Where to Stay in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What is Philadelphia known for?

Philadelphia is known as a founding city of Pennsylvania and the keeper of the country's early landmarks. The old town tells the story. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell stand within Independence National Historical Park, while the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation, and the Franklin Institute gather along the museum row.

Its history sits in plain sight.

What are the main landmarks in Philadelphia?

Philadelphia gathers the landmarks of the nation's founding in its old town. The grid holds them. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Carpenters' Hall stand within Independence National Historical Park, while Christ Church and the National Constitution Center rise nearby and the Philadelphia Museum of Art crowns the Rocky Steps.

Eastern State Penitentiary looms to the north. The old ships wait on the water.

What is the history of Philadelphia?

Philadelphia was founded in 1682 on a regular grid of streets in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia's grid was laid before the city. The colonial town grew over the following century into one of the great cities of early America, its brick streets filling with meeting houses, churches, and halls.

Christ Church rose among them. The Library Company of Philadelphia rose among the early institutions. Carpenters' Hall and the old grid still hold the shape of the founding town.

Philadelphia stood at the centre of the country's founding. The old town became the stage. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell drew the young nation to the grid, and the National Constitution Center keeps the record within Independence National Historical Park.

Later the city built outward, and the Eastern State Penitentiary, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Franklin Institute rose beyond the old streets. The Rodin Museum and the Barnes Foundation later joined the museum row above the old town. The USS Olympia and the USS Becuna came to rest on the waterfront.

From that founding city much of Pennsylvania's story still runs, and the old grid carries it. The landmarks stand in place.

Where is Philadelphia?

Philadelphia lies in Pennsylvania, its old town set on a flat grid of streets between the waterfront and the higher ground. The grid orders the city. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell mark the old core, while the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rocky Steps stand west on the rise, and the old ships lie along the waterfront.

Pennsylvania spreads inland behind it.

What is the climate of Philadelphia?

Philadelphia holds a temperate climate, with cold winters and hot, humid summers over the old city of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia's calendar runs the full range, from a frigid winter to a heavy, humid summer. Snow settles on the Rocky Steps and the old grid in winter, summer brings heavy warmth to the brick streets, and the shoulder seasons turn mild across Pennsylvania.

The waterfront air stays damp.

How do you get to Philadelphia?

Philadelphia is reached by air, by rail, and by road across Pennsylvania. Routes meet at the old town. Flights land at the city's airport, trains run in from every direction, and highways carry traffic into the grid past the museum row.

The waterfront still moors the old ships. The old town waits at the centre. Independence Hall and the Philadelphia Museum of Art sit a short way apart across the grid.