Planning Your Trip to Philadelphia

[Updated: January 1, 2024]

I’ve been in Philadelphia for more than 15 years. It’s crazy to think that it’s been so long. How did I end up in Philadelphia? I went to Drexel to study architectural engineering (because they gave me the most money). Why did I stay in Philadelphia? Because I got a job here for a company that I worked for during college. And because the food is flipping delicious.

I’ve given my tour of Philadelphia many times. It’s something I really enjoy doing – and I really love seeking out new places to add to the list. Somehow in my five years of blogging I’ve never written a detailed post about what to do in Philadelphia. I’d say it’s about time I write a post about what to do when you’re planning your trip to Philadelphia. Let’s start at the beginning?

What’s the best way to get to Philadelphia?

You could take an Amtrak or SEPTA train into 30th Street Station easily from anywhere in the Northeast. There’s trains that come down from Boston and swoop across the Northeast corridor. There are a few trains that come in from the Buffalo, NY region. There’s a train that will take you all the way up from Richmond, Virginia. And there’s a train that will take you in from the West (hitting Chicago, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, etc). To be honest, I once had a resident who took a train here from California, so anything is possible.
You could take a plane on your trip to Philadelphia. The International Airport is located only 20 outside of the city. It will cost you less than $30 (not including tip) to take a taxi (both cash and credit cards are accepted), take an Uber or Lyft (it will probably be a little less than the taxi and you can do the “shared/pool” option), or less than $10 to take the train into the heart of the city. There are kiosks down near the train platforms if you don’t have cash.
You could drive (although the parking situation can be kind of crappy if you’re too close to the center of the city). Finding parking is almost always an option, finding free parking is harder. Free parking is easiest to find North of Spring Garden Street, South of South Street and West of 34th (Just be aware of your surroundings when you find a place to leave the car.) And note that it’s only free if there is no “X-hour parking” sign, a loading sign, or if the day falls into one of the exceptions. There are also lots of parking garages if you choose to go that route.

What’s the best way to see Philadelphia?

No doubt about it, the answer to that question is “by foot.” Philadelphia is an incredibly walkable city. Sometimes it’s useful to use public transportation to get to the parts out a little bit further, but I highly suggest walking back to where you started to get a feel for the Philadelphia neighborhoods. You’ll hit a new neighborhood every five blocks or so.

How do you use public transit in Philadelphia?

Public transit is run by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). If you’re going to ride the subway you will need a SEPTA key or day pass. Here‘s more information on both of those things. You can buy them at most subway stops and at the major train stations.

If you’re going to hop on a bus or trolley and don’t have a SEPTA key, you will need exact change ($2.50). You enter at the front of the bus or trolley, put your money in the little machine, and walk back. (There are a few exceptions to this – at 30th Street station and City Hall you pay before you can get to the public transportation area.) To get off a bus or trolley you need to pull the string / push the button to let the driver know he/she should stop at the next possible stop.

Here’s the link to SEPTA’s website for the most up-to-date information. Additional options include Uber, Lyft, and many taxis.

Where should you stay?

Honestly. I’m not the best person to ask this question to. My default answer is find a friend who lives in the City and stay with them because it’s the cheapest. Other than that, my dad always stays at The Alexander Inn, rooms are decently cheap ($100-$150/night) and it’s located in a really good neighborhood. There are a lot of hotels around town – a few over by the universities, a bunch on Broad Street, even more by the convention center, and even more on the waterfront. And of course there’s always AirBnB or hostels. You can’t go wrong anywhere in the downtown area really.

What’s the best way to plan the logistics?

This is always my favorite question. After you figure out how you’re going to get here and where you’re going to say, it’s time to figure out what to see in Philadelphia. My suggestion is to plan your trip to Philadelphia by neighborhood. Philadelphia is a neighborhood city. Start grouping items that you’re interested in by neighborhood and then fit those neighborhoods into spots on your itinerary. Travel as far east as you’re going to one day, as far west another, as far north another, and as far south, yet another – and always walk your way back in to see how the city changes block by block.

Things worth knowing about Philadelphia.

We have approximately 1.5 million people and are the 6th largest city in the United States.
The City has five major “squares” in it: Rittenhouse, Logan, Fitler, Washington, and Franklin. Each one is at the heart of a different neighborhood. Squares is in quotes because somewhere along the line Logan Square became a circle. Shrug.
The City has two main subways. The Blue Line, which is known as the “El” because outside of the heart of the city it is EL-evated above the ground, runs east to west under Market Street until you hit the water front on the east side, then it turns North. The Orange Line, which is known as the Subway, runs north and south along Broad Street (which is where 14th Street would be – right between 13th and 15th). The south-most point will take you down to the stadiums and if you will make your way up through Temple University until you’re out of the City. There are also trolleys and buses.

Philadelphia’s City Hall is located right at the intersection of Market Street and Broad Street. It’s kind of an obstruction because you can’t drive through it, you have to drive around it, but I promise it’s really pretty. (At least when it’s not being cleaned / covered by scaffolding.)

There are two rivers in Philadelphia. The first is the Delaware River, which runs north-to-south on the east side of the City. This separates Philadelphia from New Jersey. The second is the Schuylkill River, which also runs north-to-south right around 30th It is pronounced (let’s see if this works) s-KOO-kul.

*Public Transit Subway and Elevated Line*

The numbered streets run north and south starting with Front Street (1st street) farthest east, and go up in number as they run west through 69th Street and beyond.

In the heart of the City, most of the horizontal streets have names inspired by trees including Cherry, Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine. This was because when people settled here not everyone could read, but everyone knew which kind of tree was which.
The Yelp reviews in this city are pretty solid. You’re absolutely good with anything with 4 stars or above – and some of my favorite places are as low as a 3.5.
When William Penn came over to the US he had just gone through the London fire, so he insisted that everything in the town be built out of brick, so there’s a lot of cool brick-work in the heart of downtown. There’s also a pretty excellent story about “the curse of Billy Penn” and how our sports teams couldn’t win unless William Penn stood at the tallest point in our city (in statue form).
Philadelphia houses Fairmount Park, which is the largest park within city limits in the United States. My tour doesn’t include any of it, but supposedly there’s some good hiking (or you can go out to the Wissahicken Park); you can run along the Schuylkill Waterfront to get there.
Philadelphia is actually pretty huge. What I’m about to talk about below doesn’t include Northeast Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, really West Philadelphia, or the suburbs-esque neighborhoods located to the west of the city center.
We have the two greatest sports mascots of all time. The Philadelphia Phillies (baseball) Phanatic and The Philadelphia Flyers (hockey) Gritty. This city has a lot of pride for our mascots. When Gritty was first released Philly was kind of like - wtf is that. Then the next day when the world found out about Gritty and said wtf is that, Philadelphia said, “you stay away from him, he’s a national treasure.” That’s Philadelphia in a nutshell for you. We’re gritty, we’re a bit of a mess, and we’re passionate about our city.

