We walked in on a rainy weekday & treated ourselves to a tour. Wait was short as tours run often. Meanwhile there's a shop & plenty of displays to keep you busy before & after the tour. Mary was a great tour guide! She told us some fun facts, taught us the how & why of pretzel twisting, & answered questions. Tour is short, so great for quick visits. We loaded up on giftshop pretzels (many cheaper than in grocery stores!). Love the free samples and Horse & Buggy shaped hard pretzels! read more

Soft pretzels were decent. They were only $1 and the dutch country website offers a coupon for 2 for 1, so ours were only $0.50 each. We did not take the tour because we had our dogs with us, so I can only comment on the shop and pretzels. read more

This place is really small. Mostly bags of pretzels. We did splurge and got a soft pretzel. It was good. They do have a tour but we didn't do it. read more

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Lititz, Pennsylvania

See all

The visit with Janet was really great . She was super nice and for 3.5 dollars of visit ticket we ve learned how to twist a pretzel and we had a free packet of pretzel . The history of the factory was interesting and i absolutly loved it . read more

Eh...staff were friendly, but the tour was way overcrowded and the guide (a young teenager) was not able to project her voice or really command attention. That said, there were at least 30 what appeared to be middle-schoolers there, so I'd say they oversold the tour which made the tour guide's job harder than it needed to be. The interactive portion - learning to twist your own pretzel - was probably the best part. As far as food quality, the soft pretzels were pretty terrible. I had high hopes for a freshly baked soft pretzel, but they were too doughy and tasted oddly like soap. Some free samples of what's sold in the shop were available. The hard pretzels were decent. read more

This is a fun time and a nice deal. The tour is interesting and you get some hands-on time with dough. People who don't have fun on a tour like this are people you don't really want to hang out with anyway. read more

True, the tour takes you through a room without air conditioning, but we were there on a very warm July day and it was still tolerable. Super cheap, $3.50 a person for the 25 minute tour. Worth a short stop, but don't come expecting to see a huge production. For historical purposes, it's a good stop. read more

Nice tour, always nice to see a part of American history. See how people worked and lived in the old days and tell us how good we have it now. The soft pretzels were really good but you pay for those separate. You get to make your own pretzel but it is not real dough and you can't cook or eat it. But it is a fun expierence for the price of the tour. Go check it out walk around the town. read more

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Lititz, Pennsylvania

See all

Took the family here to kill some time. Only a short drive from where we are staying in Lancaster. Well worth the drive. For 5 of us to take the tour cost 14.50 . The tour lasted about 20 minutes. The staff is very friendly and courteous. Everyone got to roll there dough and learn how to twist pretzel, kids liked this. All though the front of the building is air conditioned, where the tour goes is not. We were glad we stopped. read more

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery - My kids learning to fold pretzels - Bakeries Near Me - Lititz, Pennsylvania

This pretzel place has a museum, gift shop, and tour. It is well with your time to visit if you have the chance. If you bring the kids, make sure you take them on the tour. They get a hands-on lesson in how to make a pretzel. The gift shop has samples and they often sell pretzels that are close to expiration at a deep discount. Here is a hint. Expired pretzels are just as tasty as unexpired ones. read more

Really cute place with fun history on pretzels. Cheap tour and different. My kids had a good time. Thank you to our tour guide!

The pretzels were delicious. I should have bought more. I got there 15 minutes before closing but still got a few to take home. Nice history. read more

Great place. Oldest pretzel bakery in the US. Lots of history and pretzels. If you are visiting this quaint little town this place is a must. read more

Everything you wanted to know about the baking of pretzels but were afraid to ask. A small gem of a place to put on your list of "things to do and see". There is a small tour and video presentation of the making of pretzels which is quite impressive. The best part is the gift shop that sell all of the Julius Sturgis Pretzel brands. Every flavor, every shape, everything you ever wanted to bring home for family, friends, and co-workers. There are plenty of samples to try with either mustard or peanut butter. Lots of t-shirts for sale for kids of all ages (even Mom, Dad, and Granny). They also sell soft pretzels that are delicious. Check area toursist magazines and brouchures as this place does a great job advertising and there are sometimes coupons in the back of these magazines for buy 1 get 1 on the soft pretzels. A must see while in PA Dutch country. read more

good pretzel. didn't do the tour. kind of desolate little shop with very little in the way of decorations. however, the soft pretzel was fresh and warm and only $1, and that's a-ok to me! for a great soft pretzel shop (and working factory in the back that you can observe for free) try callie's in mountainhome, pa read more

