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Center City, no rush
Downtown Philly is walkable, packed with food, and much more fun when you treat it like a neighborhood instead of an office park.
Center City is the original grid William Penn laid out between the two rivers, with City Hall smack in the middle. It's where the office towers are, but it's also where you'll find the city's best food hall, its oldest bar, its most legendary dive, and the Gayborhood's rainbow street signs, all within about a 20 minute walk.
Treat it as a home base for the rest of the city. The El and the Broad Street Line both run through here, so Old City, South Philly and Fishtown are all a quick ride out.
Center City vibe and history
Penn's plan put a big square at the center and four smaller public squares around it. The center became City Hall. The southwest square was renamed Rittenhouse Square in 1825, after David Rittenhouse, a scientist and the first director of the U.S. Mint.
City Hall itself took about 30 years to build, finishing around 1901. A gentlemen's agreement kept the William Penn statue on top as the highest point in the city until 1987, when the first skyscrapers finally went taller.
Today Center City breaks into little pockets. Rittenhouse is the polished end with the park and the shopping. Midtown Village and the Gayborhood around 13th Street are bars, restaurants and nightlife. Market East is Reading Terminal and the convention crowd. They blur together within a few blocks.
Things to do in Center City
Almost all of this is on foot from City Hall. Mornings for the tower and the market, nights for 13th Street. More citywide sights on the see page.
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Center City
City Hall and the tower tour
1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19107The biggest municipal building in the country, about 88 million bricks and roughly 250 sculptures by Alexander Milne Calder, topped with a 37-foot William Penn. It was the tallest habitable building in the world until 1908.
The tower tour takes you up to a glass-enclosed observation deck just under Penn's feet, four people at a time in an elevator that's about a hundred years old. The 360 view is the best quick orientation to Philly you can get. There's a security checkpoint since it's still a working government building.
TipBook the tower tour for a clear day and go early.
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Center City
Dilworth Park
1 S. 15th St., Philadelphia, PA 19102The plaza on City Hall's west side, with fountains in summer and an ice rink in winter.
Good spot to sit with a coffee and watch the city go by. It's public, so no smoking.
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Market East
Reading Terminal Market
51 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107Open since 1893 under the old Reading Railroad train shed, with more than 80 merchants. Pennsylvania Dutch vendors from Lancaster County sell a few days a week.
It's the single best munchies destination in the city. Do a full lap before you buy anything. More on what to eat below.
TipGo on a weekday morning. Saturday at noon is a contact sport.
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Rittenhouse
Rittenhouse Square
Walnut St. between 18th and 19th Sts., Philadelphia, PA 19103One of Penn's original squares, renamed for David Rittenhouse in 1825. It's the city's front yard: benches, big trees, dogs, people reading, people pretending to read.
Great for people-watching between lunch and a movie. It's also a public park, and that means a ticket for lighting up.
TipGrab a bench on the Walnut Street side and just watch for a while.
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Washington Square West
The Gayborhood and Midtown Village
Philly's LGBTQ neighborhood, centered around 12th and 13th Streets south of Market, with dozens of rainbow street signs on the corners. It runs straight into Midtown Village, the bar and restaurant stretch around 13th and Sansom.
This is Center City's nightlife core. Bar hop, dance, eat late, repeat.
TipStart on 13th Street and just follow the noise.
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Center City
McGillin's Olde Ale House
1310 Drury St., Philadelphia, PA 19107Opened in 1860 as the Bell in Hand, and now the oldest continuously operating bar in Philadelphia. It sits on a tiny alley between Chestnut and Sansom. Irish immigrant William "Pa" McGillin ran it until 1901, and the same family has owned it since 1993.
It's survived the Civil War, Prohibition, two world wars and two pandemics. Sing-alongs, crowds and a lot of beer.
TipSt. Patrick's Day here is legendary and absolutely packed. Any other night is easier.
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Washington Square West
Dirty Franks
347 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107The dive bar to end all dive bars, at 13th and Pine. It opened in November 1933, a month before Prohibition was repealed.
The outside wall is a mural of famous Franks: Sinatra, Avalon, Aretha Franklin. Inside it's low ceilings, cheap drinks and very honest conversations.
TipCome for one, stay for three. Classic Philly.
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Center City
Film Society Center
1412 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19102The Philadelphia Film Society's flagship in a building that's been an arts space since 1921. The 446-seat main room has a 4K laser projector, 35mm projection and the biggest conventional screen in Center City.
It's the home base for the film festival every fall. Full guide on our movie page.
Where to eat in Center City
Center City has endless restaurants, but the reason stoners come downtown is a single building. Here's the order of operations inside Reading Terminal. For the rest of the city, see the eat page.
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Reading Terminal Market
Tommy DiNic's
51 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107The roast pork counter whose sandwich once got voted the best in America on national TV, run by the fourth generation of the family. The line has never really recovered.
Order the roast pork with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe. That's the one.
TipGet in line first, then send a friend for drinks.
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Reading Terminal Market
Termini Brothers Bakery
51 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107The South Philly Italian bakery from the 1920s has a counter inside the market. Cannoli and sfogliatelle are what made the name.
Grab a couple of cannoli for right now and a box for later.
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Reading Terminal Market
Bassetts Ice Cream
51 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107Bassetts signed the market's first lease in 1892 and dates the business to 1885. It's ice cream with roughly the same age as the building.
The right dessert after a roast pork.
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Reading Terminal Market
The Pennsylvania Dutch vendors
51 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107Lancaster County merchants hold down the northwest corner of the market a few days a week, with baked goods, pretzels and lunch counters.
Check which days they're in before you plan around them.
A perfect Center City day into night
Start with the City Hall tower tour in the morning to get your bearings. Walk east to Reading Terminal Market and do the full lap, then a DiNic's roast pork, a Bassetts scoop and a cannoli to go. Walk it off west to Rittenhouse Square and grab a bench for an hour. Catch an afternoon screening at the Film Society Center on Chestnut. As it gets dark, head to Midtown Village and the Gayborhood and work your way down 13th Street. A pint at McGillin's, then end the night at Dirty Franks. Get a ride home, or to whoever's roof deck is open tonight.
Neighborhoods next door
Old City is a straight walk east toward the river. South Philly and East Passyunk are south down Broad Street. West Philly is across the Schuylkill. See the full list, and read where to smoke in Philly before you go anywhere.
Questions about Center City
What is there to do in Center City Philadelphia?
Climb the City Hall tower, eat your way through Reading Terminal Market, people-watch in Rittenhouse Square, catch a movie at the Film Society Center and bar hop in Midtown Village and the Gayborhood. It's all walkable from City Hall.
What is the oldest bar in Philadelphia?
McGillin's Olde Ale House on Drury Street, opened in 1860. It's the oldest continuously operating bar in the city and has been run by the same family since 1993.
When was Reading Terminal Market built?
It opened in 1893 under the Reading Railroad train shed. It has more than 80 merchants today, including DiNic's, Bassetts and Pennsylvania Dutch vendors.
Can you go to the top of Philadelphia City Hall?
Yes. The tower tour goes up to a glass-enclosed observation deck right below the William Penn statue. Small groups ride an old elevator up, and you go through security first.
Can you smoke weed in Rittenhouse Square?
No. It's a public park, and Philly treats public smoking as a separate, bigger civil fine than possession. Save it for private property.