Mid-Atlantic

Sometimes, Virginia and West Virginia are included in the region, but they are more closely associated with the South.

• 🌍 Annapolis — a small and charming colonial port city known as the "sailing capital of the U.S."
• 🌍 Atlantic City — the "Las Vegas of the East", with nine casinos, nightlife, and beaches to boot
• 🌍 Baltimore — a large port city with a thriving arts scene, edgy character, and some great Italian food
• 🌍 Buffalo — the largest city in upstate New York, gateway to Niagara Falls, and home of the Buffalo wing
• 🌍 New York — one of the world's greatest cities, the financial and artistic center of the U.S.
• 🌍 Philadelphia — the birthplace of American independence and the nation's first capital, with countless historic buildings and far and away the rowdiest sports fans in the country
• 🌍 Pittsburgh — the Steel City, full of magnificent bridges over the Three Rivers, interesting neighborhoods, and great food
• 🌍 Rochester — an old industrial city with a rich history of innovation and progress, home to several universities and film and jazz festivals
• 🌍 Washington, D.C. — the capital of the United States, with the country's most important museums and monuments nestled in the center of a diverse and vibrant city

• 🌍 Adirondacks — a mountain range in upstate New York and the biggest protected parkland in the country, with countless outdoor recreation opportunities
• 🌍 Assateague Island — most famous for its wild ponies, but deserves equal fame for outstanding natural beauty and great beach camping
• 🌍 Chesapeake and Ohio Canal — an old canal, turned into a park popular with runners and joggers, as well as admirers of the awesome Great Falls on the Potomac River
• 🌍 Delaware Beaches — dotted with popular resort towns, the 30-mile (48 km) stretch of sandy coastline between Cape Henlopen and the state line is Delaware's main tourist destination
• 🌍 Finger Lakes — the East Coast answer to California's Napa Valley, with a hundred vineyards overlooking eleven long, thin lakes
• 🌍 Gettysburg Battlefield — the site of the most important battle ever fought on American soil, very well maintained and exhibited
• 🌍 Niagara Falls — a powerful and awe-inspiring set of waterfalls on the Canadian border, and the "honeymoon capital of the world"
• 🌍 The Poconos — a popular Pennsylvania mountain "get-away-from-it-all" destination, home to some of the largest ski resorts in the Mid-Atlantic
• 🌍 Thousand Islands — see where the rich and famous vacationed decades ago, along this chain of picturesque islands on the Canadian border

The Mid-Atlantic as a cultural region is largely a blending of the best of the cultural regions it borders: New England, the Midwest, the South, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec. Accordingly, individual states and especially cities have strong individual identities and locals are more likely to identify with a major subregion like the New York City tri-state area, the D.C. metropolitan area, rural Pennsylvania, Downstate New Jersey, etc., than to identify with the Mid-Atlantic as a whole.

Because of the Mid-Atlantic region's significance and large urban centers that draw not only upon the regional populations, but across the nation as well, there is a higher population density (see the Get around section). Three of the nation's top ten metropolitan areas are located here: New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., spaced apart from each other by only about one and a half hour drives. These metro areas consist of immense urban sprawl radiating out from the city centers, covering a significant fraction of the region's land area. Their huge populations ensure that the roads remain congested, beaches well attended, and paths well-beaten.

This is a real East Coast region, with all the associated stereotypes of huge immigrant communities from all over the world, leftist politics aplenty, good food, and a vaguely arrogant (and ignorant) attitude towards the rest of the country, especially the "fly-over" states in the middle. The long Atlantic Coast also means that the region has strong ties, in terms of travel, culture, and commerce, with Europe.

The areas outside these megacities are far less frequently visited by international tourists, but there is nonetheless much more to be seen: the Chesapeake Bay is a true world treasure and should not be missed by anyone interested in ecology, sailing, or seafood; the beautiful and wild Adirondacks comprise the largest park area in the continental U.S.; the region includes some of the most important Civil War battlegrounds like Gettysburg and Antietam; and Niagara Falls is one of the great natural wonders of the world; and the Appalachian Trail is a hiker's dream.

As with the majority of the United States, all official signs in the Mid-Atlantic are in English and travelers speaking English should have little difficulty communicating their needs wherever they go. Spanish is widely spoken, mostly by immigrants from Latin America and their families, although many native-born residents are also taught Spanish in school (but not necessarily well). Yiddish is widely spoken among Chasidic Jews, while Pennsylvania Dutch is the primary language in Amish communities.

Because these five states lie on the East Coast, they were the initial point of entry for most English-speaking immigrants and as such, have retained a much greater degree of diversity in terms of regional accents than the rest of the country (accents tended to converge as settlers went west). While you are likely to just encounter General American pronunciation pretty much wherever you go, you may be treated to a New York accent in Brooklyn, Long Island, or northern New Jersey; the Inland North dialect (think the "Da Bears" guys from Saturday Night Live) in Upstate New York from Buffalo east to Syracuse and Binghamton, "Bawlmorese" in Baltimore, the baffling-to-linguists "Picksburg" accent that just keeps diverging ever farther from surrounding accents, a South Philly accent, or southern accents on Maryland's Eastern Shore. People from the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania and New York state speak with an accent that is similar to a Southern accent. You can even find 17th-century English accents if you look for them among the isolated island communities of the Chesapeake Bay! That said, most of these accents are gradually dying out, and most younger white locals speak with a general American accent.

