Practical Information for visiting Philadelphia

Walking is the point. The grid is flat and regular, streets are numbered one way and named the other, and most of what a visitor wants sits within a couple of miles.

SEPTA runs the subway, buses, trolleys and regional rail. Two subway lines cross the city — one east-west, one north-south — and between them they cover most of the centre. Regional rail reaches the suburbs and both airports.

Indego bike share has stations throughout the centre and is the fastest way to cover the mile or two up the Parkway.

30th Street Station is a main stop on the Northeast Corridor — about ninety minutes to New York and just over two hours to Washington D.C. — and one of the great railway buildings in the country.

The airport has a direct regional rail link into the centre taking about twenty-five minutes. Driving is not worth it: the colonial streets are narrow, parking is scarce and expensive, and the city is aggressive about enforcement.

Coverage is excellent throughout the city, including most of the subway network.

Free Wi-Fi is standard in cafés, hotels, the libraries and several public squares.

The public library system offers free access and is a reliable fallback if you need to work.

The areas visitors use — the historic district, the Parkway, the university district and the central neighbourhoods — are busy and well policed. Philadelphia does have neighbourhoods with serious crime, and they are not places a visitor would have reason to go.

Ordinary big-city precautions apply: watch your belongings in crowds and at transit stations, and be more careful late at night away from the centre.

Car break-ins are the most common problem visitors encounter. Leave nothing visible in a parked car, anywhere in the city.

Kensington, northeast of the centre, has a severe and very visible drug crisis. It is not a place to visit, and it is not a spectacle.

No vaccinations are needed and tap water is safe.

Summer heat and humidity are the main seasonal risk, and the dense brick centre stays warm into the night. Carry water in July and August.

Spring pollen is heavy, and air quality can drop on still summer days.

Philadelphia has some of the best hospitals in the country, several of them teaching hospitals within the city. Care is excellent and expensive — insurance covering medical costs is essential for non-US visitors.

Expect to walk several miles a day here; the city is flat but larger on foot than it looks.

911 reaches police, fire and ambulance. 311 is the non-emergency city services line.

Major hospitals include Penn Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Temple University Hospital, all within the city and all major trauma centres.

Pharmacies are plentiful and several are open late or around the clock.

The national park has its own rangers, who are the people to approach for help within the historic district.