What to see in Philadelphia, by neighborhood.

Please note, some of these neighborhood names and lines are up for debate, but here’s how I usually explain the most-visited ones. The top things to see/eat things included on my personal tour of a trip to Philadelphia, they’re definitely not all there is to see. There are plenty of other things to do (and neighborhoods to see!) that I haven’t even done yet, and I’m excited to keep adding them to the list!

“West Philadelphia”

We’re starting in the West. This neighborhood in recent years has started to have more restaurants and events pop up. There’s a great line of street of restaurants and Clark Park that always has something going on. It’s home to a lot of the graduate students at UPenn and USP students. Please note, this is not Will Smith’s West Philadelphia, this is just the area most West of the City I have currently explored. There’s a bunch of different names for this area on the Google Maps.

My favorite thing about this area is the front porches on all of the houses. They’re definitely a West Philadelphia staple and add to the party scene when you’re hanging out with friends. There’s actually a festival called “West Philly Porch Fest” every late spring, “a do-it-yourself music festival featuring free shows on porches all over the neighborhood. Anyone can host or play a show!”

Top things to see/eat:

Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore): This is a fun park where they host farmer’s markets, craft fairs, and flea markets on weekend mornings.
TACOTACOMEXICANO (261 S. 44th Street): This shop has gone through a journey. Started as food truck, then became Honest Tom’s, then got bought out by employees. The tacos are always delicious though.
Ceramic Concept (5015 Baltimore Ave): This is a great local shop selling handmade ceramics and goods from from artists nationally and internationally.
VIX Emporium (5009 Baltimore Ave): This is another great local shop with local crafts and artful gifts.

Other great restaurants include Booker’s and The Gold Standard Cafe (for brunch), Local 44 (for pub food), Carbon Copy (a brewery), and Green Line Cafe (for coffee).

University City

If you move east from West Philadephia, you reach University City. Philadelphia has dozens of Universities inside the City limits. The location that include Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of the Sciences. There are a lot of college students, so it quiets down for the summer. There’s a lot of hip restaurants, some decent shopping, and even some green space. 30th Street Station is located right on the edge of University City and Center City West.

And if you’re looking for a really pretty Catholic church to check out (which all people do on vacation? Thanks for humoring me.), I recommend St. Agatha/St. James.

Top things to see/eat:

University of Pennsylvania (1 College Hall): This is such a beautiful campus. It kind of feels like they dropped Hogwartz right in the middle of a City. There are a lot of trees, which is cool too. I highly recommend walking Locust Walk (a street they closed down years ago so that it’s only pedestrian traffic) to get the full effect.
30th Street Station (30th and Market): Even though I’ve been in the City for 17 years, I’m always in awe every time I’m in 30th Street Station. The Amtrak section is pretty epic.
Schmear It (36th and Market): This is one of my favorite breakfast options in the city. It’s called schmear it because they have lots of different “schmear” (aka cream cheese-esque spread) options. My favorite is the lox-smith; the schmear itself has cream cheese, lox, scallions, tomatoes, and cucumbers in it.
Koreana (3801 Chestnut): If Korean food is your jam, Koreana is delicious. I especially like the bibim bap. It’s around the back of the building and there is some outdoor seating. The bubble good is pretty good too!
White Dog Cafe (3420 Sansom): A pretty delicious restaurant that houses a maze of rooms – each one has a different vibe! I’m sure the food is excellent for dinner, but I always end up here for brunch. The menu changes by the season and everything is always delicious.

Other good restaurants include New Deck Tavern (for pub food), Han Dynasty (for Sichuan), Greek Lady (for Greek), and Cira Green (for summer drinks on a roof terrace). There’s also a lot more chains in this area now than there were when I was there. Also, might I recommend finding a food truck?

Fairmount

If you jump over the Schuylkill River over the Spring Garden Bridge, you’ll find Fairmount / the Art Museum District. This is an area of town that has a lot of museums and a lot of cool houses and restaurants. It’s not super accessible via public transit, but totally worth heading that direction and spending some time up there. In this area you’ll find Logan Circle, and the Ben Franklin Parkway, which is an awesome flag-lined Street that leads directly to the art museum. This is where we host a lot of festivals and where the Pope said mass in 2015. If you buy a ticket for the Philadelphia Museum of Art it is good for other places for more than one day. But beware a bunch of the museums are closed on Mondays.

Top things to see/eat:

Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway): This is a really fun building and it contains a lot of great art. It’s famous outside of Philadelphia for having the Rocky Steps. Philadelphia even put a statue of Rocky near the bottom. Also, the first Sunday and and every Wednesday evening of each month are pay what you wish.
Barnes Foundation (2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway): This museum houses the Barnes art collection. It was originally located out on the mainline, but they built a facility specifically to house it in modeled after the original house. It’s pretty gorgeous. Tickets need to be reserved in advance.
Franklin Institute (222 N 20th Street): This is a children’s science museum that’s a heck of a lot of fun. If you don’t have a child to go with (or feel weird about it) you can wait for one of their Tuesday night adult nights where they open up the museum for adults to drink in. In addition, there are both a planetarium and Imax theater inside.
Mütter Museum (19 S 22nd Street): This museum has cool historical medical science stuff. It’s not my jam, but I went once and could totally see why if this was your thing it would be really really cool.
Eastern State Penitentiary (2027 Fairmount Avenue): This is also not my jam because I like to try to avoid bad dreams, but you can totally go take a tour of the Penitentiary. During Halloween they turn it into a huge haunted house, which people have said is pretty wonderful. As I said, seriously not my jam.
Sabrina’s (1804 Callowhill): It’s a diner-esque place where the prices are very reasonable, the portions are large, and they serve breakfast all day. My favorite things on the menu are the stuffed challah french toast and whatever benedict they have on special that day (admittedly, I always get breakfast). Fun fact, the french toast is big enough that you can split it between two people. There’s multiple Sabrina’s locations in the city, my other favorite is in the Italian Market.
Bar Hygge (1720 Fairmount): The food is absolutely delicious here. It has all of the options that you always want on a menu, except now they’re making you decide between them. The beer was delicious. And the environment definitely takes on on the full meaning of the word hygge (kind of like “cozy” for those who don’t speak Danish).

