Living along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington at times feels like one long traffic jam. But, living so close to other major East Coast cities also makes for lots of quick, fun escapes. And, one of my favorites is underrated yet very worthy Philadelphia, the nation’s fifth largest city. Sometimes, we make a long weekend out of it, but it’s also fun to just spend a day exploring Philly’s many charms.
From my home in downtown Baltimore, I can hop on a train and, in little more than an hour, be walking the City of Brotherly Love’s narrow, historic streets, which today are very alive and chocked with fantastic food, art and shopping. What’s so great about Philadelphia is the way it manages to offer all the attributes of its nearby siblings – the history of Boston, the big city vibe and grittiness of New York and the monumental grandeur of Washington – all in a compact, easily navigable core.
My day in the city starts at its fabulously Art Deco 30th Street train station, located just across the Schuylkill River from Center City. Just out the doors and to the west in University City is the sprawling Ivy League campus of the University of Pennsylvania, which is its own self-contained urban college town. Today, however, we’ll be heading in the other direction to downtown and further east to Old City.
Our first stop is a quick snack at one of the world’s great city markets. Since 1893, the 100+ businesses at Reading Terminal Market have been selling everything from fresh seafood to cookbooks to Amish farm produce fresh in from Lancaster County to renditions of the city’s famous cheese steak hoagie. But, a personal favorite are the well-worth-the-wait and insanely decadent donuts from Beiler’s (the salted caramel is truly life-changing). In Philadelphia, it’s all about the food. There are so many outstanding dining choices, from fancy to not.
Now we have calories to burn. So, I make my way from Reading Terminal past the stunning Second Empire City Hall, which is topped with a statue of founding father William Penn, to one of the city’s perfect squares. Penn’s original plan for Philadelphia created an orderly grid of streets running between the Delaware River on the east and the Schuylkill on the west. He punctuated this plan with four large squares, including one of the best urban green spaces in the country, Rittenhouse Square.
Today, the streets radiating from this square are lined with luxury condos, high-end shopping and many dining options, including two outstanding French offerings, Rouge and Parc. But, today, I’m dining with a close friend a few blocks away near Broad and Locust on fresh fish and Greek specialties at Estia, a specious taverna just around the corner from the city’s theater district and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Later on, I have an early dinner date with another friend but, in the meantime, there’s an afternoon to kill. Next up in the Museum District is the fantastic Philadelphia Museum of Art, which sits majestically at one end of Benjamin Franklin Boulevard and along the banks of the Schuylkill. From blockbuster exhibitions to its own enormous permanent collection, this is one of the world’s great art museums. Its steps are familiar to movie buffs for their role in the film, “Rocky;” there’s even a selfie-worthy statue of the pugilist with a dramatic view back toward Center City. In addition to the museum, this district also is home to the Rodin Museum, the Franklin Institute for Science and the Barnes Foundation, which houses an amazing collection of Impressionist art.
Philadelphia has no shortage of luxury accommodations and, even if you’re just here for the day, that also means lots of great hotel bars in which to take a break. A favorite of mine is the luxuriously paneled lobby bar at Le Meridien, which faces City Hall to the north. Their “French martini” features Chambord and pineapple juice and it’s as tasty as it sounds.
My dinner plans are in Old City, down by the Delaware and under the Ben Franklin Bridge to New Jersey. I arrive in the neighborhood a little early and check out several really cool, local boutiques lining the razor-thin streets.
Sugarcube on North 3rd Street, just above Market, offers hip renditions of modern classic clothing and accessories for men and women, while its neighbor across the street, Lost and Found, has both new and vintage clothing for sale. Summer is on the way, so a linen plaid shirt and lightweight trousers seem like good souvenirs. Now, it’s time to head to my final event of my day in Philadelphia, dinner with a former colleague and good friend who now works in the city.
We meet at Farmicia, a buzzy restaurant that focuses on local, seasonal ingredients. Their menu includes fresh pastas and several interesting cocktail options. My friend and I secure a great table in the window and enjoy a nice catch-up visit while enjoying a delicious meal and some good people watching. We say our goodbyes and I jump in a Lyft to 30th Street Station for my return train. I am back home in Baltimore by 9:00 p.m., just in time to get ready for a new workday after a nice little break.
There are lots of ways to enjoy Philadelphia – from history to art to dining to shopping to sports to culture. Whatever your interests or plans and no matter how much time you have, rest assured that you will eat well in Philadelphia and you will find lots of fun.
