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Manayunk, up the hill
An old mill town on the Schuylkill with one long main drag, a canal path, and hills steep enough to host a pro bike race.
Manayunk feels like a different town that happens to be in Philly. It's tucked up the Schuylkill in the northwest, squeezed between the river and a cliff of rowhomes stacked up the hillside. Main Street runs along the bottom with the canal right behind it, and every cross street goes straight up.
It used to be known as the place college kids went to get loud on weekends. Locals will tell you it's calmer now, more brunch and dogs than keg stands, though Friday night on Main Street still has plenty of energy. This page covers Manayunk Main Street plus the trails, the hills and where to eat.
The Manayunk feel, and a little mill-town history
The name comes from a Lenape word usually translated as something like "place to drink," which the bars on Main Street have taken personally. The neighborhood grew up as a textile town in the 1800s, built around the Manayunk Canal, which was part of the Schuylkill Navigation, a long system of dams and canals that floated coal barges down the river. The first canal toll here was collected in 1819.
The mills closed a long time ago, but the buildings didn't. A lot of Main Street is old mill structures and Victorian storefronts with restaurants and shops inside. Walk the towpath and you can still see the stone mill walls lining the water.
Things to do in Manayunk
Most of it is outside. Wear real shoes, the hills are no joke.
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Manayunk
Main Street
Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127The whole neighborhood funnels onto this one street along the river. Bars, restaurants, boutiques, an ice cream shop, a few coffee spots, all in old brick buildings. Weekend afternoons it's strollers and dogs. Weekend nights it's a bar crawl.
Manayunk Restaurant Week runs in September with deals at around two dozen spots, and it's a good excuse to try three dinners in one week.
TipWalk the whole length once before you pick a place. It's longer than it looks.
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Manayunk
Manayunk Canal Towpath
Starts near Lock St., Philadelphia, PA 19127About two miles of path between the canal and the river, with old mill walls on one side and trees on the other. The canal is the only fully preserved piece of the Schuylkill Navigation, and the only intact section inside city limits. Historical signs along the way explain the mills.
It's flat, shady and quiet even when Main Street is packed, which makes it the best slow walk in the neighborhood.
TipGo at sunset and walk until the noise from Main Street fades.
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Manayunk to Center City
Schuylkill River Trail
The big regional trail runs right past Manayunk along the river, and you can ride or walk it all the way down toward the Art Museum and Center City. Bikers use Manayunk as a turnaround point and a lunch stop.
TipRide down from Manayunk, it's easier than riding up.
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Manayunk
The Manayunk Wall
Levering St., Philadelphia, PA 19127A brutally steep climb up from Main Street, around a 17 percent grade, made famous by Philadelphia's pro bike race. When the race is on, the Wall is the crowd spot, with people packed along the curb screaming riders up the hill.
On a normal day it's just a street. Walking up it is still a workout.
TipClimb it once, look back at the view, then go get a beer.
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Manayunk
Venice Island
7 Lock St., Philadelphia, PA 19127The strip of land between the canal and the river, home to a city rec center with a performing arts theater that books plays, concerts and film fests. It's also where the towpath starts.
TipCheck the theater calendar, shows are small and low-key.
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Manayunk
Pretzel Park
4300 Silverwood St., Philadelphia, PA 19127A neighborhood park up the hill from Main Street, opened in 1929 as Manayunk Park and renamed by locals after its pretzel-shaped paths. Dogs, kids, and a Saturday farmers market.
TipGood for a farmers market lap before brunch on Main.
Where to eat on Manayunk Main Street
These Manayunk restaurants are all on Main Street, so you can bounce between them on foot.
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Manayunk
Lucky's Last Chance
4421 Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127Hot dogs and burgers, done loud. Dogs come buried in toppings like chili, mac and cheese or pulled pork, and the PK Burger comes with pierogies. Pure stoner engineering.
TipGet the PK Burger. Don't make a face. Trust it.
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Manayunk
Taqueria Amor
4410 Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127Tacos, enchiladas and street corn across the street from Lucky's. Chicken tinga tacos and brisket enchiladas are the orders, and the tres leches cake is the closer.
TipStreet corn as an appetizer, tres leches as dessert, everything else in between.
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Manayunk
The Goat's Beard
4201 Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127A gastropub with a menu that reads like a midnight craving list: cheesesteak egg rolls, Detroit-style pizza, steak mac and cheese, a smash burger.
TipCheesesteak egg rolls for the table. Non-negotiable.
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Manayunk
Bar Jawn
4247 Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127A neighborhood bar doing bar food right: mozzarella triangles, wings, chicken parm, cheesesteaks, burgers. The name alone is very Philly.
TipMozz triangles and a beer while you decide what's next.
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Manayunk
Manayunk Brewing Co.
4120 Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127A brewpub that tapped its first batch in 1996, set in an old mill building right on the Schuylkill, with the original wool-weighing scale still in the front foyer. Schuylkill Punch, a raspberry wheat ale, is the beer people know it for.
TipSit as close to the river as they'll let you.
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Manayunk
Tubby Robot Ice Cream Factory
The Main Street ice cream shop, and they've been known to do an ice cream flight. A flight. Of ice cream.
TipThe flight is the move if you can't pick.
A perfect Manayunk afternoon into night
Take the train or a ride up, never drive yourself. Start at Venice Island and walk the canal towpath for an hour while the afternoon light hits the mill walls. Come back to Main Street, then hike up Levering Street to see what the Manayunk Wall is about, and enjoy coming back down. Late lunch at Lucky's Last Chance or Taqueria Amor. Wander Main Street, get an ice cream flight at Tubby Robot, and head back to home base for the evening sesh. If you're staying out, dinner at The Goat's Beard and a beer by the river at Manayunk Brewing Co. Then get a ride home, because those hills are not for anyone stumbling.
Neighborhoods next door
Roxborough is right up the hill, and that's where Dalessandro's makes one of the city's most loved cheesesteaks, it's covered in our eat guide. Follow the river down and you'll hit Center City. Cross the Schuylkill and head south for West Philly. For more stuff to see, check the see page.
Questions about Manayunk
What is Manayunk known for?
Main Street's restaurants and bars, the historic Manayunk Canal and its towpath, and the steep Manayunk Wall from Philadelphia's pro bike race. It's an old textile mill town on the Schuylkill River in northwest Philly.
Where is the Manayunk Wall?
On Levering Street, climbing up from Main Street at around a 17 percent grade. It's the famous crowd spot in the Philadelphia Cycling Classic.
How long is the Manayunk Canal towpath?
About two miles, running between the canal and the Schuylkill. It starts near Lock Street on Venice Island and connects to the Schuylkill River Trail.
How do you get to Manayunk from Center City?
The Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line stops in Manayunk, and SEPTA buses run there too. Rideshare is easy, and biking up the Schuylkill River Trail is a great option on a nice day.
What does Manayunk mean?
It comes from a Lenape word usually translated as something like "place to drink." Main Street's bars take that seriously.
Can you smoke on the Manayunk towpath?
The towpath is public, so smoking there falls under Philly's public smoking fine. People keep the sesh at home and walk the trail after. More at our where to smoke page.