Other good restaurants include SOUTH restaurant (for southern food), Gyu-Kaku (for Japanese BBQ), Buena Onda (for Mexican), OCF Coffee House (for coffee), and Tela’s Market & Kitchen (for brunch).

The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is also in this area.

Rittenhouse

South of Fairmount is Rittenhouse. This is the fancy part of the city. Rent is more expensive. Buildings are a little swankier. You’ll find shopping all along Chestnut Street and more fancy/expensive shopping all along Walnut Street. (For example: Paper Source, All Birds, Madewell, Lululemon, and more.) At the heart of Rittenhouse is Rittenhouse Park. It is used by all people to do all sorts of things.

Top things to see/eat:

Rittenhouse Square (19th and Walnut): It would be silly to go to Rittenhouse and not see the Square. There’s a farmer’s market here on Saturday mornings.
Anthropologie (1801 Walnut Street): This is located at 18th and Walnut. The building itself is beautiful, and this is one of those shops that I always like to browse the sale rack (top floor) when I’m in another city.
DiBruno Brothers (1730 Chestnut Street): This is a fancy grocery store meets restaurant meets charcuterie place. I highly recommend going inside to check it out. There are cheese samples in the back! There are a few of these located around the City, but this one is one of the largest.
Ranstead Room (2013 Ranstead Street): This is a fun place to go for speakeasy-esque cocktails. You enter on Ranstead Street through a black door with an R on it. I highly recommend getting there right as they open so you won’t have to wait in line.
Vic Sushi Bar (2035 Sansom Street): My favorite sushi in the city. It’s super small and BYOB. They also always have a 3 rolls for $11 special.
Saturday Farmer’s Market (Rittenhouse Square): Stop by to get some local food, produce, or flowers. It’s also highly possible you’ll run into an art show.

Great restaurants in this area include: The Dandelion (for British food), Parc (for French food), The Love (for fancy American), and K’Far (for middle eastern breakfast and pastries).

Center City West

Technically Center City West is anything west of Broad Street (but east of the Schuylkill) in the heart of the City is Center City West, but I think of Center City West as the area with all the tall buildings downtown. These buildings (in combination with a few buildings closer to 30th Street station) make up the City Skyline. It’s the business-y part of Philadelphia. Market Street in this area is usually dead on the weekends because nobody’s working, but you’ll still find plenty of people at the restaurants and shops located just a few blocks south.

It is also possible that you could think of Rittenhouse as part of Center City West, but I decided to call it out separately above. (I associate Rittenhouse with fun and Center City West with work.)

Top things to see/eat:

La Viola Bistro (253 S 16th Street): This is an Italian restaurant. It only has 3.5 stars on Yelp which always pisses me off, because it’s my favorite in the City. I’ve tried almost every pasta dish and they’ve all been delicious, although I recommend the gnocchi if it’s your first time. It is BYOB and cash only. Also, please note there are two La Viola’s. This one is the bistro and the other one is Ovest. The Ovest one is fancier and you can pay with a credit card. The bistro is much more casual and I think even a little bit cheaper.
Philly Pretzel Factory (1532 Sansom Street): There are so many of these around the City, so you don’t just need to find one here. The pretzels are delicious and super cheap. They’re great with cheese or mustard, whatever makes you happy.
Giwa (1722 Sansom Street): Getting Korean tacos here is one of my lunch defaults. The sauce makes them absolutely delicious. If you go at lunch and get takeout it’s buy three get one free. I recommend two per person if you’re hungry.
Philadelphia Chutney Company (1628 Sansom Street): This place as delicious dosa, which is essentially a large Indian crepe. They have hot food too, but I can’t tell you where it ranks in the city. The dosa is one of the most fun things I’ve ever eaten though and it’s always cool to experience new cultures.
Oyster House (1516 Sansom Street): An east-coast, New England-style seafood restaurant that does $1 oysters in the bar area during happy hour.
Snap Custom Pizza (1504 Sansom Street): Admittedly, it’s just custom pizza, but I really love this place. Everyone is incredibly friendly. They’re super accommodating. And the pizza is fantastic.
Looking for other lunch recommendations in this area? Check out: the food carts on 17th street serving halal food, Luke’s Lobster (130 S. 17th Street) for a great (but pricy) lobster roll, honeygrow (110 S. 16th Street) for stirfry, sweetgreen (1821 Chestnut Street) for salads, Federal Donuts (1632 Sansom Street) for doughnuts and fried chicken, DIG (1616 Chestnut Street) for local salad-like food with great proteins, Koreana (37 S 19th Street) for bibimbap, Naya (1601 Market Street) for Middle Eastern food, Dig (1616 Chestnut Street) for fast casual healthy food, & Goldie (1911 Sansom Street) for falafel. Many of these have multiple locations around the city.

Other great restaurant recommendations include: Max Brenner (1500 Walnut Street) for creative chocolate desserts, Chima Steakhouse (1901 JFK Blvd.) as a Brazilian Steakhouse, Pietro’s (1714 Walnut Street) for pizza with fresh mozzarella, Harp & Crown (1525 Sansom Street) for happy hour, City Tap House (100 N 18th Street) for happy hour, Monk’s Cafe (264 S. 16th Street) for a excellent beer suggestion, and Black Sheep (247 S 17th Street) for pub food.

Avenue of the Arts

The Avenue of the Arts splits Center City East from Center City West. It is a specific section of Broad Street that houses a bunch of Philadelphia’s theaters: The Kimmel Center, The Wilma Theater, the Academy of Music, and more. It’s all lit up at night and has an epic view of City Hall that most brides who get married in the City try to get a photo of themselves in front of. If you want to see a play, concert, musical, the opera, or more, you will probably find it on Broad Street. There’s also a Walgreens Flagship store if that does it for you.

Top things to see:

The Kimmel Center (300 S Broad Street): This is a really cool concert venue. There are actually two separate concert halls housed inside of the building. And Verizon Hall is one of the most magnificent venues I’ve ever been in, which makes visiting it worth the trip alone. Additionally, free tours are offered every day at 1:00pm. You can put your name on the list at 10:00am to make sure you get a spot. The Kimmel Center folk manage the “Kimmel Cultural Campus” which includes multiple theaters around the city where you can see:
- Nationally touring Broadway shows
- Opera Philadelphia
- Philadelphia Ballet
- Curtis Institute of Music students
- The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
- PHILADANCO
- The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
- Other touring musicians, artists, and comedians who come through Philadelphia
Avenue of the Arts (Broad Street between Market and South): This is just another name for Broad Street. I would definitely walk it from Market Street (City Hall) down to South Street though to see all the fun theaters.
Wilma Theater (265 S. Broad Street): If you’re ever looking for a show to see that’s a little bit off the beaten path and unexpected, this is the theater for you. After every play I’ve ever seen here I have left with a million questions, in a good way. It really makes you think. You can also grab some excellent Good Karma beverages in the lobby before the show.

