The Savvy Local’s Guide to Touristy Philadelphia

What with Philly’s star shining so brightly this summer, record-breaking crowds (some 9.4 million visitors!) are expected. And you can bet that many of those guests will flock to the tourist hot spots — but you shouldn’t let that deter you from doing the same. Quite the contrary. If ever there were a year to join in the fun, to indulge in some hometown pride, it’s this one. Plus, you’ve got home-field advantage here — and with our help, you can make good use of it.

Insider Tips for Philly’s Biggest Landmarks

Expert hacks for the things everyone is trying to see (or should try to see) this summer. Keep reading …

---

How to Tackle Reading Terminal Market

The best game plan, according to 15-year market veteran Rebecca Foxman of Fox & Son

Time It Right
“Go before noon or after 2 p.m., and Monday through Thursday instead of on the weekend. The lines aren’t as long, and seating is much easier to find.”

Divide and Conquer
“If you’re in a group, split up, and then come back together to share. The goal should be to try as many places as possible.”

Eat While You Browse
“The best grab-and-run snack is a pretzel from Miller’s Twist or freshly popped popcorn from Sparrow’s.”

Spice It Up
“Because of their spice selection, you’re likely to see some really famous Philly chefs if you hang out at The Head Nut long enough. They also have some of the best coffee beans and tea.”

Ask Vendors for Recs
For instance: “John Yi Fish will steam a whole lobster for you to eat right then, and they’ll give you butter and lemon with it,” Foxman says. (She also likes the shakshuka khachapuri at Saami Somi, and the ginger juice drinks at ­Really Reel Ginger — “they’ll literally cure any ailment.”) Eric Bassett of The Original Turkey likes the cheesesteak pretzels at Miller’s Twist; Roger Miller (of Miller’s Twist) likes the spare ribs at Glick’s Rib Shack. And so on.

But Also: Relax, and Just Order
People think of the market as a tourist spot, but the truth is, Foxman says, “more than half the customers are locals — so it’s hard to stay successful if the food isn’t good. It’s very unlikely you’ll get a bad meal anywhere. And since the market stays so busy, the daily food turnover is incredibly high, so everything is really fresh no matter where you eat.” — R.F.S.

---

The Italian Market Bible

It’s the oldest open-air market in the country. And if you’re a local and don’t shop there, you should be ashamed of yourself. Where else can you find, within a few city blocks, a motherlode of fresh produce vendors, expert cheese mongers, cheeky Italian butchers, seafood purveyors, bakeries, a real kitchen store (not Williams Sonoma), coffee shops with gelati and affogato, even an olive oil emporium? And lots of kitschy stuff, too, in case you want a “Park Here and I’ll Break Your Knees” sign, because when in Rome.

It was started in the late 1980s when an immigrant from southern Italy opened a boarding house on 9th Street for his paisanos coming off the boat. Soon, food stalls and push carts appeared to cater to this new famiglia, and the Italian Market was born.

Here’s how to do it up right.

---

Museum Quality

Best practices at three new Philly institutions

Calder Gardens

Don’t Overthink It. This newcomer wasn’t designed to be an intellectual experience so much as a sensory immersion, says Juana Berrío, senior director of programs. So: Watch the play of shadows and light, be attuned to subtle shifts in temperature, feel the changing texture of the walls. For the full experience? Berrío likes the fourth Wednesday evening of the month, when you can explore in total silence. Logan Circle.

The Pennsylvania Hospital Museum

Look Up! On the top floor, you’ll find the nation’s first surgical amphitheater. You can stand exactly where surgeons did when it opened in 1804, says curator Stacey Peeples: under the 30-foot skylight that was, rain or shine, the only source of light for the (anesthesia-free!) operations. Washington Square West.

First Bank of the U.S.

Do Peek Inside. “The house Hamilton built” — as Jonathan Burton of the Independence Historical Trust calls it — is as much of an attraction as the diplomatic artifacts inside. It’s been decades since the public has seen its interior, now restored to its grandiose circa-1900 state, from marble floors to the dramatic glass rotunda. Old City.
— A.W.

---

Paths Less Taken in Fairmount Park

An insider’s highlight reel

Boathouse row, the Zoo, the Boxers’ Trail, Shofuso: These everyone knows, and loves. But in a park twice the size of NYC’s Central Park, Tony Sorrentino, CEO of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, considers it his job to find new favorite locations. Here, his hit list.

A Bridge to the Past
The Skew Arch Bridge is an endlessly Instagrammable architectural delight. The off-kilter bridge once accommodated a trolley that ran through the park in the first half of the 20th century. Recently restored, the bridge is now part of the 4.5-mile Trolley Trail, beloved by in-the-know hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. (Find the trailhead near Chamounix Mansion.)

Postcard Views of West Park
Everybody’s heard of Lemon Hill, but few know the Lemon Hill gazebo, due west of the mansion on a ledge high above Kelly Drive with a view of the river and summer sunsets. “It’s quite romantic,” Sorrentino says.

Postcard Views of East Park
Along MLK Drive, where the Schuylkill River Trail meets Fairmount Dam, the sidewalk widens and there’s a break in the riverbank greenery, offering a head-on view of Boathouse Row and its iconic lights. Each evening’s symbolic colors are explained at myphillypark.org/boathouse-row-lights.

Head Engineer
It’s easy to run or bike right by the Graff Memorial behind the Art Museum. Sorrentino wishes you wouldn’t. “Nobody knows who Graff is,” he laments, “but he’s one of the most important Philadelphians of all time” — the man who reshaped the Schuylkill River and fundamentally changed how cities operate when he designed the Water Works to deliver clean water in the early 19th century.

The Cherry on Top
Fairmount Park is home to hundreds of Yoshino cherry trees that rival Washington, D.C.’s famed display each spring. For Sorrentino, “Cherry Tree Alley,” near the Horticulture Center, is a destination all summer. “Even when it’s not cherry blossom season, it’s just a beautiful place to be,” he says. “It’s very quiet. Very meditative.”

See myphillypark.org for interactive maps. — A.W.

Published as “The Savvy Local’s Guide to Touristy Philadelphia” in the July 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.