Philadelphia travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Philadelphia, planned over three days
Best time to visit Philadelphia
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Cold, quiet and cheaper, with museums emptiest and hotel rates lowest outside New Year; worst stretch is mid January to late February.
Spring is the first best window; May brings bloom, outdoor dining, harbor parks and Phillies season.
Peak events and real heat and humidity, the most crowded and expensive season, with routine afternoon thunderstorms.
Fall is locals' favorite and the best answer, warm and drier with patio life, regattas and fall color.
Cools quickly but adds the Philadelphia Marathon weekend and the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
What's on
- Mummers Parade New Year's Day
Costumed string bands and comics brigades marching Broad Street.
- Center City District Restaurant Week typically January
Locals' consolation in winter; also typically runs in September.
- Philadelphia Flower Show early March
The country's oldest and biggest flower show, filling the Convention Center with full scale garden displays.
- Broad Street Run early May
The country's biggest 10 miler.
- Dad Vail Regatta May
Regatta filling Boathouse Row and Kelly Drive.
- Pride June
Pride march and festival in June, with the Gayborhood around 12th and Locust, rainbow street signs and all, as its home.
- Odunde Festival June
The largest African American street festival in the US.
- Roots Picnic June
The Roots' own hip hop and soul festival, one of the city's biggest summer weekends.
- Wawa Welcome America mid-June to July 4
The nation's biggest July 4 celebration, with free concerts and fireworks on the Parkway.
- Fringe Festival September
Fall festival as Eagles season opens and patio life continues.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Philadelphia
Independence National Historical Park
The founding core in half a day: Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Elfreth's Alley within a few blocks.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
A huge art museum in a Parkway temple, worth three hours inside after running the Rocky Steps.
Barnes Foundation
Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso hung in Barnes's own ensembles, smaller and stranger than the Art Museum.
Reading Terminal Market
A historic public market of 70 plus stalls, best treated as breakfast plus lunch rather than a photo stop.
Eastern State Penitentiary
A crumbling radial prison turned serious museum about incarceration, haunting in daylight.
Museum of the American Revolution
Washington's war tent and a modern Revolution narrative, two blocks from Independence Hall.
Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
Isaiah Zagar's mosaic labyrinth of tile, mirror and bottles, joyful and unlike anything else in the city.
South Philadelphia Sports Complex
All four pro teams play here; Citizens Bank Park in summer and an Eagles game are cultural experiences.
Where to stay in Philadelphia
Rittenhouse Square
first trip, all-round base
Top restaurants and bars, upscale shopping, and a walk to the historic district and Parkway museums.
Old City / Society Hill
history-first or first-ever trip
Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell on your doorstep, with cobbles, galleries and nightlife nearby.
Logan Square / Museum District
families and museum trips
Wide boulevards by the Art Museum, Barnes and Franklin Institute, quieter and more spacious feeling.
Midtown Village / Washington Square West
food, nightlife, and value in Center City
13th Street restaurant row, excellent bars and Reading Terminal two blocks north, lively late.
Fishtown / Northern Liberties
second trip, nightlife-led, or a rental stay
Frankford Avenue bars, venues and destination restaurants, but a commute to every historic sight.
University City
trips centred on the universities or hospitals
Leafy around Penn and Drexel with solid hotels, but across the river from everything else.
Think twice about
- Kensington Avenue corridor around Kensington and Allegheny
One of the largest open air drug markets on the East Coast, with severe street homelessness and open drug use.
- North Philadelphia beyond the Temple campus
Almost no visitor hotels, long transit rides to Center City and higher street crime than the core. Base downtown instead.
- Airport corridor and stadium district hotels
Isolated parking lot hotels with nothing walkable except on game day and a ride to every meal.
Best restaurants in Philadelphia
Zahav
Modern Israeli flagship with laffa, silky hummus and pomegranate lamb shoulder, still the defining special dinner.
Friday Saturday Sunday
Eight course tasting menu in a Rittenhouse townhouse, widely considered the city's best restaurant.
Kalaya
Southern Thai under palm trees, beautiful and genuinely spicy, best with a group ordering across the menu.
Angelo's Pizzeria
Cash only takeout with house baked rolls, the cheesesteak locals name first plus excellent pizza.