If you’re looking for a fancy place to grab dinner or a drink before a show, consider hopping into McCormick & Schmick’s, The Capital Grille, or Del Frisco’s Grille. There’s also a great coffee shop in the Wilma Theater called Good Karma.

Center City East

After crossing Broad Street, you’ll reach Center City East. It continues from Broad Street until about 8th Street. That said, Center City East is comprised of many smaller neighborhoods and nobody actually every really says Center City East.

Top things to see/eat:

The Wannamaker Organ (1300 Market Street): This is something that I’m pretty sure is only on my Philadelphia tour, but it’s one of my favorite things. The world’s largest working pipe organ is located in Macy’s. Crazy, right? There are even 45-minute recitals available to listen to almost every day.
Magic Gardens (1020 South Street): This is located on South Street, a Street with a lot of unique shops on it. It’s best to think of as a museum, but really it’s a house and outdoor patio that has been completely mosaic-ed. It’s very cool and only $10 to go visit.
Tria (1137 Spruce Street): This is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. They have a great selection of wine, cheese, and beer. For two people I would recommend getting bruschetta to split, a cheese to split, and then each person getting a salad or sandwich. There are a few of these around the City. This one and the one on Fitler Square are my favorite.
Scoop DeVille (1109 Walnut Street): Best traditional ice cream in the city. And definitely the best hot fudge in the city. I usually just get chocolate ice cream with hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles, but I think they’re best known for their blends. Oh. They also deliver.
Masala Kitchen (1211 Walnut Street): These folks sell excellent kati rolls. What’s a kati roll? It’s very similar to an indian burrito where the outside is delicious naan. I always get the paneer without onions with an egg on top. It’s about $7 and definitely fills me up. If it’s cold outside, the chai is also delicious!

Other great food options include Sahara Grill (for middle eastern food), Moriarty’s (for pub food), Grandma’s Philly (for Thai food), and Winkel (for brunch).

Jeweler’s Row (a single street where you can buy all sorts of diamonds and jewelry) is also located here. I also like to pop into Blick for art supplies sometimes.

The Gayborhood

The Gayborhood is a neighborhood within Center City East. I did not make up this name; you’ll even find rainbows on the street signs. It is home to awesome nightlife, delicious restaurants, and adorable shops. Two ladies, Chef Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, have worked hard to make 13th Street the hopping place that it is today. And the day that gay marriage was legalized they painted rainbows on the Street, which was pretty awesome. You can go track that down today at 13th and Locust. There’s also a lot of fun clubs in the area: Woody’s, iCandy, and Tavern on Camac.

Top things to see/eat:

The Shops on 13th Street (13th Street between Chestnut and Spruce): This is a really fun area of totally worth taking a walk down for a grocery, souvenirs, handmade goods, paper products, and delicious food. My favorite of the shops is Open House – it’s where I always go to find gifts for people!
Tavern on Camac (243 S. Camac Street): Y’all. The 1st floor of this sestablishment is a piano karaoke bar. If you’re looking for a place to belt your heart out to your favorite Broadway and Disney songs, this is it. The piano players are all super nice, incredibly knowledgeable, and follow right along with whatever you’re singing. Go to enjoy the atmosphere or to be center stage.
Barbuzzo (110 S 13th Street): This is a delicious Mediterranean restaurant. I highly recommend the homemade ricotta appetizer and the salted caramel budino dessert.
Mercato (1216 Spruce Street): An Italian BYOB that is absolutely delicious. Small venue and small menu, but I assure you that you will find something you like. As an FYI, it’s cash only.
Charlie Was a Sinner (131 S 13th Street): This is a vegan restaurant that makes excellent fancy cocktails. And when you’re eating the food you actually have no idea it’s vegan it’s so good. Highly recommend as a good place to spend an evening.
Duross and Langel (240 S 11th Street): A fancy soap and bath and body products shop. They make their own soap and products – and also curate a lot of great others as well!
El Vez (121 S 13th Street): I’m sure the food is delicious, but honestly, they’re also the best frozen blood orange margaritas in town.

Other great restaurants in the area include Paulie Gee’s (for pizza), Little Nonna’s (for Italian), El Vez (for a hip Mexican vibe and delicious frozen margaritas), Double Knot ( for sushi and other Asian food - they do an excellent chef’s tasting), and Sampan (for Asian fusion).

Washington Square

Heading east from the Gayborhood, you’ll reach Washington Square. This is the area located around one of the founding squares of Philadelphia. It’s pretty adorable. It’s not nearly as busy as Rittenhouse Square.

Top things to eat:

Talula’s Garden (210 W Washington Square): This is such a fun restaurant. The space is incredible, the food is delicious, and servers are extra-knowledgeable. It is a little pricy though. If you’re looking for a cheaper option you can check out Talula’s Daily for lunch right next door. Reservations should be made in advance.
Varga Bar (941 Spruce Street): A great bar with delicious food and an amazing staff. One of my favorite things to do is just sit down at the bar and order a bunch of appetizers - they never disappoint and the beer selection is always fantastic.
Wax + Wine (1034 Pine Street): A fun shop in the city where you can BYOB and make candles. They have great scents to choose from, and it’s a low-key way to spend an evening with friends.
Vedge (1221 Locust Street): If you are a vegetarian, this is the place to go in town. Everything’s delicious.

Other good restaurants include PJ Clarke’s (for a drink and fancy American), Talula’s Daily (a cafe with seasonal, pre-packaged dishes), Morimoto (for absolutely amazing sushi), and Poke Burri (for poke and sushi burritos).

Chinatown

North of Washington Square you’ll find Chinatown. We have a fancy Chinatown Arch, delicious (and cheap!) bakeries, and countless yummy Asian restaurants in Chinatown. This is where I get my bubble tea fix. Some of it smells a little bit like fish, but it’s really interesting to see all of the shops (like fish shops) and the hustle and bustle in the area.

