What is the Philadelphia self-guided walking tour?
The Philadelphia self-guided walking tour turns your phone into a storyteller: the World City Trail app sets out the way through the city and, at every stop, narrates the history, legends and odd facts that belong to the place. Count on roughly 3 hours for the whole route, with 63 minutes of walking spread over 4.3 km and 10 stops, starting whenever you choose. From the Benjamin Franklin Parkway the route works its way east into the old streets where the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
At the Academy of Natural Sciences the narration tells of Hadrosaurus foulkii, in 1868 the first dinosaur skeleton ever put on public display, and in LOVE Park of Robert Indiana's sculpture with its tilted O. At City Hall you hear about the unwritten rule that kept every building lower than William Penn's hat until 1987. The Liberty Bell brings its crack, its inscription from Leviticus and the old spelling Pensylvania, and at Independence Hall the story is 1776 and 1787. At the Betsy Ross House the narration makes clear that the tale of the first Stars and Stripes rests on a family story from 1870, not on any document of the time.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 63 min · 4.3 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
What happens along the way
Listen on the spot
Each stop opens with narration about the place in front of you: when it was built, who shaped it, the legends around it and the detail most people walk past. The same chapter is there as text if you would rather read.
Follow the map
Google Maps connects each stop with the following one. Across 4.3 km the walking adds up to roughly 63 minutes, and the speed is entirely yours.
Stop whenever you like
Lunch, a museum visit or a rest in the shade: the app keeps your place, so you carry on later that day or on another one.
Eat and shop locally
Tips for cafés, restaurants and local shops near the route come built in. You can also start at a different stop or change the order in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
A good fit for these travellers
Curious minds
Why a square carries its name, who spoke from a balcony, what a statue recalls: the narration gives you the background.
Families and couples
Legends hold the children's attention, the history keeps adults interested, and nobody hurries you along.
Repeat visitors
Even streets you already know take on new meaning once you hear what happened in them.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
Parkway to Elfreth's Alley
10 stops · about 63 min walking · start: Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University · finish: Elfreth's Alley Museum
The first stop is the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Logan Square, and from there you walk down the Parkway to LOVE Park and Philadelphia City Hall. Heading east, the route takes in the Chinatown Friendship Arch on 10th Street and Franklin Square, then the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The Museum of the American Revolution at Third and Chestnut Streets and the Betsy Ross House on Arch Street follow, and Elfreth's Alley Museum is the last stop. You can choose a different first stop in the app, and the route itself never asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel UniversityStart
Founded in 1812, the Academy is one of the oldest natural science institutions in the Americas and stands on Logan Square along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In 1868 it mounted Hadrosaurus foulkii, the first dinosaur skeleton ever put on public display. It has been part of Drexel University since 2011.
2LOVE Park (JFK Plaza)
This plaza opposite City Hall, officially named after President Kennedy, is known to everyone as LOVE Park. Robert Indiana's red LOVE sculpture, with its tilted letter O, first came here for the 1976 Bicentennial and was later bought for the city. Behind it a large fountain marks the start of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
3Philadelphia City Hall
Built between 1871 and 1901 to designs by John McArthur Jr., City Hall is crowned by a 37-foot bronze statue of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, by Alexander Milne Calder. For decades an unwritten agreement kept every building in the city lower than Penn's hat, until One Liberty Place rose higher in 1987.
4Chinatown Friendship Arch
This richly painted Chinese gate on 10th Street was dedicated in 1984 to mark the friendship between Philadelphia and its sister city Tianjin. Artisans from China built it, and Tianjin supplied its ornamental tiles. The large Chinese characters across the top read Philadelphia Chinatown.
5Franklin Square
Franklin Square is one of the five public squares in William Penn's 1682 plan for Philadelphia, and it was named after Benjamin Franklin in 1825. Its centrepiece is a fountain from 1838 that runs again since the square was renovated in the 2000s. Today it is a family park with a carousel and mini golf.
6Liberty Bell
The bell was cast in London in 1752 for the Pennsylvania State House, cracked when it was first rung and was recast in Philadelphia by Pass and Stow. Its inscription from the Book of Leviticus calls for liberty to be proclaimed throughout all the land, and in the 1830s abolitionists made it their symbol and gave it its name. Look for the old spelling Pensylvania.
Read the full story →
7Independence Hall
Built between 1732 and 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House, this brick building is where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the United States Constitution was drafted in 1787. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Look up at the white steeple, where the Liberty Bell once hung.
8Museum of the American Revolution
Opened in 2017 at the corner of Third and Chestnut Streets, this museum tells the story of the American Revolution through objects, paintings and full-size scenes. Its best-known treasure is the tent George Washington used as his headquarters during much of the war.
9Betsy Ross House
This small brick house on Arch Street, built around 1740, is where the upholsterer Betsy Ross is said to have lived and worked. According to a family story first made public by her grandson in 1870, she sewed the first Stars and Stripes in 1776, but no document from the time confirms it.
10Elfreth's Alley MuseumFinish
Elfreth's Alley dates from the early 1700s and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in the United States. Its brick houses were built mostly by craftsmen and tradesmen between 1728 and 1836, and the street is named after the blacksmith Jeremiah Elfreth. The museum occupies two of the houses, numbers 124 and 126.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Super way to explore the attractions!