Favorite U.S. Cities: Philadelphia
I don’t know about y’all, but I am absolutely loving this tour of my favorite U.S. cities! Makes me want to book some flights and check out the new recommendations in San Diego, Nashville, Chicago, and Denver! Today we head to Philadelphia, my second home! I moved to Philadelphia after college and the City of Brotherly Love stole my heart! I am so excited to explore Philadelphia today with Emily from Her Philly! Her Philly is a lifestyle blog for young women living in Philadelphia. She is a full-time social media and marketing specialist and enjoys Philly sports, shopping in the Anthropolgie sale room, and searching for the city’s best pizza.
Philadelphia, I believe, is quite an underrated city. We’ve got art, music, festivals, shopping, beautiful buildings, and so. much. history! Growing up in New Jersey, I always knew Philly would be “my city” and moved here immediately after college. After over three years of exploring and taking advantage of everything I can get my hands on, I’ve come up with a list of things I think anyone should do while visiting my fair city. Here goes…
1. Attend a Festival
Philly is big on festivals, and we’ve got a lot of them. There are block parties, concerts in the park, the ever-popular Night Markets, and so much more. Some of the most popular events are 2nd Street Festival, South Street Festival, Crafty Balboa, Italian Market Festival, Blocktoberfest, and the PIFA Street Fair.
2. Eat at a Jose Garces Restaurant
I love all dining in my city, really I do. But for a hands-down uniquely amazing meal, no matter what, I go Jose Garces. Garces is an Iron Chef and a James Beard Foundation award winner, and lucky for us, the majority of his restaurants are in Philly. From Village Whiskey to Tinto, Volvér (if you’re looking for fancy) to Amada (my personal favorite!), give one of his spots a try.
3. People Watch in Rittenhouse Park
This really should be called people/baby/puppy watch in Rittenhouse Park, because that’s what you’re going to get. Smack dab in the middle of a bustling district, Rittenhouse Park is one of my favorite places in the city. You can’t beat sitting on a blanket or a bench and taking in the different types of people around you. If you need a little additional stimulation, on the weekends, there is a year round farmers market with fresh flowers, food, and great gifts.
4. Try a New Beer
Philly has some amazing options for beer lovers. I started my journey into learning about craft beer at Monk’s Cafe, but Euology has been a mainstay as well (It doesn’t hurt that you can get amazing mussels and french fries at these establishments, too). We have a ton of breweries that you can tour and obviously, sample. The past few summers, our city has also been exploding with pop-up beer gardens. They are primarily only open in the summer and early fall, but they are a great place to enjoy a nice night with some friends and a cold brew.
5. Explore a New Neighborhood
In addition to its great walkability, Philly is known for its neighborhoods. I spend the majority of my time in Rittenhouse Square, but from the Italian Market to Chinatown, we’ve got amazing things to do pocketed all over our city. I love Queen Village for a walk (the homes are gorgeous!), Passyunk Square for dinner, and Northern Liberties for its unique shopping.
If you’re looking for more fun things to do in Philly, check out my blog! I’d love to hear some of your favorite things to do around my city or just say Hi. xx
What’d y’all think of my five favorite cities? What are your five favorite cities?
12 Comments
Tina Muir
Awww this makes me so sad! I miss philly so much!!!!! You have no mention of reading terminal market here though, and that is by faaaaaarrr the best thing there, especially for foodies 🙂 That being said, I definitely agree with all the things you do have on here 🙂
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Reading Terminal Market is definitely a place you have to try in Philadelphia! And reading this guest post made me miss Philly as well!!!
Marnie @ SuperSmartMama
I am loving this tour of US cities. Thanks for sharing Philadelphia with us!!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Happy to share Philadelphia with y’all!
Seana Turner
I’m a Philly girl originally… whenever I go home I always get a cheese steak because they can’t seem to make them right anywhere else. I think it is the bread that is different. I also enjoy a stroll down by the boat houses. Rittenhouse Square is a great place to people watch!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I agree, most places can’t make a cheese steak correctly! However, Philly Best out here in So Cal gets the bread right and so they are as close to the real thing as I’ve found since moving away from Philly!
All Talk Entertainment
Born and raised in Philly. Philly is never a dull place. It’s not “do you want to hang it”, it’s “where do you want to hang out”. There’s always something happening and with it being labor day weekend it’s busy with the Made in America Tour. Have a great weekend and enjoy your city travels. Visiting from SITS
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Philly is definitely never dull! I enjoyed my seven years of living there and enjoy going back to visit!
MB
I grew up on the suburban NJ train line for NYC. I took it for granted that we lived so close to the biggest city in the world even though there was so much available to us. However, on my first date with my husband, he gave me a most excellent tour of Philadelphia (he was from South Jersey and attended Temple), and I gained such an appreciation of the city. Now we live very close, and I really enjoy visiting when we can. It’s a really cool city and a little less daunting than NYC although I love that place, too.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
NYC is amazing but you’re right…Philly is more manageable!
Lisa @ The Wellness Wife
And the Mummers! I’ve never actually seen the Mummers parade because I don’t like parades, but nothing is more quintessentially Philly! Love your list! I miss the Italian Market!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
The Mummers parade definitely represents Philly! I’ve only ever seen it on TV because I usually left town during the holidays