Philadelphia is a historic US city with a lot to offer. There’s plenty of history, great food, loads of sports, and so much to do. While it’s great to set aside time for a trip that’s completely dedicated to Philadelphia, sometimes you end up with just a few hours to explore the city.
On a trip to Europe, my flight itinerary included an eleven hour layover in Philadelphia. That’s a long time to sit at the airport, so I figured what better time to get out and explore a bit of a new city.
In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about planning a layover in Philadelphia.
How Much Time Do You Need?
Before we get too far into the details of what to do during your Philadelphia layover, let’s talk about how much time you realistically need. Everyone has different opinions, but mine is that you should have at least six hours during your layover, but more is definitely better.
It takes time to get into the city from the airport. I’ll talk about the different transportation options in a bit, but in general you want to plan to have 45 minutes each way to reach the city center. Yes, it can be done faster, but I think that this is a good base line, especially if you plan to use public transportation.
With a six hour layover, you’ll need an hour and a half for transportation, plus you need to be at the airport two hours early. That gives you about two hours to explore the city. Again, I recommend having more than six hours, but six hours is the bare minimum that I’d recommend. More time is definitely better.
How to Get to the City Center from the Philadelphia Airport
There are two ways to get into the city center from the Philadelphia airport. Not surprisingly, the easiest and quickest way is the most expensive.
The first way is to take a taxi or an Uber. If you have a shorter layover (such as the six hour layover from the example above), I’d look at taking a taxi. You will pay more, but you can get dropped off at your first stop of the day and save precious time.
The second option is still easy, but it is slower. You can take the train (Septa) from the airport into the city center. There are train stops at nearly every airport terminal (though a few terminals share a stop), so when you get off your plane, look for signs directing you to trains to the city.
Near the platform, you should find a kiosk where you can buy a train ticket. While it might be tempting to buy your return ticket in advance, just buy the tickets as you need them. Follow the prompts on the screen and buy a ticket to the city center (you do not need to select a specific city center station). At the time of writing, the ticket cost me $7.50. When you return to the airport, you can buy a ticket at the train station for the airport. It costs the same as a ticket to the city center.
Trains between the Philadelphia City Center and the airport take about 45 minutes, depending on which station you get off at. I highly recommend planning out your time using something like GoogleMaps to determine which is the appropriate station for you.
One final note on the train. Keep your ticket handy as an inspector will come through at some point on your journey to review your ticket.
What to Do During a Layover in Philadelphia
This is not an exhaustive list of everything you can see and do in Philadelphia. You’re visiting on a layover, so you’ll have to pick and choose carefully what you want to see. Here’s just a few things that I recommend looking into.
Elfreth’s Alley – This is a small part of historic Philadelphia that’s been preserved and shows what the streets of Philadelphia used to look like. It’s a small lane where the houses maintain all their original, historic look. While there is a museum that you can visit, many people just visit the alley to take a few photos and to see what the city used to look like. This is fine, but just know that people still live in these houses. Be respectful when you visit.
Liberty Bell – The Liberty Bell is not just a symbol of Philadelphia but a symbol of the United States as well and it lives in Philadelphia. A visit here includes learning about the history of the bell through the small museum (did you know it wasn’t originally called the Liberty Bell?) and then you’ll see the bell itself, complete with its famous crack.
Independence Hall – Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed in Philadelphia. While you do not need a ticket to see the outside of the hall, you will need to pick up a ticket for a tour to visit the interior of Independence Hall. You can purchase your ticket online.
The tour tickets cost just $1 per person and a tour lasts about 30 minutes. The tour is short, but that’s because the inside of Independence Hall is small. You’ll see two rooms: the courthouse and the signing room, with a National Park Service Ranger telling you more about the history of this place.
Once you finish at Independence Hall, it can be easy to leave. But right nearby is Congress Hall which was home to the original United States Congress (before it moved to Washington DC). Like with Independence Hall, you’ll need to visit on a tour, but a tour here is free. Just show up at the appointed time and let a ranger give you the history of this building as well.
Congress Hall includes a visit to the Lower Hall (which was home to the House of Representatives) and a visit to the Upper Hall (which was home to the Senate). Just as a note, the stairs to the Upper Hall are very steep (and according to my guide, the senators who had to climb them hundreds of years ago complained about them too).
City Hall – Philadelphia has some pretty cool architecture and City Hall is one of those places that can make you go “wow!”. If you’re here on a short visit, you can take in the building from the outside, or even walk through the small doorway to visit the courtyard. If you plan ahead, you can take a tour and visit the interior of City Hall.
Philadelphia Museum of Art – There are two reason that people choose to visit the Philadelphia Art Museum. The first is because they are interested in art. You’ll find paintings from several of the most famous painters including Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Beyond the paintings, you’ll find tapestries, suits of armor, and other sculptures. The collection spans American Art, European Art, Asian Art, and more.
The second reason people visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art is because of its feature in the Rocky films. These are the famous stairs where Rocky Balboa ends his run and if you want to look like a tourist, go ahead and run up those stairs.
Rittenhouse Square – If you’re just looking to spend some time outside and aren’t interested in heavy duty sightseeing, consider a visit to Rittenhouse Square for a nice outdoor park. I had planned to visit Rittenhouse Square but as I wasn’t feeling 100% during my layover in Philadelphia, I cut this stop and headed back to the airport early to conserve some of my energy. The photos look nice, so I have to include it in this list.
Reading Terminal Market – Since you have a long layover in Philadelphia and are considering leaving the airport, you’ll probably want to eat at some point. For that, I recommend visiting Reading Terminal Market. Yes, it’s a market in the sense that you can buy fruits, vegetables, breads, and meats. But there are also numerous restaurant options carrying so many delicious looking options. In my opinion, a visit here will beat any meal you would have gotten at the airport.
National Constitution Center – If you haven’t quite had your fill of U.S. History, you can visit the National Constitution Center to learn more about the US Constitution. Learn about the original constitution and the amendments that followed.
Franklin Institute – So far this list has included food, history, and art. My final entry is the Franklin Institute which is a science museum. Learn all kinds of science and visit their planetarium.
Sample Philadelphia Layover Itinerary
Obviously everyone’s itinerary will be different because of flight times, but here’s my itinerary from my Philadelphia layover.
9:00 – Arrive in Philadelphia
9:30 – Train from Airport to City Center
10:30 – Elfreth’s Alley
11:00 – Liberty Bell
12:00 – Independence Hall & Congress Hall
1:15 – Reading Terminal Market
1:45 – City Hall
2:15 – Train back to Philadelphia Airport
2:45 – Arrive at Philadelphia Airport
Final Thoughts
Long layovers are never ideal. We just want to get to our final destination. However, when you get a very long layover, you sometimes have the option to leave the airport and explore a city you’ve never visited before. In this instance, my Philadelphia layover gave me that opportunity. If you’re also facing an eleven hour layover (or some other long layover), know that it is possible to go out and explore a bit of the city. You won’t see everything, but you can get a quick taste. And isn’t that better than sitting in the airport for hours and hours?
Continue Your Adventure
More in the Region: Philadelphia can make a great starting point for my East Coast road trip which spans Washington DC (or Philadelphia) to Savannah, GA with numerous stops in between. Or head northward for New York and New England.