John's Roast Pork
A shack doing roast pork and cheesesteak perfectly since 1930, at lunch hours with outdoor tables.
Tommy DiNic's
The market counter for roast pork with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe, the most convenient great sandwich.
Laser Wolf
Charcoal grill skewer house with abundant salatim, loud and joyful, built for a table of friends.
Vernick Food & Drink
Wood fire cooking, superb crudos and polished service in a bi-level brownstone, the best all rounder.
Outdoor things to do in Philadelphia
Wissahickon Valley Park
A 2,000 acre wooded gorge inside the city, with Forbidden Drive and about 50 miles of trails.
Schuylkill River Trail
Paved riverfront riding and walking past Boathouse Row to Manayunk, with the Banks best at sunset.
Hidden River Outfitters
Guided kayak tours and rentals giving the skyline and Boathouse Row view from water level, in season.
Fairmount Park
Bike the Parkway to Belmont Plateau for the skyline over the meadow, plus Boxers' Trail and Shofuso.
Jeffersonville Golf Club
A restored Donald Ross municipal course from 1931, widely rated one of Pennsylvania's best value public rounds.
Cobbs Creek Golf Course
Historic 1916 public golf in revival; go for the range and history now and check what is open before a full 18.
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Washington's winter encampment across 3,500 acres, best done as a bike loop or long walk, not a drive-through.
Longwood Gardens
A 1,077 acre garden masterpiece with conservatories and fountains; timed tickets sell out on peak weekends.
Best hotels in Philadelphia
The Rittenhouse Hotel
The grand independent on the square, with big rooms and Lacroix, the city's classic luxury stay.
AKA Rittenhouse Square
Design forward apartment style luxury on the square, suited to longer stays.
Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia
A converted Art Deco tower with a boutique feel at a step below Rittenhouse Hotel prices.
Motto by Hilton Rittenhouse Square
Micro hotel rooms with a lively lobby, routinely the lowest rates in the Rittenhouse neighbourhood.
Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia
A mid price, well located workhorse a block or two off the square, with smaller rooms.
Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia
Opposite Independence Hall with a rooftop bar facing the Mall, the first timer's historic district splurge.
Penn's View Hotel
A smaller, characterful riverfront inn with a serious wine bar.
Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel
The reliable full service option in the historic district.
Is Philadelphia expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $110 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $224 a person |
| Splurge | $480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Independence National Historical Park: weeks ahead
- Barnes Foundation: weeks ahead
- Kimmel Center: weeks ahead
- Jeffersonville Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Longwood Gardens: weeks ahead
- The Golf Course at Glen Mills: a few days ahead
- Zahav: weeks ahead
- Friday Saturday Sunday: months ahead
- Book Zahav four weeks out, Friday Saturday Sunday on the 1st for the following month, and Her Place when reservations drop.
- Book Independence Hall timed tickets, Barnes timed entry and Longwood Gardens timed tickets ahead in peak season.
- Book hotels 60 to 90 days out for Eagles weekends, the Marathon, the Flower Show and July 4 periods.
Is Philadelphia safe?
- Tourist areas are busy and lit, but avoid the Kensington Avenue corridor entirely as a base or a wander.
- Expect visible homelessness and panhandling in Center City, especially Market East and transit concourses.
- Rideshare after midnight is the local norm; keep phones aware in crowds and nothing visible in a parked car.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Philadelphia travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Pat's and Geno's as your cheesesteak verdict; locals prefer Angelo's, John's Roast Pork, Jim's or DiNic's.
- The Rocky statue photo as a substitute for the museum behind you.
- Liberty Bell at midday in summer; go at opening or in the last hour.
- Cheesesteak from a Center City tourist counter or food cart, and South Street bar crawling as an adult nightlife plan.
Getting around Philadelphia: public transport and more
- Walk first: Center City is a flat grid about 2 miles by 1 mile and streets are numbered west from the Delaware River.
- SEPTA Market-Frankford Line runs east west and Broad Street Line runs north south to the stadiums; Regional Rail links PHL airport to Center City in about 25 minutes.
- Use PHLASH and Indego bike share as supplements, and rideshare late at night; park once in a garage if driving in.
Who Philadelphia suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Philadelphia your trip
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