Where to stay
The James Matthews House is an historic Germantown home turned guest house. Here’s their official b&b website, but they’re also on Airbnb.
Chestnut Hill Hotel is full of charm.
Alternatively in the way of boutique hotels in Philly is La Reserve B&B is a 150-year-old brick townhouse. The 12 comfy rooms have traditional furnishings; four share bathrooms. Doubles from $105 , including breakfast.
Eating & Drinking
Philly is famous for its cheesesteaks, but who has the best cheesesteak? The local’s opinion is Dalessandro’s in Roxborough. This is no tourist trap. Yes you’ll wait in line, but you’ll be waiting with locals who know this is the place that’s worth the wait.
In the city centre, turn up hungry at Reading Terminal Market, because you’re probably going to want to eat everything there. It’s the traditional go-to for the city’s food-lovers, and has a refreshingly unpretentious vibe. Feast on everything from cranberry cookies to the famous Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Should you want a drink or six to go with your food, East Passyunk Avenue is the spot for bar and restaurant hopping. More unusual options include the Jewish-meets-Chinese small plates at Bing Bing Dim Sum, and Manatawny Still Works, which distils its own spirits to pep up the disarmingly potent cocktails.
Do Jansen for a romantic dinner in a renovated 18th-century cottage with historic charm, a cozy interior to the backyard garden in Mt. Airy Village, the heart of Philadelphia bohemia – an earthy tree-lined neighborhood worth exploring before dinner (or after lunch). Lots of small bookshops and cozy cafés.
Suraya is located in the Fishtown neighborhood, a gorgeous and unpretentious fine dining experience suitable for a date or dinner with friends.
In the city centre, Sassafras bar self-describes as “the Grand Dame of old neighborhood bars” is dark and cozy, with a beautiful vintage wooden bar fitted with behind-the-bar mirrors, little seating nooks in the back, and a curvy staircase with a Toulouse Lautrec-like mural. And Tattooed Mom is a great dive bar
In Chinatown, Hop Sing Laundromat honors the concept of Prohibtion. You have to dress up – nice shoes are key.
Seeing & Doing
Material Culture is a 60,000 square foot space – jam packed with antiques, art, crafts, architectural elements and ornate furniture, occupying much of an old factory in a space off of the expressway, where Germantown and North Philadelphia meet. Also on site is Baba Olga’s Kitchen, which hosts a great brunch.
For a little pocket of charming historic perfection while visiting Philly, head to Manning and Quince Streets in the Washington Square West neighborhood to start your stroll. Also see Addison street around the corner. As you stroll down the sidewalk, you’ll see old marble steps, iron posts for tying up horses and windows framed by wooden shutters and window boxes full of flowers. The busy shopping and restaurant district around 13th Street is just a couple of minutes away so you can have dinner and drinks there and come over to Manning & Quince Streets for a lovely little stroll before or afterward.
The Rosenbach Museum is a lovely little house museum for literature lovers, surrounded by Civil War-era mansions and beautiful window boxes overflowing with flowers, you almost expect the residents to saunter out in Victorian garb.
The city’s Eastern State Penitentiary (easternstate.org) – intimidating outside; chilling inside; the penal system here was radical when it opened in 1829. A century later, mobster Al Capone was locked up here; by bribing warders, he lived in (relative) luxury.
The Wagner Free Institute of Science is a museum frozen in time, a little-know gem located north of center city close to Temple University and what makes the Wagner Institute so fascinating is that the museum’s exhibit hall is nearly unchanged from how it appeared in the 19th Century. In it, you will find marvels of the time, such as fossils, skeletons and the first American sabre tooth tiger.The Woodmere Art Museum tells the story of Philadelphia and its artists, with a permanent collection and changing exhibits that focus on local artists from the 1800s to the current day. Located in a stately 19th century mansion in historic Chestnut Hill.
The Mutter Museum for a cabinet of curiosities of morbid curiosity.
Betsy Ross House at 239 Arch Street (historicphiladelphia.org). Meet “Betsy”, the seamstress said to have created the nation’s first flag in 1776: 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent the Thirteen Colonies.
The city’s west side is home to three notable collections. The best is the Barnes Foundation at 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway: Cézanne? Matisse? Van Gogh? Dr Barnes collected them all (barnesfoundation.org). Pop next door to the Rodin Museum (rodinmuseum.org) to see works by the sculptor.