People visit places for all kinds of reasons: to see the sights, relax on beaches, do whatever it is outdoors-y people do in the mountains, look at priceless works of art in museums, attend sporting events and concerts—so why not a trip built around eating pizza?
It seems like a perfectly sensible idea to us here at Pizzavania. So with summer being a season of travel, we set about creating itineraries for pizza-themed excursions that you can tailor to taste: a day trip, a weekend, a long weekend, or longer. It’s your pizza voyage; we’re just here to help you plan it.
We’ve chosen destinations known for their pizza both within and outside of Pennsylvania that are a relatively humane drive—let’s call it three-ish hours max—from certain points in the eastern and central parts of the commonwealth. (We’re going to get to you soon enough western Pa., I promise.) And since it’s been said that man cannot live on pizza alone (debatable), we’ve got suggestions on other things you can do when you’re not eating pizza.
So gas up the car and whet your appetite. You’re going on a pizza road trip.
*Approximate drive times based on Google Maps
New Haven, Connecticut
Pizza lovers traveling to and from New England have been making a pit stop off I-95 in New Haven for decades to try the thin crust, coal-fired, artfully charred pies served up by the city’s holy trinity of O.G. pizzerias: Frank Pepe (est: 1925), Modern (est: 1934), and Sally’s (est: 1938). Beyond those institutions, there’s enough quality and variety in New Haven’s pizza scene to justify a long weekend built around what’s known locally as apizza—a term derived from the dialect used by Italian immigrants to New Haven in the early 1900s.
The three O.G.s should definitely be the foundation of such a trip. But also make time for the Neapolitan-style pies at Zeneli (located just down Wooster Street from Pepe and Sally’s); the mashed potato and bacon pie at BAR; and the more traditional New Haven-style pies at DaLenga at Nolo and Zuppardi’s in nearby West Haven.
Regarding the non-apizza component of your New Haven trip, if you’re there in the fall, take in a Yale Bulldogs game. If you’re visiting in warm weather months, Hammonasset Beach State Park and Silver Sands Beach State Park are a short drive away and are great spots for an afternoon on the Long Island Sound. East Rock Park is an ideal spot to hike off all that pizza and offers nice views of the city, while the Westville neighborhood has plenty in the way of galleries and shopping.
Approx. drive times
From Allentown: 3 hours
From Easton: 2 hours, 45 minutes
From Philadelphia: 3 hours
From Scranton: 3 hours
From Stroudsburg: 2 hours, 33 minutes
New York City
New York City is a pizza mecca. Your next favorite pizza (and your next favorite pizza after that) is somewhere in the five boroughs.
You can easily make a long weekend out of traversing the city by subway, bus, or automobile to hit raved-about new school spots like Lucky Charlie (Brooklyn) and L’industrie (Little Italy, West Village, and Brooklyn), and institutions such as Louie & Ernie’s (The Bronx), John’s of Bleecker Street (Greenwich Village), and Denino’s (Staten Island). Or, you can let Scott’s Pizza Tours guide you to some of NYC’s best pizzerias. These folks know their stuff when it comes to pizza across the five boroughs and they offer bus, walking, and private tours of some of the city’s most storied pizza spots.
As for what to do when you’re not eating pizza, you’re in luck. Turns out there are lots of things to do in New York City! You can walk off all that pizza in Central Park or on the High Line. Take in some culture at the Whitney or MoMA. Get a lesson in NYC’s rich immigration history via the Tenement Museum. Enjoy a Broadway show. Or maybe do some more eating at Chelsea Market, Russ & Daughters, or along Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
Approx. drive times
From Allentown: 1 hour, 45 minutes
From Easton: 1 hour, 29 minutes
From Harrisburg: 2 hours, 53 minutes
From Lancaster: 2 hours, 45 minutes
From Philadelphia: 1 hour, 43 minutes
From Scranton: 2 hours, 10 minutes
From Stroudsburg: 1 hour, 29 minutes
From Williamsport: 3 hours, 15 minutes
From York: 3 hours, 7 minutes
Old Forge
If you consider yourself a pizza enthusiast and you’ve yet to visit the Pizza Capital of the World—known for its rectangular, pan baked trays (not pies) that feature airy, crispy crusts and unique cheese blends—you need to remedy that.
Now, truth be told, there’s not much to do in this tiny town between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre besides eating pizza. There’s stuff to do nearby, like the Lackawanna County Coal Mine Tour and the Steamtown National Historic Site railroad museum—both in Scranton. But the thing to do in Old Forge is eat pizza, because there’s a lot of it, and it’s mostly concentrated in one area, with 10 pizzerias located along Main Street.
