Philadelphia - The Don'ts of Visiting Philadelphia

My favorite phrase is “Pittsburgh thinks down on Philly and Philly never even thinks about Pitt.” I can’t describe our relationship any better than that.

If you're from the west coast or south, don't take Philly people's "rudeness" personally. It's an east coast city with blue collar roots so people tend to have that gruff "tell it like it is" vibe. But deep down, you realize how authentic and genuine the people actually are. I had some guy at a septa station ask if I had a spare train token (this was in 2008 when they still used Tokens). I gave him one. I accidently dropped my only token and it rolled into a drain. The guy saw and handed his token back and told me "It's the thought that counts, man." I never forgot that. You'll never see that happen in LA or SF.

"If you don't eat well in Philadelphia, that's on you!" You're damn right! IMO the distinction between Reading Terminal and the Italian Market is that the Italian market is more of a majority small-business grocery shopping, and Reading Terminal is going to cater more to a cafe/restaurant experience, although you can switch it up at both. Speaking of Septa, get yourself a Key card, put 20 bucks on it, and ride the buses. You can get an unofficial, unguided tour of the city for 2.50 lol. (P.S. Septa Real Time will change your LIFE!!!) The only thing I think is missing in this video is the MURALS!! Philadelphia is THE city of murals (officially) and on nearly every block you walk by you'll see a gorgeous work of art on the wall of the most random building. Mural arts tours are also pretty inexpensive and you get to appreciate the work put into the city by young artists since 1984. I really really recommend keeping an eye out for all the incredible art all over the city.

I was born and raised in Philly. I have never in my life heard a more fair, accurate or good natured/honest assessment of my city. Literally every single thing you've said is perfectly true, even the less-than-kind or flattering things. Philly really doesn't care what any other city thinks of us - we are who we are and if you're with us, great. If you're not, get out of our way. Wonderful guide. 10/10. Favorite Cheesesteak place was always Delassandro's in Roxborough for me, up on Henry Ave. ;)

The Egyptian museum at the University of Pennsylvania is really good.

Oh, man... as a former Philly resident expatriated in Vermont, I love this. Only nit I would pick: wtf are those PRETZELS you showed? They were more like mall kiosk soft pretzels, not Philly pretzels, which are more oblong and fatter. And you need to get those from a street vendor, with mustard on them of course, and preferably while you're stopped in traffic on the Vine Street Expressway or the Schuylkill, from a guy who's got a couple Wawa milk crates full of them and is hawking them from the island between lanes near the intersection. Otherwise, I love this video! Thank you.

Temple grad here. One of my favorite things about Philly is the food trucks.

Wolter, You correctly noted that Wanamaker's department store is now a Macy's BUT failed to mention that the historic Wanamaker organ therein is the largest fully-functional pipe organ in the world. It would have been nice to have five seconds of its magnificence for all the classical music buffs who may visit the city.

As a descendant of people who came to Philadelphia on the Welcome with William Penn, I liked most of this but I was HORRIFIED by the pretzel you showed! That pretzel is one of the DON'TS!!! Don't eat a pretzel that looks like that! True Philadelphia pretzels are flattened into an 8 shape, very little open space, allowing the cooks to get more pretzels into the oven at the same time and the vendors (usually food carts) to keep enough pretzels to satisfy Philadelphians' voracious appetite for PRETZELS!!!

The great thing about Philadelphia is you literally can't insult us! We take any attempt at an insult as a compliment or an offer to fight which is also a compliment here!

Philly has definitely one of the most beautiful city centers of the US

Don’t think the city is all concrete! There are some REALLY great parks that will make you forget you’re in the city like Wissahickon Valley Park and Fairmount Park

Philadelphian here and you got it all right! lol. We probably don't realize you're a tourist and just think you're a local who came out not ready to function. Haha. Generally speaking, we truly don't appreciate being slowed down. One day of driving will prove that! BUT if you ask us questions and we realize you're an out-of-towner, our demeanors change and some become makeshift tour guides. We love telling you the best places to go!

As a NYC resident who visited a few years back, and who fearlessly wore Met shirts on several days of my stay, I can say I had nothing but positive interactions with the people there. In fact we had originally planned to stay a few days and ended up staying a week. There's a ton of stuff to do and great food everywhere. I'd recommend a visit for anyone who appreciates culture, history, art, architecture, etc - but then again, we visited pre-pandemic, so I can't vouch for how it is now.

When visiting the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall: If you need a break, there's an astounding Maxfield Parrish/Louis C Tiffany glass mosaic mural in the lobby of an office building that's literally steps away from Independence Hall. The Curtis Publishing building is at the corner of 6th and Walnut, and the lobby on 6th Street is open to the public. It's a little oasis of quiet in a busy city, and one of our great hidden beauties. No cost to enter, and there might even be someone playing the piano.

As someone who grew up in South Jersey and has been going to Philly my entire life, this was a great video! Dead on with all of these! I will say you can wear another teams gear however be prepared to hear about it, especially if it's a major rival of any of the Philly teams. Also I cracked up when you started laughing about Flyers fans because I'm literally sitting in a hotel room in Buffalo NY right now, and the whole reason we drove up was to see a Flyers game... We are a passionate bunch even when the team sucks like they do this year haha!!

LOL spot on for my hometown! Ya gotta love us! 😊 PS It is definitely center city, but we say downtown sometimes; however, it’s ALWAYS “Down the shore” for the Jersey Shore and NEVER the beach!

You've not mentioned the 'other grey meat' delicacy that you can get from the reading market (It is many years since I visited...but I still remember 'scrapple' :-D )

As a Philly resident for 65 years, Wolters pretty much nails it. Philly folks are a gruff lot, but with a heart of gold. Best foodie town i the USA if not the world, and as an airline executive, I can speak of experience

I was born in Philly in ‘76. I have a special birth certificate along with my regular one that commemorates being born on the 200th anniversary of the city. Also, filming for Rocky began on the day I was born, so OF COURSE I have to have a pic with the Rocky statue. Anyways, I love Philly even though I’ve been living in S. Jersey for over two decades now. I’ve been to Pittsburg on vacation, and I’ve walked Philly quite often because I’m so close. Philly feels like home, but Pittsburgh is a fantastic city with so many amazing features and charms (and great food) as well. Pittsburgh also has great public transit, even if it is more condensed. SEPTA goes much farther than people would realize.