Doylestown is the county seat of Bucks County and one of the most rewarding small towns north of Philadelphia. It has a walkable center, good restaurants, and, unusually for a town this size, a trio of major sights tied to one eccentric local genius: Henry Chapman Mercer.
Mercer's world is the reason to come. The Mercer Museum, Fonthill Castle, and Moravian Pottery and Tile Works are all built around concrete, craft, collecting, and a very personal idea of history. They are strange in the best way.
Beyond Mercer, Doylestown works as a gentle base for central Bucks County. New Hope, Lahaska, and covered-bridge countryside are close by, but the town itself has enough museums, shops, and old streets to justify a full day.