Michele

Looking for some ideas for a girls weekend away which is no more than 2 hours from Harrisburg. Looking for good shopping, restaurants, nice hotel. What do you think about Philly or Tysons Corner, VA? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Ruth

Well, Tysons Corner has great mall shopping. The one mall has Nordstrom's & Bloomie's; the other has Macy's, and more upscale stores (I think Saks and maybe Neiman Marcus, but I don't remember exactly). There are also excellent restaurants there. The problem is that it's suburban and you really need to move from one place to another in your car--not pedestrian friendly. I'd guess I'd prefer Philly for that reason. Also consider Pittsburgh. We went there last fall and it still has good downtown department stores.

Rachel

Was recently in suburban Philly and went to the King of Prussia Mall-great shopping-Neiman Marcus, Bloomies, Nordstrom, Macys, Coldwater Creek, Talbots, , great food, including the Cheesecake Factory, my favorite chain if you've got to eat at a chain. We stayed in Willow Grove and there seemed to be plenty of motles, etc. to choose from in the area. You could easily swing into Philly for part of your weekend.

rudy

Baltimore is about 1 1/2 hours from Harrisburg, and almost a straight shot down I-83 to the Inner Harbor.

Jamie

Please clarify: are you looking for good food, or chain restaurants? There are tons of chains at Tysons. But if you actually want good food, you won't find it there.

But if you want a big mall and chain restaurants with no character, then Tysons' is your best bet.

Ruth

There are a lot of chain restaurants in the Tysons Corner area, but some of them are good ones and it is possible to get good food. The owner of Kinkead's in DC has opened a restaurant there called Colvin Run Tavern which got an excellent review in the Post. There's also Morton's of Chicago for beef and Legal Seafood. While the last two are chains, they aren't Bennigan's class. That being said, I'd rather stay in a city than a surburan area like Tysons, but not everyone agrees.

irenie

How about the Amish country or Bucks County, PA.

travel miss

Have you considered New Hope, PA? There are great little shops and antique stores and lovely Inns and B&B's in the area.

If you are looking more for mall shopping, King of Prussia is your best bet in PA. With all due respect to the earlier post regarding shopping in Pittsburgh, take it from me (now a Pittsburgh resident) the options in the 'Burgh fall far short of those in and around Philly.