Located 89 mi/143 km west of Philadelphia, Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the town that chocolate built. Milton Hershey, inventor of the chocolate bar, created the town to house and entertain Hershey employees. It's rather thematic: The street lamps, for instance, are shaped like Hershey's Kisses. (Hershey and his wife were philanthropists of the first order: When she died, he gave much of his fortune to the orphanage they had founded. Today, the orphanage—the Milton Hershey School—still owns a controlling interest in Hershey Foods and all of HERCO, the separate nonfood division of Hershey.)
It's great fun to tour Hershey Chocolate World, a simulation of a chocolate factory. Other attractions with the Hershey moniker include the Hershey Museum (depicting the life of Milton Hershey, the development of the town and local history of the area), Hersheypark (a theme park with 50 attractions and rides) and Hershey Gardens (across from the elegant Hershey Hotel). The ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park is also in town.
Probably the best way to see Hershey is to take one of the short bus tours that are offered from Hershey Chocolate World. Afterward, browse the shops, where you'll find anything and everything that's Hershey-related. http://www.hersheypa.com.
