Lehigh Valley's Historic Hub Is Full Of Downtown Vibes, Festivals, And Rare Landmarks With Pennsylvania Charm

Drive about 90 minutes north from the trendy and creative melting pot of Philadelphia and you'll find the borough of Nazareth. This quaint small town of about 6,000 people is in the Lehigh Valley, a mountainous region known for its scenic trails and outdoor recreation. Nazareth is less than 20 miles from the Blue Mountain Resort, a popular destination for mountain biking in the summer and skiing in the winter that's known for having the highest vertical drop in Pennsylvania.

But while the outdoors are a definite draw for visitors, Nazareth is more than just a stopping point on your way to the surrounding peaks and trails. This historic town has a long history, first settled by Moravian missionaries from Georgia in 1740, some of whose earliest structures are still standing today throughout the charming downtown area. Creative travelers will find a lot to pique their interest in Nazareth as well, with an active live music and art scene that's especially vibrant during the town's regular summer and fall festivals.

For musicians, C.F. Martin & Co. is a brand synonymous with high-quality guitars and ukuleles. Martin guitars have been played by artists ranging from Johnny Cash to Kurt Cobain, putting them among the most iconic instruments in rock music history — and all of those guitars have come out of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where the Martin factory has been in operation since it was established in 1833. Visitors to Nazareth today can book a guided tour of the factory any weekday for $5 to see first-hand how the company makes the instruments. The Visitor Center also houses a free museum where you can learn about the history of Martin and some of the incredible artists who have performed with their instruments.

If you'd rather hear those guitars (and other instruments) in action, plan your visit for late July, when The Circle area of downtown Nazareth hosts the annual Martin on Main festival. Along with two stages for live music, the festival features food trucks, vendor booths, a Kids Corner, and a raffle to take home a Martin Guitar of your own. The factory and festival together constitute the top must-do activity in Nazareth for musicians and music-lovers.

There are other opportunities to hear live music in Nazareth, too. Along with helping to organize Martin on Main, The Nazareth Center for the Arts hosts concerts, open mic nights, and workshops throughout the year. The Moravian Historical Society also gets in on the action with the Arts & Crafts Festival, which gathers local artists, musicians, and food trucks on the Whitefield House lawn every June. The Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce puts on a similar event every October, the Nazareth Fall Festival, which features a beer-stein holding competition along with vendors, food, and music.

Like the neighboring town of Bethlehem with its charming and historic Main Street, Nazareth has a wealth of landmarks built by its Moravian settlers. Two of these now belong to the Moravian Historical Society: the Whitefield House and Gray Cottage, which is the oldest Moravian structure still standing in North America. The Whitefield House has been many things over the years, including a seminary and a girls' school, but today it houses a museum with more than 20,000 artifacts ranging from paintings and photographs to textiles, firearms, and musical instruments. The library and archives contain over 5,000 books, along with an extensive collection of diaries, letters, deeds, and similar historic records. The museum is open daily and each $8 ticket includes admission to the main galleries and current special exhibits.

The Moravian Historical Society also holds guided walking tours of Nazareth. Tours cost $10 a person, and you can see upcoming dates on the society's website. If there are no tours during your visit (or you prefer to explore on your own), the Nazareth Historic District is a good place to start. The more than 500 buildings in the district were built between the late 18^th and early 20^th centuries and include both public buildings and private homes. Among these are the current home of the Nazareth Center for the Arts, which was built in 1902 as the Vigilance Hose Company firehouse and also served as the police department headquarters in the 1980s. The Nazareth Moravian Church is another noteworthy landmark, dating back to 1861 and featuring unique design elements like gendered front doors and a prominent bell tower with a green spire.