Philly Ranked Third Unfriendliest City, But at Least We Have a Great Arts Scene

Photo | Jeff Fusco

Philly’s always had a reputation for being kind of grumpy, but perhaps never more so than lately when we’ve got our panties in a wad about the disruptive pope visit. Then there was that whole hitchBOT thing that made national headlines, making us look like the biggest meanies ever. Just last week, Seth Meyers called us out in one of his opening monologues for basically beating up people for no reason.

These moments haven’t escaped Travel + Leisure readers, who ranked Philly No. 3 on its list of “America’s Unfriendliest Cities,” just ahead of Detroit and New York City. Here’s what editors had to say about our particular brand of angry:

The concept behind the City of Brotherly Love may have some limits, according to readers. Perhaps visitors came to town wearing a New York Rangers or Giants jersey, and clashed with the locals who rank at No. 5 for their sports-team zeal.

The list comes from Travel + Leisure‘s annual “America’s Favorite Cities” survey, in which readers “ranked 38 cities for their most magnetic features.” The rankings spawned another list that makes Philly seem like less of a bully and, in the interest of this blog, a top draw for arts and culture lovers. We cracked the top 5 in a lineup of city’s with the best arts scene. T + L mentions our iconic LOVE statue and the Anne d’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden, which it describes as being “nicely tucked behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art and overlooking the Schuylkill River.”

See the rest of the list here.