Philadelphia Travel Guide

Some bristle at the idea of calling Philadelphia the “City of Brotherly Love”: Brash, blunt, and unbothered, the residents of the greater Philadelphia metro area—a combined total of more than six million people—have, in the common parlance, a limited tolerance for b.s. Trends are especially meaningless; that whole, “keeping up with the Joneses” thing? Doesn’t apply here. Philadelphians are just as content with PBR and Jim Beam (shout-out to the Citywide Special) as they are with elderflower liqueur, and as enthusiastic about a hoagie—never a sub—piled high on a fresh Sarcone’s roll as they are over a gourmet meal. And you know why? Because they don’t have anything to prove. It was all born here, in this more than 300-year-old metropolis: The ideals of American liberty, the lightning rod, bubble gum, the toilet paper roll, the slinky. Philly did it all first. It’s the city that raised Thomas Eakins and Noam Chomsky, Will Smith and Questlove, Patti LaBelle and Grace Kelly. It’s home to America’s 2018 Super Bowl champions, and don’t you forget it—which reminds us: Whatever you do, don’t speak ill of the Eagles. (We warned you.)