Doylestown is an exciting small town, surrounded by suburbs and farmlands and accessible with a direct Regional Rail train line from Philadelphia right into Doylestown Train Station. An inn founded by William Doyle in the 18th century sparked the growth for the town, and Doylestown today is a mix of historical architecture and modern additions.

Doylestown is home to a great selection of coffee and tea shops, such as Nonno’s, Native Cafe and Skyroast Coffee. Another feature of Doylestown is that it has a vast selection of “niche” stores and vendors, including an antique clock and coin specialist, a camera shop, a running supply store, a comic shop, a record store and even an entire store dedicated to vintage video games, to name a few.

For some fascinating history, it’s hard to miss the Mercer Museum. Located inside the Fonthill Castle, the early 1900’s home of Henry Chapman Mercer who was a famous ceramicist, among other things. Today, the Mercer Museum is a showcase of pre-industrial American tools and equipment, and continues to showcase Mercer’s tilework.

Yardley is a small borough located right along the Delaware river, across from Ewing on the New Jersey side. The downtown area is smaller than New Hope, Doylestown, and Newtown, but is still has a variety of places to shop and eat. Yardley is a great stop for cyclists, as you can park in town and ride on the Delaware Canal Towpath. Try riding to Washington Crossing and back, or even to New Hope for a longer trip.

Yardley has a lot of beautiful riverside properties, which most share the unique appearance of being raised up off the ground. Houses are lifted due to the frequent flooding from the Delaware river. While it’s a pain to climb all those stairs just to get to your front door, it’s well worth it to live in a raised house when you face the next big storm.

For those interested in history, make sure to stop at the Continental Tavern, as it served as a way station on the Underground Railroad. Historical artifacts that were discovered during it’s renovations are displayed throughout the tavern.

The Philadelphia mainline is 16 communities, leading out from the city and into the Western Philly suburbs. Many of the mainline towns are known for beautiful homes and being more of a luxury real estate market. Bryn Mawr and Ardmore in particular have fantastic walkable downtown areas and make great suburban getaways from the city for shopping and eating.

The mainline is home to some amazing colleges and Universities, such as Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, Villanova University and St Josephs University, to name just a few. Bryn Mawr College has a beautiful campus with historical gothic architecture, and is open to the public to walk the grounds. Haverford College also features a wonderful public nature trail for walking and running that is worth exploring during all seasons.

SEPTA’s Paoli/Thorndale Regional Rail line runs all the way through the Mainline, making back-and-forth travel between these suburban town and the city relatively easy. There are many people who live in the city and work on the Mainline (and vice-versa), so trains can be busy during rush hour with monthly pass commuters. Another way to reach the Mainline is by taking the SEPTA High Speed Line, as it cuts through Villanova as it makes it’s way to the end of the line in Norristown.