Top things to see/eat:

Chinatown Arch (10th and Arch): This is exactly what it sounds like and is located right at 10th and Arch Streets.
Reading Terminal (51 N 12th Street): This is a huge indoor farmer’s market with some incredible food and shops for produce, flowers, handmade goods, honey, and every type of food you could ever want. During the middle of the day it’s kind of a tourist destination, but locals absolutely still sneak in at the early hours. Please note many shops are closed on Sundays because they’re run by the Amish folks.
- Favorite Place for Breakfast: Miller’s Twist
- Favorite Place for Lunch: El Merkury
- Favorite Place for a Snack: Beiler’s Doughnuts
- Favorite Place for Dessert: Bassett’s Ice Cream
- Favorite Place for a Cheesesteak: Carmen’s
Yakitori Boy (211 N 11th Street): If you’re looking for a fun activity for your adventure, consider getting a private room to karaoke here. Sunday through Thursday they are half price, and if you spend enough on food and drink they waive the room fee.
Tea Do (132 N 10th Street): Go get the bubble tea here, it’s consistently delicious. I’ve liked every flavor I’ve ever tried. You can ask for your beverage with bubbles specifically (because some of them come with aloe or jellies, which I’m not a huge fan of, but maybe you’ll like!).
Kung Fu Tea (1006 Arch Street): Another delicious bubble tea place. My new go-to location. The bubbles are a bit sweeter, and the ordering methodology is much more logical. I recommend the milk teas and the classic drinks if you don’t know where to start.
KC’s Pastries (109 N 10th Street): This is a small bakery with delicious pastries for about $1 each, please note that it’s cash only. My favorite are the almond braided thingies and the bbq pork buns. Go inside, get a red tray and tongs, pull out exactly what you want onto the tray, and then take it up to the counter to pay. They’ll even heat up what you get if you ask nicely.
Kabuki Sushi (45 N 13th Street): This is my favorite sushi east of Broad. Everyone’s always super nice. One specialty roll is also always enough to fill me up (when I remember to limit my ordering to that amount).
Hop Sing Laundromat (1029 Race Street): One of our fun, and well-hidden, speakeasys in town. You will not be allowed to have your phone out and need to be wearing nice shoes to get in.
Asia Supermarket (143 N 11th Street): If you’re a grocery store person, this is an excellent way to spend some time. The store is underground and huge. Please note that you enter from Race Street (between 10th and 11th) next to the garage under a yellow awning that says “Chinatown Market”.
Love City Brewing (1023 Hamilton): Great new brewery with delicious beer, good space, and food trucks out back. Absolutely worth stopping by.
Triple Bottom Brewing (915 Spring Garden): Great new brewery with delicious beer that has the vibe of a coffee shop and some snacks!
Dim Sum Garden (1020 Race Street): This is the number one spot for soup dumplings.

Other great places for food include Elixr (for coffee), La Chinesca (for fancy Mexicali food), and EMei (for American Chinese food).

Bella Vista

Bella Vista is right below Center City East. It’s definitely more residential, but will give you a great look at what some typical houses in Philadelphia look like. And not a surprise, there are definitely still some great restaurants in this area.

Top things to see/eat:

Chapterhouse (620 S. 9th Street): Another great cafe. Lots of space. Nice staff (sometimes there’s a line since the barista area is super small), but it’s a great place to hunker down for a day. They have the best spicy chai.
Quetzally (1225 Fitzwater Street): My favorite Mexican that I’ve had in the city. I always get the spicy pork enchiladas with green sauce.
Bella Vista Beverage (755 S 11th Street): An excellent place to stock up on beer. The selection is amazing, it’s accessible, there’s loading zone parking, and there’s a cat who lives inside the store named Gary.
Sam’s Morning Glory Diner (735 S 10th Street): This is one of my favorite brunch places in the City – the ketchup is homemade, the hot chocolate is delicious, the biscuits are exactly what you want in the world, and the portions are huge.
Nomad Pizza (611 S 7th Street): A cute pizza shop with thin crust pizza. My favorite is the spicy soppressata – it comes with honey on it!
Tacoheart (1001 E Passyunk Ave): Philly’s only Austin-style breakfast tacos. They are absolutely delicious

Other great restaurants include Function Coffee Labs (for coffee), Hawthorne’s (for fancy American), New Wave Cafe (for pub food), Grace and Proper (for great cocktails and sandwiches), and Stump (for plants).

The Italian Market

This is technically a subsection of Bella Vista. There are produce stands, cheap places to buy meat, Italian restaurants, Italian bakeries, and all sorts of goodness. It gets super crowded on the weekends, but if you can sneak over there at another time there is olive oil to be tasted and produce to be shopped for. This area is also super close to Geno’s & Pat’s cheesesteak places.

If you find yourself looking for a Catholic Church in the area, might I recommend St. Paul’s?

Top things to see/eat:

Italian Market (919 S 9th Street): A fun area of Bella Vista on 9th Street between Christian and Washington with outdoor vendors and cute shops.
Talluto’s (944 S 9th Street): Go here for all things Italian - especially freshly cut pasta and handmade ravioli. You can order both of these from behind the counter.
DiBruno Brothers & Bottle Shop (930 S 9th Street and 920 S. 9th Street): Since moving to South Philadelphia, this has become my go-to DiBruno Brothers. It’s tiny, it’s well-stocked, and everyone’s always helpful. If you don’t know where to start I recommend walking out your first time with a baguette, the delice de bourgogne, the l’amuse gouda, and the black lava cashews.
Fante’s Kitchen Shop (1006 S. 9th Street): A kitchen store that’s been open since 1906. If you like to cook or bake in any capacity this is the place for you. I could get lost in here for a while.
Blue Corn Mexican Restaurant (940 S. 9th Street): Absolutely delicious Mexican food right in the heart of the Italian Market.
South Philly Barbacoa (1140 S 9th Street): A very small Mexican restaurant serving absolutely delicious tacos that won a James Beard Award. During the week they serve tortas, during the weekend they serve barbacoa. It’s cash only. You can order by the kilo. On Saturday and Sunday they open at 5am and you can buy until they sell out. (They are open other days as well.)
Isgro Pastries (1009 Christian Street): The place for delicious Italian pastries. Make sure to get a Cannoli.
Santucci’s (901 S 10th Street): They make square pizza, it’s pretty delicious and a Philadelphia staple.
Ralph’s (760 S 9th Street): The oldest Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. The food is absolutely delicious, and there’s a build your own pasta dish part of the meny where you can choose an kind of pasta and put any kind of sauce on it. It definitely feels like grandma’s kitchen. And the bread is from Sarcone’s bakery, which automatically is a win.
Cardenas Oil and Vinegar Tap Room (942 S. 9th Street): This is a really fun place to stop by – you can try flavored olive oils, flavored vinegras, and honey. My favorites are always the peach vinegar and the blackberry vinegar.
Fiorella (817 Christian Street): A delicious, delicious restaurant for both traditional and innovative pasta dishes. A little bit fancier than Ralph’s - but in a trendy way, be sure to make a reservation in advance!