If you’ve only got a couple of hours to spare in Old Forge, consider a bang bang: maybe a double-crust white at the recently-reopened Ghigiarelli’s followed by a tray of pepperoni down the street at Arcaro & Genell; or a double-crust white at Mary Lou’s chased with a broccoli white at Revello’s. Another option: I’ve heard from several Pizzavania readers who’ve gotten a group of friends together and hit a handful of Old Forge spots over the course of an entire day or weekend. Four or five people trying to eat their way through the Pizza Capital of the World is a lot less dangerous than one or two people taking on that kind of workload.
Approx. drive times
From Allentown: 1 hour, 18 minutes
From Altoona: 2 hours, 54 minutes
From Easton: 1 hour 15 minutes
From Harrisburg: 1 hour, 54 minutes
From Lancaster: 2 hours, 18 minutes
From Philadelphia: 2 hours
From State College: 2 hours, 19 minutes
From Williamsport: 1 hour, 36 minutes
From York: 2 hours, 21 minutes
Philadelphia
I could plan an itinerary that would keep you in Philly eating pizza for weeks. But no one should dedicate that much PTO to elevating their cholesterol levels so I’ll keep it tight.
A long weekend in Philly should provide enough time to hit some combination of the legendary Tacconelli’s and/or Santucci’s, along with a couple-few of the many spectacular pizzerias that have opened over the last 10 years like Beddia, Circles and Squares, CJ & D’s Trenton Tomato Pies, Char, Down North, Marina’s, and Angelo’s. Since Beddia, Char, Circles and Squares, and Marina’s are relatively close to one another in the Fishtown/Kensington area, you can build a pizza weekend around shows at Johnny Brenda’s and The Fillmore or gambling at Rivers Casino. If you want to hit a Birds or Phillies game on a Sunday afternoon, you could order a pie at CJ & D’s in South Philly right when they open at noon, eat it on your walk to the Broad Street Line (I’m just spitballing here), catch the game, then get yourself over to Fishtown for a nice relaxing Sunday dinner at Beddia. Of course, there’s all that history at Independence Mall, Rittenhouse Square, more great food at Reading Terminal Market, amazing works of art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Barnes Foundation … My point is, it’s easy to build an action packed Philly pizza trip.
Approx. drive times
From Allentown: 1 hour, 12 minutes
From Easton: 1 hour, 21 minutes
From Harrisburg: 1 hour, 49 minutes
From Lancaster: 1 hour, 27 minutes
From Scranton: 2 hours
From State College: 3 hours, 13 minutes
From Williamsport: 2 hours, 54 minutes
From York: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Robbinsville, New Jersey
It’s understandable if this town pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Garden State doesn’t exactly register as a pizza destination. But IYKYK.
Two of New Jersey’s most legendary pizzerias are located about a half mile from each other in Robbinsville: Papa’s Tomato Pies, which opened in nearby Trenton in 1912, and DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, which set up shop in Trenton in 1947.
They each specialize in the Trenton style of pizza known as the tomato pie, which is a pizza assembled slightly out of order—cheese on bottom, sauce on top—and baked to well-done, thin and crispy perfection. If I could only eat one style of pizza the rest of my life, this would be it. It’s that good.
You can do this pizza trip in a day, and here’s how. Papa’s opens at 11 a.m. seven days a week. Start there for lunch. Get a mustard pie (a spiral of Gulden’s spicy brown mustard on the dough, followed by the garlic, cheese, and sauce on top—it’s amazing) and a red pie. If the weather’s nice, drive 15 minutes to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton where you can explore art-filled gardens in this sprawling sculpture park. If the weather isn’t cooperating, drive about 25 minutes north to downtown Princeton where you can check out Princeton University Art Museum (it’s free) or shop along Nassau Street. When you’re ready for an early dinner, double back to Robbinsville for DeLorenzo’s. Get a red pie with roasted red peppers, pepperoni, and onion and whatever else you want. You can’t go wrong. The salads are amazing too.
Approx. drive times
From Allentown: 1 hour, 31 minutes
From Easton: 1 hour 26 minutes
From Harrisburg: 2 hours, 13 minutes
From Lancaster: 1 hour, 51 minutes
From Philadelphia: 49 minutes
From Scranton: 2 hours, 22 minutes
From Williamsport: 3 hours, 13 minutes
From York: 2 hours, 13 minutes
