How do I get around Philadelphia?

Philadelphia's Center City sits on a grid William Penn laid out in 1682. The rectangle runs about 2 miles east to west between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. Most first-visit destinations, from Independence Hall to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, fall within it. Numbered streets run north-south (2nd Street near the Delaware waterfront, 46th out toward University City), and named streets run east-west. You'll walk from Reading Terminal Market, where the smell of Amish soft pretzels and DiNic's roast pork hits from half a block away, to Rittenhouse Square in about 12 minutes. The sidewalks along Walnut and Chestnut are wide, flat, and shaded by London plane trees. At 22°C and 68% humidity on a mid-June day, the air feels warm but not heavy. The real sidewalk heat doesn't arrive until late July. Good walking shoes matter more than a SEPTA Key card on day one.

SEPTA runs two subway lines. Only two. The Broad Street Line moves north-south under Broad Street. The Market-Frankford Line runs east-west, underground through Center City and elevated once it crosses into Kensington and West Philadelphia. You'll hear the Market-Frankford rumble overhead if you're near Front and Girard. Those two lines cross at City Hall station. A SEPTA Key card costs $4.95 from any station kiosk, and each ride is $2.50. Load $25 and you're set for several days. Trains run every 10 to 12 minutes during the day, every 15 after 8 PM. The system stops around midnight on weekdays and 1 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. If you arrive from New York on Amtrak, you'll step off at 30th Street Station, which connects directly to the Market-Frankford Line. Don't expect New York-level coverage from two lines. They handle the main corridors, but a crosstown trip from Fishtown to the Italian Market still needs a bus or rideshare.

From Philadelphia International Airport, SEPTA Regional Rail's Airport Line runs every 30 minutes to Jefferson Station at 12th and Market and Suburban Station at 16th and JFK Boulevard. The ride takes about 25 minutes and costs $6.75 with a SEPTA Key card, $8 cash. That's the right answer for most arrivals. An Uber to Center City runs $25 to $35 depending on time of day. The pickup point at the airport is on the second level of the parking garage, not curbside, so follow the rideshare signs. Taxis charge a flat $28.50 to Center City. Uber and Lyft both work well across the city and tend to be the better option after dark. A 15-minute ride from Old City to University City costs $12 to $18. After midnight, rideshare is your only realistic option.

Indego bike-share stations appear every few blocks across Center City, Fishtown, and University City. A single ride is $4.50 for 30 minutes. The protected bike lanes on Spruce and Pine Streets make the east-west crosstown ride feel safe, though the lane on South Street still disappears in patches. SEPTA's trolley routes, lines 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, and 36, run through West Philadelphia toward the University of Pennsylvania campus but are slow. A 15-minute trolley ride often takes 6 minutes by Uber. Skip the hop-on-hop-off tour buses entirely. Walk the Benjamin Franklin Parkway yourself in 20 minutes instead of paying $40 to sit in traffic on it.