A colonial-era inn that has been serving travellers since 1681 still stands on the Delaware River — but don't book a room. The King George II Inn in Bristol, Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia, stopped taking overnight guests long ago and now operates as a waterfront restaurant and tavern. Even so, it's widely considered the oldest continuously operating inn in the state and one of the oldest in the country.
The backstory is genuinely dramatic. The original Ferry House sat near the King's Highway, the colonial route linking Philadelphia and New York, on land first granted to Bristol founder Samuel Clift, who also ran a ferry across the river to New Jersey. Renamed for King George II after a 1765 change of ownership, the inn became a staging point during the Revolutionary War: Colonel John Cadwalader and his men quartered there while planning George Washington's crossing of the Delaware. Local legend claims some of Washington's troops took potshots at the inn's royal pub sign. Post-independence, the name was briefly swapped for the Fountain Inn and then the Delaware Hotel before the regal title was restored for good. The current owners bought the property in 2015 and leaned into its heritage.
What makes the inn worth a detour today is the setting as much as the history. Bristol was once Bucks County's only seaport, and the inn anchors a walkable Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its streets lined with Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival buildings. Grab a window table or a patio seat for Delaware River views while working through a menu of fresh, seasonal dishes — seafood tacos, salads, burgers — with brunch, a kids' menu, and vegetarian and gluten-free options covering most bases. The bar's wine list is extensive, and the building itself rewards a wander: five dining rooms with working fireplaces, period light fixtures, the original river-stone foundation, and even old wooden jail bars in the wine cellar. Staff reportedly hand history-minded diners information sheets about the place. Some guests claim it's haunted, citing swinging doors and mysterious baby wails upstairs.
Make an afternoon of it. The Bristol Riverside Theatre hosts plays, musicals, and a summer concert series a short walk away, and the Grundy Museum — a Victorian mansion of the locally prominent Grundy family — is nearby. Yardley, a charming river borough, is 20 minutes by car for a half-day trip. Flying in, Philadelphia International Airport is roughly 31 miles away.
For travellers who like their meals with a side of American history, this is an easy add-on to a Philadelphia itinerary: a meal in a building older than the republic, on a riverfront that hasn't lost its appeal, in a small borough that has weathered recessions and a pandemic and kept going.
