Erie is Pennsylvania's only Great Lakes port city, tucked into the northwest corner of the state roughly equidistant from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo. It sits on Lake Erie's southern shore, and that geography defines much of what visitors come for.
Presque Isle State Park is the main draw — a curved sandy peninsula that juts eight miles into the lake, forming a protected bay and offering swimming beaches, kayaking, cycling, and excellent birding. It's one of the most-visited state parks in Pennsylvania, and deservedly so: the sunsets over the lake from the peninsula are exceptional.
Downtown Erie has a waterfront that has been gradually revitalized, with the Erie Maritime Museum and a replica of the brig Niagara — the warship that helped defeat the British fleet in 1813 — as centrepieces. Perry Square, named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry who won that famous battle, is the heart of the downtown grid, a pleasant wooded park surrounded by the city's historic commercial buildings. The Warner Theatre and Erie Art Museum anchor the cultural life of the city centre.