I also recommend Kyushu Ramen & Sushi (for sushi), King Video Games (for old school video games), or Molly’s Books & Records (for used books and records - with a special focus on cookbooks).

This is probably technically the closest neighborhood to THEE cheesesteak places. More on that below.

Old City / Society Hill

Old City and Society Hill are the historical parts of Philadelphia. You will find Independence Hall, Independence Mall, the Liberty Bell, the Constitution Center, and more right in this little area. It’s all brick. It’s pretty adorable. And if history isn’t your jam you can see the bell from the outside of the building to check it off the list. There are a bunch of cute shops and this is where First Friday happens. During First Friday all of the art galleries open their doors up to the public, vendors set up shop outside on 2nd Street between Market and Race. (Clearly this is something that’s better in the summer than the winter.)

Society Hill is the second most swanky part of town. There are extra fancy houses, great brickwork, and plenty of places to eat near Market Street. Totally worth walking through.

Top things to see/go:

The Liberty Bell (6th and Market): The Liberty Bell Center is located at 6th and Market. Admission is free. That said, you can totally see the Liberty Bell from the outside of the building near 6th and Chestnut Street if history isn’t your thing.
Independence Hall (5th and Chestnut): You can get free tickets by going to the Independence Visitor Center early in the morning. The tour is about an hour.
Elfreth’s Alley (Elfreth’s Alley): This is the oldest, constantly inhabited street in America. It’s pretty flipping adorable. There’s also an Elfreth’s Alley museum open on the weekends.
Ritz Movie Theaters (125 S. 2nd Street, 214 Walnut Street): A boutique movie theater to see independent films.
Wawa (150 S Independence Mall): This is our local convenience store. I know it might seem like a strange thing to put on the list, but it’s the type of thing that people live off of in college and grab hoagies (sandwiches) for their families at on a busy night. They also have delicious iced tea. You can find them anywhere in the city, but this one is the largest and fanciest one.

Top places to shop:

Headhouse Farmer’s Market (2nd and Lombard): There is a farmer’s market on Sundays from 10am to 2pm every week all year.
United By Blue (205 Race Street): This is their flagship location. They sell clothing and have a delicious cafe inside. Highly recommend if you’re looking for somewhere to chill.
Philadelphia Independents (35 N. 3rd Street): A gift boutique that features only handmade items from creators in Philadelphia.
Artist & Craftsman Supply (307 Market Street): An excellent place to shop for art supplies.
Omoi Life Goods (41 S 3rd Street): A quirky, Japense-inspired stationery and gift store.
Art Star (111 S Independence Mall E): A shop that features local Philly artists’ and crafters’ work.

Top restaurants at which to eat:

Menagerie Coffee (18 S 3rd Street): Another great coffee shop. Great atmosphere. Good chai. But my favorite thing on the menu is the breakfast sandwich (ham, maple syrup, & jalapeno jack cheese on an English muffin).
Tartes (212 Arch Street): This is a cute little pink hut that sells delicious pastries (especially the tartes).
Franklin Fountain (116 Market Street): A delicious ice cream place. It’s expensive, but delicious – I recommend splitting with someone if you can. Also, don’t call them sprinkles, they’re jimmies. There’s also a delicious candy store next door to this named Shane Confectionery.

Other places to visit include Zahav (for middle eastern - possibly the top rated restaurant in the City - make reservations ahead or try to sit at the bar), Amada (for Spanish food), Radicchio Cafe (for Italian food), Glory Beer Bar (for pub food and an excellent beer selection), Han Dynasty (for Sichuan), Little Susie’s (for hand pies).

Queen Village

Queen Village is located just south of Old City. It is also more residential and includes “the Fashion District” which is a place that you can go to buy fabric and sewing supplies, ’s definitely more residential, but will give you a great look at what some typical houses in Philadelphia look like. And not a surprise, there are definitely still some great restaurants in this area.

Top things to see/eat:

Philly Aids Thrift (710 S 5th Street): This is a huge thrift store for a good cause.
The Philly Game Shop (521-525 S 5th Street): An excellent store for tabletop games and card games.
Mostly Books (529 Bainbridge Street): My favorite used book store in the city. It truly just keeps going.
Neighborhood Ramen (617 S 3rd Street): For absolutely delicious ramen. They only have a few dishes, but they’re all delicious and they make their own noodles.
Fitz on 4th (743 S 4th Street): Very delicious vegan food that you will not know is vegan. They also have a great looking bar and delicious cocktails. Reservations recommended.

Other great restaurants include The Bagel Place (for great bagels and bagel sandwiches), Cry Baby Pasta (for Italian), and Royal Sushi & Izakaya (for Japanese).

If you’re looking to do some local shopping, I recommend walking south down 4th Street where you will find the Merrygold Shop, Wallflower Paper & Party, Moon + Arrow, and Walter Pine Floral Studio.

The Waterfront

This is the Delaware River Waterfront that separates Philadelphia from New Jersey. It is another up-and-coming area of the City, but not in a residential way. The way the City is laid out I-95 stands between 1st Street and the Waterfront, which is kind of obnoxious. There are only certain streets which cross over to the Waterfront, but recently Philadelphia has been making more of a push to get people out there.

Top things to see:

Winterfest/Summerfest (101 S Christopher Columbus Boulevard): This is a designated area on the waterfront that is a roller or ice rink depending on the season. There is also an arcade, a tent full of food and beer, and lots of cool seating.
Spruce Street Harbor Park (301 S Christopher Columbus Boulevard): This is a huge park during the summer months with hammocks and large chess boards, food and a floating pier beer garden.
Race Street Pier (Race Street and N. Columbus Boulevard): A fun outdoor space with a great view of the Ben Franklin Bridge – and free yoga on certain mornings if that’s up your alley.
Cherry Street Pier (121 N. Columbus Boulevard): A mixed-use public space on the central Delaware waterfront - a year-round creative incubator, marketplace, performance venue, and social space. Check for weekend events like food markets, flea markets, and more.

*Ben Franklin Bridge from Race Street Pier*

Northern Liberties

North of Old City you’ll find Northern Liberties. Northern Liberties was the “hipster area” of town when I moved to Philadelphia 10 years ago. Now it’s just a stepping stone to get to the more hipster areas. There’s still a lot of artists, trendy shops, and delicious restaurants though.