Much of the Mid-Atlantic is afflicted by so much suburban sprawl that there isn't much to do other than go to the movies. But peer a bit further into the region, and there are magnificent outdoor opportunities in the west and north. For hikers, the longest trail in the world runs from Georgia to Maine, passing through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Pennsylvania between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, is beautiful and largely wild. Drives through pastoral Amish country or hikes through thickly forested hills are a great way to get away from the huge urban centers of the region. Way up in the northern section of New York is the enormous Adirondack State Park—the largest state park in the country, spanning an area larger than next door Vermont. Possibilities there for kayaking, boating, hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing are pretty much endless. The most popular escapes, however, are to the region's beaches in the summer, in the Jersey Shore and in Delaware and Ocean City, Maryland, where you can get a good tan, go swimming, gamble in some places, and eat boardwalk fries to your heart's content.

Sporting events are another huge draw to the region, with at least one major national team in each major city for each major league as well as several large universities with enormous sports programs.. The region also hosts minor league teams, such as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the AAA-level Philadelphia Phillies team, based in Allentown. Several tourist railroads and preservation groups offer (in season) Santa Train Rides and Easter Bunny Train Rides.

If you know where to go, the Mid-Atlantic is a food-lovers paradise. New York City has the world's best upmarket dining scene hands down. The D.C. area has an unlimited supply of cheap, delicious, immigrant-run restaurants featuring cuisines from every corner of the world. Philadelphia takes its fast food seriously and is an excellent place to try American street food including, of course, the Philly Cheesesteak. New Jersey's diners are iconic, Baltimore's are funky as they come. And the coastal areas of Delaware and Maryland are rightly famous for their magnificent crab feasts.

Few parts of the world can boast the nightlife to be found in the urban areas of the Mid-Atlantic. New York City's nightlife probably needs no introduction. From the diviest dives to the swankiest wine bars, as well as the best jazz in the world, New York's really got it all in this category. Philadelphia, Allentown, and Baltimore offer quirky, rougher-edged, and less accessible, but very lively bar and clubbing scenes. Pittsburgh defies post-industrial-city expectations with a lively and surprisingly classy nightlife scene. Washington, D.C., has long since shaken its buttoned up reputation and is now a popular destination for young people from across the U.S. and beyond. Along with New York, it is the nation's most international town, with an array of options to match. This city is also renowned for its large and longstanding African American population and no true visit to the city is complete without experiencing the city's black nightlife scene, particularly its lounges and go-go clubs.

Local drinks are many, mostly in the beer category. One of the most notable is Yuengling brand (pronounced ying-ling), America's oldest brewery. In most of Pennsylvania, ordering a 'lager' will net you a Yuengling lager.

As is true for much of the United States, crime is a problem in the inner cities, while city outskirts, suburbs, and the countryside are almost always quite safe. Philadelphia, and Baltimore are particularly risky for travelers—they all are worth visiting, but have rough neighborhoods near many popular tourist sites, so it is best to do your research ahead of time and avoid straying off the beaten path. New York, despite what you may have seen in the movies, is actually one of the safest big cities in the country, and you may rest easy knowing that violent crime has become rare in areas frequented by tourists. Equally, crime in Washington, D.C., has declined dramatically since the eighties, and much of the city is very safe for visitors (if increasingly gentrified). That said rough neighborhoods still exist especially east of the Anacostia River. The main cities of New Jersey are less of a concern, as they are not at all major travel destinations. Bear in mind, however, that Camden and Trenton in particular are non-destinations because of their high levels of violent crime. Newark, although marred with a negative reputation and still somewhat suffering from certain issues, is experiencing a massive decline in crime and most tourists should not experience any major issues as long as vigilance is applied, as one would in any other major city.

Mid-Atlantic cities all have their share of gang and drug-related crime. Gangs have moved away from cities like New York City and Philadelphia to mid-sized New Jersey and Pennsylvania cities like Allentown, Reading, York, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Chester, Camden, Trenton, Atlantic City, and Newark. Just be sure to know what neighborhood you're in and be cautious of suspicious activity.

The climate in the Mid-Atlantic part of the United States is not as extreme as in some other parts of the country, but does present perils depending on the time of year. In the southern parts of the region, wintertime can bring ice and snow to inland areas, but only for short periods of time. In contrast, Upstate New York is famous for its long and brutal winters. Several cities there routinely receive the highest snow totals of any place in the entire country. Summers are often quite humid and steamy, especially in and around the Washington, D.C. area. Fall can bring the occasional hurricane or tropical storm, but these are rare and plenty of advance notice is given.

The upside to staying safe in the Mid-Atlantic is that there is no better place in the country to develop a brain tumor, or crash your car—it is home to the best hospitals in the world in the Baltimore (Johns Hopkins), New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. metro areas. Indeed, the hospitals get visits from the elite of the world. If they can't repair you, nobody can, though if you don't have insurance that covers this care, expect to be charged a tremendous price for any hospital visit.