Things to do in Philadelphia

Food · Center City

An 1893 market hall under the old train shed, with Pennsylvania Dutch stalls, delis and the city's best lunch counters.

Local tip: The Amish merchants only trade Wednesday to Saturday. DiNic's roast pork with broccoli rabe and provolone is the sandwich to order — locals will tell you it beats a cheesesteak, and they are right.

Culture · Parkway Museums District

Albert Barnes's collection of Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse, hung in his own idiosyncratic arrangements exactly as he specified.

Local tip: The hanging is the point — paintings jumbled with ironwork and furniture, no labels on the walls. Book a timed ticket. The Rodin Museum a few blocks along is small, free-ish and almost empty.

Nature · North-west

One of the largest urban park systems in the country, with a gorge running north-west where Forbidden Drive follows the creek for miles.

Local tip: The Wissahickon feels genuinely wild despite being inside the city. Forbidden Drive is closed to cars and runs five miles along the water — enter at Valley Green Inn.

Food · South Philadelphia

The oldest continuously operating outdoor market in the US, now as much Mexican and Vietnamese as Italian.

Local tip: Go on a Saturday morning. The southern end past Washington Avenue is where the Mexican taquerias and the best value are — most visitors stop at the cheesesteak corner and miss it entirely.

Landmark · Old City

Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, plus the surrounding 18th-century streets.

Local tip: Independence Hall needs a free timed ticket in peak season. Skip the Liberty Bell queue and walk to Elfreth's Alley instead — the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in America, and free.

Nature · Southwest Philadelphia

America's oldest surviving botanic garden, from 1728, on 50 acres beside the Schuylkill with a free community boathouse.

Local tip: Free to enter, rarely busy, and the free kayak and rowing programme in summer is one of the best-kept secrets in the city. The view of the skyline across the tidal river is unlike any other in Philadelphia.