Top things to see:

The Piazza at Schmidts (1001 N 2nd Street): This is an area open to the public in the middle of an apartment complex that has shops on the ground level mimicking some of the piazzas you find in Europe.
Café La Maude (816 N 4th Street): This is one of my favorite brunch locations in town, everything is delicious.
Yards Brewing Company (500 Spring Garden): In the past year or two Yards moved to a new location in town – to a bigger and better brewery with an excellent menu and excellent views of the beer-making equipment.
Random Tea Room (713 N 4th Street): The most decadent chai in the city (it has rose water in it). The tea menu is incredible, the place itself is super cozy, and the staff is amazingly nice and helpful.
City Planter (814 N 4th Street): An excellent store to browse for plants. There are plants of all sizes and they layout of the store is absolutely adorable.
Cheu Fishtown (1416 Frankford Ave): A delicious noodle bar in the city with happy hour specials. I highly recommend the rangoons, miso ramen, and coconut curry noodles.
Philadelphia Distilling (25 E Allen Street): A beautiful venue serving delicious cocktails, most of which feature gin.

Other restaurants to check out include One Shot Coffee (for brunch and coffee), Cantina Dos Segundos (for Mexican), Honey’s Sit ‘n Eat (for brunch), and Standard Tap (for pub food).

Fishtown

Fishtown is a really fun neighborhood. North of Northern Liberties, it hosts many trendy restaurants, adorable shops, and some delicious beer. There are also a lot of trashcans that are shaped like fish, so that’s cool.

Top things to see/eat:

Frankford Avenue (Frankford Avenue): There’s a lot of cool shops on Frankford Avenue. Start at Girard Street and walk all the way up to Pizza Brain.
Murph’s Bar (202 E Girard Avenue): This is an Irish pub with an amazing Italian chef. They don’t take reservations ahead of time and they are cash only - but totally worth it.
Pizza Brain (2313 Frankford Avenue): This is a pizza restaurant that has the nation’s only pizza museum inside of it. The pizza is delicious. One slice per person is probably enough, they’re pretty big.
La Colombe (1335 Frankford Avenue): This is the place to be for coffee lovers (or so I’ve been told). They do cold brews and coffee on tap.
Frankford Hall (1210 Frankford Avenue): This is a German-Style beer hall. Make sure to grab an over-sized pretzel with the cheese dip.
Barcade (1114 Frankford Avenue): A fun bar with videogames – like pac man and centipede and a lot of other games I don’t understand. A great way to pass the time – and there’s something to do besides just drink.
Harriett’s Bookshop (258 E Girard Avenue): A bookshop celebrating women authors, artists, & activists.

Other excellent restaurants include Suraya (for Lebanese food), Laser Wolf (for Israeli food), Loco Pez (for Mexican), and Front Street Cafe (for fancy American). Up here you will also find a few breweries: Evil Genius, Human Robot, and Dock Street Fishtown.

Kensington/Port Richmond

If we head even further north, we’ll reach Kensington. This is another neighborhood that people and shops are now being drawn towards. There are some hidden gems throughout the neighborhood and every time I’ve visited I’ve found even more fun places to explore. There are parts of Kensington that are less safe than others. I don’t recommend riding the Market-Frankford line further than the Berks stop if you are new to the City. Consider taking an Uber if you are heading into this area.

Top things to see/eat:

The Resource Exchange (1800 N. American Street): Technically this is in Old Kensington, but it’s a really cool nonprofit reuse center for materials used for DIY projects. If you’re a creative, I definitely recommend stopping by. They just moved into a big new space with lots of possibilities.
Philadelphia Brewing Company (2439 Amber Street): This is my favorite brewery tour in town – and they have delicious beer – my favorite is the Walt Wit! They also own a cider company called Commonwealth Ciders. Tours and tastings are only available on Saturdays from 12pm-3pm.
Tufas Boulder Lounge (1614 N 5th Street): If you’re into bouldering (like, indoor rock-climbing gym bouldering), this is one of the great places in the city to go. It’s the one that I’ve felt most comfortable in as a beginner.
Little Susie’s Coffee & Pie (2532 E Lehigh Avenue): Here you will find delicious hand pies and coffee.

Other great places to check out include Cook and Shaker (for fancy American) and Hello Donuts (for doughnuts).

There’s also an amazing nonprofit called Taller Puertrorriqueño that works to preserve, develop, and promote Puerto Rican arts and culture. You can request a tour, check out their art installations, shop in their giftshop (amazing multi-lingual books!), and more.

South Philly

Admittedly, this covers a lot of territory. It’s anything from Washington Street all the way down to the stadiums. (Although I do cover Easy Passyunk separately below.) If you’re in the mood for a sports game, we’ve got plenty of those. You can see the Philadelphia Phillies (baseball) at Citizen’s Bank Park, the Philadelphia Eagles (football) at Lincoln Financial Field, and you can see the Philadelphia Flyers (hockey) and the Philadelphia Sixers (basketball) at the Wells Fargo Center. The games are great. There is a bar and a casino down in that area. And there are always lots of concerts. I also highly recommend the following items:

Dock Street Brewery (2118 Washington Ave): This is my favorite brewery in the city. The beer is constantly rotating (but delicious) and the pizzas are pretty delicious and the perfect complement to the beer. My favorite beer I’ve tried from here was a quadruple Belgian. It was everything. They are constantly rotating their beers around though, so there’s always something new to enjoy!

Ratchada Thai & Laos Cuisine (1117 S 11th Street): Our new go to place for Thai food and they have absolutely not disappointed. Everything has been delicious.

Ricci’s Hoagies (1165 S 11th Street): You basic hoagie shop. Everything is delicious and fresh and you watch them slice the meats right in front of you. When we moved into our new house this was the first place that the old owners told us to visit.

Another great restaurants is Burrata (for Italian). I really need to explore more of South Philadelphia.

East Passyunk

This is an excellent area of town with a lot of cute restaurants and shops. It’s a bit further away from the “Center City” world, but that means it has the opportunity to create a unique neighborhood vibe you can’t get further up north.

Urban Jungle (1526 E Passyunk): Another fun plant store to browse.
A Novel Idea (1726 E Passyunk): A very cute local bookstore. While the selection may seem small, it’s super well-curated.
Occasionette (1825 E Passyunk): An absolutely excellent location for gifts. There is something for everyone here and I could get lost for an hour in browsing easily.
Termini Brothers Bakery (1523 S 8th Street): One of the main Italian bakeries in town. There’s a few locations, but this is the main one.

