkt at Steel Stacks as well as the Christmas City Village in the Historic District.

Festivals

Bach Festival – May

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is the oldest Bach choir in America. They have been a choir for over 110 years and are based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. They have toured internationally, where they have performed at the Royal Albert Hall, the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and the Herkulessaal in the Munich Residenz. Domestically they have performed at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. They have recorded with the BBC Proms and on the Dorian and Analekta labels.

440 Heckewelder Place
Bethlehem, PA 18018
610-866-4382

Blueberry Festival – July

At this 2-day family fun event, guest will have the opportunity to indulge in all things blueberry such as blueberry pie, ice cream, beer, wine, mead and more! At the festival, guests can walk around and see local crafters and demonstrators, go on pony rides, watch a mounted patrol demonstration, participate in kid’s club crafts, see the Lehigh Valley Zoo put on the Birds of Prey Demonstration, dress up in Colonial costumes, listen to sweet summer sounds of talented performers, and even participate in the popular pie- eating contest! New this year, guests can even enter their own famous blueberry recipes into the Blueberry Cooking Contests.

1461 Schoenersville Road
Bethlehem, PA 18018
610-882-0450

Celtic Classic – September

Since 1998 Celtic Cultural Alliance (CCA) has been hosting the Celtic Classic Highland Games and Festival in Bethlehem each September. This internationally known celebration of all things Celtic has been the foundation upon which CCA has been built. Building on this rich history, CCA has continued to expand its presence in Bethlehem and beyond. With educational programming presented throughout the year, both for school age audiences and adult groups, CCA has continued to further its goal of preserving and promoting Celtic Culture.

532 Main Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
610-868-9599

Performing Arts & Art

Museums

Heritage Walking Trail

Experience Bethlehem like never before: On your own time and at your own pace, while focusing on what you enjoy.

With the use of handheld audio devices, the Heritage Trail^TMallows participants to walk, run, or bike through three centuries of Bethlehem history. Stops along the trail include two National Historic Landmarks, the newly designated Historic Moravian Bethlehem National Historic Landmark District, Victorian era homes, and Bethlehem Steel buildings. Headsets are available at the Front Desk of the Hotel.

52 West Broad Street
Bethlehem , PA 18018
800-360-8687

Golf Courses

Olde Homestead Golf Club

Yardage: 6,800 I Rating: 73.2 I Slope: 137 I Par: 72

Homestead Golf Club is a 4 star daily fee course nestled in the foothills of the Blue Mountains where history and tradition are part of daily life. Our golf course features many restored buildings such as the Farmhouse (now our clubhouse) built in 1910, a 1700’s Summer Kitchen with bake oven, a One Room Schoolhouse, the drive-through Corn Cribs and a Horse Drawn Carriage Museum. Our friendly atmosphere along with these features will make you feel as though you’ve come home.

6598 Route 309
New Tripoli, PA 18066
610-298-GOLF (4653)

Bethlehem Golf Course

Yardage: 6.674 I Rating :74 I Slope: 128 I Par: 72

Built on flat terrain, the Bethelem Golf Course features numerous trees and sand bunkers that will alter your shots. The course’s signature hole is number 3, requiring a long tee shot to a narrow, well-bunkered green. This municipal golf complex offers an executive nine hole course and an eighteen-hole regulation course. The Executive Course has wide open fairways that vary in undulation. The greens are small and elevated. (Course not included in golf package)

400 Ilick’s Mill Road
Bethlehem, PA 18017
610-865-7105

Allentown Municipal Golf Course

Yardage: 6,053 I Rating: 68.2 I Slope: 121 I Par: 72

The course is long, open, and flat with water hazards coming into play on a number of holes. The fairways have a scattering of trees that can alter your shots, and the large greens are somewhat undulating. The signature hole is number 12, a 394-yard, par four, requiring a tee shot up a dogleg left fairway that plays uphill from tee to green. Nine hole play is only available after 3:00 p.m. (Course not included in golf package)

3400 Tilghman Street
Allentown, PA 18104
610-395-9926

Southmoore Golf Course

Yardage: 3,179 I Rating: 70.4 I Slope: 128 I Par: 72

Southmoore Golf Course has established itself as the premier public course in the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania, offering country club conditions at public club prices. Its reputation has begun to attract golfers from all over the region. The Upscale clubhouse has proven to be a delight for everyone offering an expansive and fully stocked pro shop, golfers lounge, restaurant and outing pavilion. The course has hosted the PGA Maxfli Junior Championship Qualifier, the Philadelphia PGA Assistant’s Championship and hosted the Open qualifying for the Nike Lehigh Valley Open in June 1999.

235 Moorestown Drive
Bath , PA 18014
610-837-7200

The Architects Golf Club

Yardage: 6,836 I Rating: 72.5 I Slope: 131 I Par: 71

In 2001, owners Dennis and Larry Turco had a vision to open one of the most renowned golf courses in the world — one that paid tribute to the great design styles of the game’s most prolific architects. Together, they partnered with golf course architect Stephen Kay and Golf Digest Architectural Editor, Ron Whitten, to unveil New Jersey’s only legacy course and name it, “The Architects Golf Club.” The Architects embodies 70 years of great design styles and is the only course to offer a history lesson in golf course architecture as guests play through their round.

700 Strykers Road
Lopatcong, NJ 08865
908-213-3080

Other

Burnside Plantation

The Burnside Plantation is a 6.5-acre plantation in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1758, Burnside’s widow sold the remaining 300 acres to the Moravian Church. Lehigh County bought the plantation in 1986 and leased it into a private corporation “to restore, develop, and manage it as a living and natural history resource”. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1990. The museum is an affiliate within the Smithsonian Affiliations program.

1461 Schoenersville Rd
Bethlehem, PA 18018

PPL Center

PPL Center is a Global-Spectrum managed state-of-the-art multipurpose arena.The arena seats more than 10,000 for concerts and more than 8,500 for Phantoms professional hockey games. The amenities-packed PPL Center host more than 140 events each year, offering something for everyone, including the Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Philadelphia Flyers, live concerts, family shows, trade shows, figure skating events, youth sports, high school and collegiate events, Disney on Ice, conferences, graduations and many more events.

701 Hamilton Street
Allentown, PA 18101
610-347-8499