You'll learn more than you'll ever want to know about pretzels. A very interesting tour where you get to see the original baking area as well as roll your own pretzel dough. Fun for people of all ages. Tour guide was friendly and informative. Cheap too. I think it was like $5 a person. Just be advised: if you are there in the summer, there is NO air conditioning in the original area, which is where the tour is. It was brutally hot the day we went, and it was equally hot during the tour. read more

My seven year old daughter and I did a girls' trip to Lancaster and took the drive to Lititz to do this. It cost $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for kids. The tour was interesting and had some hands on aspects that kids like. At the end of the tour everyone gets a bag of pretzels shaped like horse and buggies. It was worth the time and money. They didn't have any soft pretzels when we were there, maybe it was too late in the day. I was happy to see a chip clip magnet with the name and logo was only $1.00. I like to pick up inexpensive souvenirs, but sometimes things are so overpriced. I recommend stopping by if you are in the area, but check their website because they close kind of early and the last tour is at 3:30 PM. read more

Loved the tour and the soft pretzels after. Cute place with lots of history. It's only a half hour tour because the bakery isn't huge. Entertaining half hour that you "made" your own pretzel in. read more

Sturgis pretzel factory is a must see! When I first discovered Lititz PA it was my first stop. That was over 20yrs ago (I lived in MD) and now My husband and I call Lititz home. The factory is a historic gem. read more

I was expecting the soft pretzels to be better, but at least they were cheap! They didn't have anything gluten free for my nephew so that was also a little disappointing. read more

I don't come here often but when I do I usually buy pretzels. I couldn't get into the tour due to time constraints but had taken it previously. Basically they teach you the history of the pretzel, allow you to roll one up, and show you how they are made. They sell soft pretzels for $1.00 but they are no different that those you'd find anywhere. They sell Tee shirts and other small gifts but their focus is on the pretzels. They have different varieties some of which appear like an Amish horse and buggy or cheesy ones in addition to those I'm familiar with. You can purchase them in bags or in tins or in large boxes if you want them for a long time. I asked for a variety that I normally don't see in the grocery store and was directed to crunchzels. The name is exactly what they mean. They crunch when you bite into them and are very good. I picked up a box for myself and for a friend along with some chocolate covered pretzels for my daughter. I don't often get to Lititz but when I do I try to stop here just to buy pretzels. read more

Very nice people and a great history lesson in the founding of the pretzel. Highly recommend the tour of the oldest and 1st American pretzel factory. Oh and they make awesome pretzels too. read more

Fun place to take the kids for a quick tour. The fresh soft pretzels were delicious.

Although we didn't do the official tour, we enjoyed our visit to Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. They had some pretzel varieties out for sampling which was nice since we had never tried theirs before. We ended up getting the cheese pretzels, original pretzels, honey mustard pretzels and chocolate covered pretzel goodness. The chocolate was to die for so give it a try. We also devoured the honey mustard and original pretzels as well. The cheese ones weren't exactly what I was expecting though. I would say that this is worth a stop if you're in the area (it's really close to the Wilbur chocolate store). read more

I now have the field experience to pursue a career at Auntie Anne's.

I LOVE this place!! One of my favorite places to take people when they come up to visit me. The prices for the tour are super cheap like 2.50 - 3.50 per person. They do a short tour on the history of the pretzel and how the bakery got its start. I would suggest going on a weekday and it might not be as crowded. It can get busy if there is a special event going on in Lititz. And on the Weekends, Lititz is a prime shopping location. You get to learn how to twist a pretzel by hand, and see the original ovens that the pretzels were baked in. I love that it isn't as commercialized as most things in PA have gotten. The back story behind how the pretzel came around I always enjoy hearing and especially love hearing what the "twist" represents!! You also get a small free bag of sample pretzels when you exit the tour. After which, you can visit the giftshop they sell a selection of their pretzels (yum yum) along with cute t-shirts, mugs, and last time I was there they had pretzel earrings!! LOVE!! This is defiantly a great place to visit while in Lititz. I would even suggest if you homeschool your kids this would be a great place for a "learning field trip"! read more

See all

Didn't do the tour - but the pretzels are great! They sell many different kinds in bags, have samples that you can try in the store and also sell fresh out-of-the-oven soft pretzels for $1.00 that were delicious! read more

