Philadelphia guides
Philadelphia is where the United States was argued into being. The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, cheesesteaks and the Rocky steps all sit a short regional rail ride from PHL, so even a half day stop can feel like a proper visit.
Layover guides for Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) layovers
6 hoursHow to Spend a 6 Hour Layover in Philadelphia: PHL to the Liberty Bell
A 6 hour layover in Philadelphia covers the essentials: ride the train to Jefferson Station, eat your way through Reading Terminal Market, see the cracked Liberty Bell and duck underground into Benjamin Franklin's museum.
8 hoursHow to Spend an 8 Hour Layover in Philadelphia: PHL to the Penn Museum
An 8 hour layover in Philadelphia fits a day in University City. See the granite sphinx and royal tombs of the Penn Museum, stroll across the Ivy League campus, eat a gyro on 40th Street and finish in the grand hall of 30th Street Station.
10 hoursHow to Spend a 10 Hour Layover in Philadelphia: PHL, the Barnes and Rocky Steps
A 10 hour layover in Philadelphia leaves time for the museum mile on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway: the Barnes Foundation, a hearty brunch at Sabrina's, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a sprint up the Rocky steps.
12 hoursHow to Spend a 12 Hour Layover in Philadelphia: PHL to Magic Gardens and 9th St
A 12 hour layover in Philadelphia buys a full day in South Philly. Wander a mosaic labyrinth on South Street and the stalls of the 9th Street Italian Market, eat a cheesesteak where it was invented and a cannoli at Termini, then stroll East Passyunk.
Short trip guides for Philadelphia
Offbeat
4 hoursHow to Spend 4 Hours in Philadelphia: Fishtown Coffee and a NoLibs Cheesesteak
Four hours in Philadelphia is enough to ride the El north to Fishtown for coffee at La Colombe's flagship. Stroll into Northern Liberties past a park its neighbors built, eat a Del Rossi's cheesesteak and finish with a local ale at Yards.
8 hoursHow to Spend 8 Hours in Philadelphia: Eastern State, Giant Heart, Mütter
Eight hours in Philadelphia gives you time for the city's strangest collections, starting with the crumbling cellblocks of Eastern State Penitentiary. Then comes a sandwich on Fairmount Avenue, the walk through heart at the Franklin Institute and the medical curiosities of the Mütter Museum.
Downtown
3 hoursHow to Spend 3 Hours in Philadelphia: LOVE Park, City Hall and Rittenhouse
Three hours makes a fine Center City stroll in Philadelphia: a photo at the LOVE sculpture, the courtyard of a colossal City Hall, a bench in Rittenhouse Square and an Italian deli counter around the corner.
6 hoursHow to Spend 6 Hours in Philadelphia: The Mint, Chinatown and the Rail Park
Six hours in Philadelphia lets you string together Franklin Square, the coin presses of the US Mint, the painted Friendship Gate, a bowl of hand-pulled noodles and a walk on an old railroad viaduct turned into a park.
8 hoursHow to Spend 8 Hours in Philadelphia: Independence Hall and the Revolution
Eight hours in Philadelphia gives you the heart of the nation's founding story: a tour of Independence Hall, the Museum of the American Revolution and Washington's tent, a cheesesteak in Old City and the river at Race Street Pier.
Fitness guides for Philadelphia
FitnessPhiladelphia Schuylkill Run to the Rocky Steps and a Sweat Fitness Day Pass
From Sweat Fitness in Queen Village, run west on Pine Street to the Schuylkill River Trail, follow the river north past the Water Works and climb the Rocky steps before looping home through Rittenhouse Square.
FitnessPhiladelphia Fishtown Run to Penn Treaty Park and an Iron Works Day Pass
Leave Iron Works Fitness in Fishtown, run east to the Delaware riverfront, follow it south to Penn Treaty Park and its famous elm story, then return to lift and shower.
About Philadelphia
Philadelphia rewards a short stop better than its size suggests. The SEPTA Airport Line leaves from platforms beside the terminals and reaches University City, 30th Street Station and Center City in well under an hour, with a contactless tap to pay. From there almost everything is walkable on William Penn's original grid. Old City's colonial lanes and Independence Mall lie to the east, with Rittenhouse Square's shops and brownstones to the west. The Benjamin Franklin Parkway runs diagonally out to the art museum on its hill above the Schuylkill River. South Philadelphia adds the outdoor Italian Market and the city's most argued over sandwich, and both rivers have long riverside paths for a run.