Great restaurants to check out include Barcelona Wine Bar (for tapas), Bing Bing Dim Sum (for Chinese fusion), Pistolas del Sur (for Mexican), Ristorante Pesto (for Italian), Stateside (for cocktails), the Pub on Passyunk East aka POPE (for pub food), Triangle Tavern (for pub and vegan food - it’s not all vegan though!), Milk Jawn (for ice cream), and Rival Brothers (for coffee).

If You Must Get a Cheese Steak

You may have noticed I haven’t really mentioned too much about cheese steaks. I’ve gotta tell you, I don’t really like them all that much. BUT. If you must. Here’s the breakdown of four of my go-to places:

Geno’s Steaks (1219 S 9th Street): This is the flashiest of all the cheesesteak places. There were some social justice issues a while back (and may still be) where you have to order in English. That said, they make a great steak. This is one of those places where you need to be on your game when you get to the counter with a “whiz with” or “provolone without” type of answer. (The first word is the type of cheese and the second word is whether or not you want onions.) That said, if you use a few more words, that’s fine, but I wouldn’t recommend starting to ask questions when you get to the window. They’re open 24/7.
Pat’s King of Steaks (1237 E Passyunk Avenue): This is located right across the street from Geno’s, and is many people’s favorite steaks. It’s another place where I would stick to the “whiz with” or “provolone without” –esque ordering system. They’re also open 24/7.
Jim’s Steaks (400 South Street): This place is located on South Street and is my go-to. It’s the closest to me, it’s not super prestigious, and they make a great steak. The line definitely still gets long though. Highly recommend. This is also the place to go if you decide you want to make a “Philly Taco,” which means you go get a slice of pizza from Lorenzo’s and wrap it around a cheesesteak from Jim’s. It’s pretty delicious.
Tony Luke’s Cheesesteaks (39 E Oregon Avenue): This isn’t super accessible via public transit, but is worth the stop if you’re looking for some cheesesteak variety in your life. These guys also do some pretty great Italian hoagies. So all in all, these guys really just make a solid sandwich.

The Logistics

Finally, I’ve tried many times to write out sample itineraries of what your day should look like when planning your trip to Philadelphia, but I keep failing because I don’t know what you like to do, so that part I’m going to leave up to you. That said, there are a few neighborhoods that are (probably obviously) best grouped together.

31 Philadelphia-Neighborhoods-Groupings-via-Chrystina-Noel.jpg

What to See in Philadelphia, all in one place.

And if you’re wondering where my must-see and must-eat-at places are in relation to each other, you can also check out this Google Map with my favorites marked.

Things I Like To Do in Philadelphia

And then finally. Things I like to do. Now, I’m a very specific person. I’m a little bit artsy, I’m pretty feminine (until my left brain starts kicking in), I don’t really do the outdoors thing, and when I do spend a lot of money it’s usually on food and theater tickets. So, if that’s your style, you’re in luck.

Go to a food festival: A great one to start with is the Sisterly Love food fair, it’s a traveling food market brought to you by Philadelphia Women in Food.
Do afternoon tea: There’s a lot of places you can do afternoon tea in the city. None of them are super cheap. I’ve been to the Mary Cassatt Tea Room and XIX, they were both delicious.
Go to craft fairs: There’s a lot of these in Philadelphia including Art Star Craft Bazaar, Go West, the Christmas Village (seasonal), and the Rittenhouse Fine Craft Fair.
Take dance classes: Philly Dance Fitness has become my favorite way to work out in this city. Especially Dance Party Bootcamp classes with Timaree. They kick your butt, but you’ll be having fun.
Go see a show: There are so many theaters in Philadelphia including the Walnut Street Theater, the Academy of Music, the Arden Theater Company, the Merriam Theater, the Suzanne Roberts Theater, the Kimmel Center, the Forrest Theater, and more. See what’s playing.
Go see a concert: There are also so many concert venues in Philadelphia including (largest venues listed first) the Kimmel Center, the Wells Fargo Center, Freedom Mortgage Pavillion (in Camden), Franklin Music Hall (formerly known as the Electric Factory), Union Transfer, the Trocadero theater (a little outside the city), the Theater of Living Arts (TLA), the Mann Center (seasonal), The Fillmore, MilkBoy, The Fire, Kung Fu Necktie, Johnny Brenda’s, and more. Seriously. All the venues.
Hang out at coffee shops: That said, I don’t drink coffee, I drink chai. So you can check out my post on the best places for chai in Philadelphia if you’re interested.
Go to a burlesque show: Philly has a pretty solid burlesque scene, you can find all the shows in the city listed on this calendar. There’s something for everyone.
Go on a Founding Footsteps trolley tour: Tim, the owner of this company, is a great guy. He’s also funny, super knowledgable about Philadelphia, and running a really cool business. It’s a 2-hour tour and you can BYOB. You’ll get all around the city and remember some great stories when you leave.
Do karaoke in Chinatown: Yakitori Boy is a great place to go for Karaoke. The second floor has an open bar area, or you’re able to get private rooms.

Favorites: Rapid Fire

And finally. One last thing to add. Let’s play a rapid fire round of favorites. Just in case you’re looking for some super basic answers. (Answers subject to change as time goes on.)

Favorite restaurant: Talula’s Garden
Favorite Italian restaurant: La Viola
Favorite Thai restaurant: Ratchada
Favorite Japanese restaurant: Morimoto
Favorite Korean restaurant: Koreana
Favorite Mexican restaurant: Quetzally
Favorite Spanish restaurant: Amada
Favorite Indian restaurant: Masala Kitchen (street food)
Best Mediterranean restaurant: I don’t like Greek food, but I’m smart enough to know the best is Zahav.
Favorite Steakhouse: Chima
Favorite place to get a sandwich: Ricci’s
Favorite place to get a fancy cocktail: Ranstead Room or Charlie Was a Sinner
Favorite place to drink wine: Tria or Jet Wine Bar
Favorite place to drink beer: Varga Bar, Monks, or Dock Street
Favorite place to hang out at a coffee shop and chill: Chapterhouse or Rival Brothers
Best Coffee: I’m not the best person to ask about this, but I hear La Colombe and Function are pretty good.

If you’re looking for something else, just let me know.

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I’d love to know if you have any favorite places on your tour that I haven’t checked out and/or if you come to visit! If you’re coming to town and want specific recommendations for what to see in Philadelphia, absolutely let me know in the comments below. Bon voyage!

Please note that all of the map screenshots above were from Google Maps.

Planning Your Trip to Philadelphia

What’s the best way to get to Philadelphia?

What’s the best way to see Philadelphia?

How do you use public transit in Philadelphia?

Where should you stay?

What’s the best way to plan the logistics?

Things worth knowing about Philadelphia.