Harrisburg

Welcome to Harrisburg | Welcome to PA's capital (English)

Why visit

Harrisburg is mostly a brief stop or business-trip destination, but the State Capitol's free guided tours are the reason to look twice. The dome interior, marble staircase, and murals are extraordinary. The State Museum of Pennsylvania next door has good Civil War and natural history exhibits. City Island gives the Susquehanna a riverfront walk and minor-league baseball. Hershey and Gettysburg both work as nearby add-ons when the trip already puts you in central Pennsylvania.

When to avoid

Do not visit Harrisburg expecting every worthwhile stop to be close together or easy to improvise. Do the practical reading of Harrisburg first: hours, routes, weather, crowds, and how far the neighborhoods really sit from one another. A day in Harrisburg should account for distance, heat, parking, and transit before adding more stops. A practical route in Harrisburg may need rideshares or a car if transit does not connect the worthwhile stops.

Plan Harrisburg

Current conditions and the practical reference material that helps turn the saved places into a trip.

The next week in Harrisburg

7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).

Today

Overcast

31° / 17°

UV High

Wed

Overcast

28° / 22°

Thu

Thunderstorm

32° / 20°

3.1 mm

UV High

Fri

Showers

32° / 21°

4.2 mm

UV High

Sat

Showers

31° / 20°

7.7 mm

UV High

Sun

Partly cloudy

34° / 21°

UV High

Mon

Drizzle

36° / 21°

3.3 mm

UV High

Climate

Summer (Jun-Sep)

Typical highs around 28°C, lows around 16°C. Also the wettest months.

Winter (Dec-Mar)

Typical highs around 4°C, lows around -5°C.

In August 4

Drag to scrub across the year.

JFMAMJJASOND

Weather

29° / 17°

Typical high / low

3 mm rainfall this month

Daylight

13.8h

06:17 – 20:06local

Holidays coming up

Public holidays from Nager.Date.

Airports

closest MDT · 13 km

Getting around Harrisburg

Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.

Local transit operators

Amtrak Greyhound LT CAT rabbittransit Fullington Trailways

About Harrisburg

Harrisburg is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the ninth-most populous city in the state, with a population of 50,099 at the 2020 census, while the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area has an estimated 615,000 residents and is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is situated on the east bank of the Susquehanna River 83 miles (134 km) southwest of Allentown and 107 miles (172 km) northwest of Philadelphia. It is officially incorporated as a third-class city and is the county seat of Dauphin County.

Area: 31 km²
Mayor: Wanda Williams
Airport codes: MDT

United States of America basics →Country context, advisories, and entry links for the practicalities shown above.

References4

The links below support the changing or licensed reference material on this page. Personal notes and ordinary geographic facts are not footnoted individually.

City background. Wikipedia summary may be clipped or paraphrased. Structured fields are cross-checked against the related references.