Might have been better if I was a fan of bland soft pretzels sold by twelve year olds. Stopped by this place because apparently it's the oldest pretzel making facility in the US. So it had to be awesome right? ...There's something to be said when the only reason you find this place at all is because the GPS announces very loudly that you've reached your destination. We saw the giant pretzel in the doorway and assumed this had to be it. We walk through the door and there's two kids manning the cash register, the oldest one probably around fourteen. It's cute, and I'm all for introducing children to the value of money...but shouldn't there be at least one adult somewhere in the store that isn't a customer, and isn't me? Anyway, we walk around the store, which sells bags of hard pretzels in different flavors. Nothing too exotic though, and nothing you wouldn't find at your local supermarket. Prices were pretty good, such as $1.50 for a pound bag of whole wheat pretzels. Too bad that's not exactly what I came to Lititz for. Since it was around 5 PM, there were no pretzel factory tours going on. We paid $1 for a bland soft pretzel from the kids and left. Not memorable at all, just another pretzel store. And the pretzels for sale at the store definitely were not hand made. read more

Took the pretzel making tour, and was not overly impressed. The majority of the tour was in an area that was stifling hot. There were no ovens on so not sure why, had to walk away and sit down. The gentleman who led the tour was really good, he controlled the group and was very energetic and informative. But I didn't like his style of speaking to the group, but that may just be me. read more

Decent historical tour of the Julius Sturgis Pretzel factory covering the inception of the hard pretzel idea and the evolution of the Sturgis pretzel and family. Destruction of my pretzel in front of me within 2 minutes of crafting it was a bit harsh. I did get a bit of my pretzel history on-- had no idea back in the day lye was used in the pretzel! ewwwww. Buying the "fresh" pretzel after the tour was a nice touch. read more

This place rates just 2 stars in my book. The overcrowded tour ($3) isn't worth even that much (the free diorama is better) and the bags of pretzels turned out to be not such a good deal, either, as both types we bought were extremely dry and burnt tasting. Apparently, quality control isn't a real priority here. A popular place for tourists because of the novelty and that's about it. I certainly would never buy any of their pretzels again. read more

This really COULD be an awesome place. We did the tour. You are allowed to roll a piece of dough to make your own pretzel. Then after you diligently roll the dough and make your pretzel - there's a surprise - it's not REAL - it's PLAY DOH! WTF!!! So they take it away from you so the next group can use it! What a bummer! You get a certificate and can look at the non-working ovens and that's all folks. Such a disappointing tour! HERE'S A NOVEL IDEA: Give people real dough and have them make their own pretzels! Ok, don't do it in the oven that they used 20 years ago for whatever reasons you have - I am sure that soft pretzels will probably bake just fine in a convection or some 21st century equivalent commercial oven that is insulated and doesn't heat to a million degrees! read more

Stopped by along our way from Hershey to Strasburg. Pretty interesting tour and history of the pretzel. The tour was short, but they give you a chance to role a pretzel (can't eat it) and show you the old ovens. The rolling pretzel part was ok for kids, but as you might imagine the history part isn't of much interest. Plan about 30 minutes. If I had to do it over again and there was a wait for the tour to start, I'd skip the tour and just get a soft pretzel and/or hard pretzels covered in chocolate. Lititz is a cute town as well. read more

Fun for kids to learn the history of Julius Sturgis Pretzels Bakery. Great tour showing how and why the pretzels are twisted the way they are. read more

Let me set the record straight. This is NOT a factory tour, it is a historic bakery tour. My family and I throughly enjoyed it. We learned some local history and how to twist pretzels, it was fun. read more

Interesting for adults, but not a place for children. It's also not really a bakery where you can get fresh made pretzels. The pretzels for sale are mainly packaged, hard pretzel varieties. The soft pretzels were in a warming glass and don't appear to have been made fresh. The tour is about 20-30 mins long. It's a fine side trip if you have an hour to kill, and are in the area. read more

If you happen to be walking by you can stop in, but I would not make a special trip here. If you happen to go on a cloudy day it will be so packed you can not move and the wait for the tour will be an hour or more. The tour basically shows you how to roll and make soft pretzels. They also have a shop that sell shirts with their logos, plus bags of hard pretzels and soft pretzels. the soft pretzels are anything but soft and the hard pretzels are not that tasty, plus they are expensive. read more

Despite what these other 3 star reviews are telling you I found my visit to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery quite enjoyable and memorable. The tour was fun and our guide was funny and she knew a lot about this little Pretzel Factory. Usually I would say something like this was lame but it wasn't, it was fun and different. After the tour we went up to the counter and purchased a box Wilbur chocolate covered pretzels and they were some of the best little chocolate pretzels you could find! A very enjoyable at a modest price. I highly recommend the tour and I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I did. read more

It was a cute little place. Not bad for parking either. I enjoyed learning about pretzels and how they make it. Even got to learn how to roll the pretzels into their shapes. read more

I remember coming here with my ex SO. Excellent tour of the facility. Wunderbahr pretzels. Would definitely return and recommend.