Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love’ which this is the perfect way to describe this city! It’s one of the friendliest and most accepting places I’ve ever travelled to. Everyone was always happy to talk, give directions and also advice about the best places to go in the city. I was fortunate enough to travel to Philadelphia twice this summer; once with my friend and once by myself for a few days, but oddly enough, when I was by myself I bumped into another friend from Nottingham! Such a small world!
The hostels in Philadelphia aren’t only clean and safe, but they are the friendliest hostels I’ve ever stayed in. They run fun activities every evening, and every week they have a bar crawl which starts by going to the different hostels in the city. I made some great friends and met some incredibly interesting people in these hostels through doing these events (even though I had to stop the bar crawl after the hostels because I wasn’t 21!)
Philadelphia is incredibly historic and houses some of the most important pieces of American history in it such as the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (both are in National Treasure, if you aren’t familiar with American history). These historical sights make it a hotspot for both American and international tourists, so the city is always busy and full of life.
As a self-proclaimed History nerd, I loved the historical parts of the city because they are beautiful as well as incredibly interesting. But if history isn’t your thing, don’t worry Philadelphia has so much else to offer.
One of my favourite parts of Philadelphia is South Street. This is the self-proclaimed “hipster area” of the city with awesome vintage shops, an incredible protest literature book store and delicious food. The area also houses one of the coolest tourist attractions in the city, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. This is a large collection of work by a mosaic artist called Isaiah Zagar (who’s house is also on the road and decorated beautifully) and for $10 you can spend hours just wandering around the beautiful exhibition.But by far my favourite part about Philadelphia? It’s “gaybourhood”. This LGBT+ district is marked by the street signs which host the rainbow flag which I found incredible. The area has everything from cafes, bars and clubs to LGBT+ hairdressers, gift shops and a four-floor LGBT+ bookshop, which I spent way too much time in!
America has a troubled history, and present, with its LGBT+ community, and so spending time in this thriving, fun and accepting district made me feel so positive about the future for LGBT+ people in America and again, as with the rest of the city, I felt welcomed here and everyone was so very friendly and eager to talk.
I would recommend Philadelphia to anyone who is travelling through the North Eastern States – whether you’re a fan of history or whether you just want to spend time in a fun city, you are bound to love Philadelphia!