When the temperatures drop to around freezing and the holiday lights go up, one of my favorite cities to visit for Christmas is Philadelphia. It’s less than a two-hour drive from NYC, and with Christmas markets, great food, and lots of art and history there’s always something new to explore. With so many great hotels located in and around Center City, staying here is easy and the city is very walkable. For ideas for a 4 day getaway that include visiting the historic sites, see 4 Days in Philadelphia, PA.
On this Christmas trip we stayed at the Hyatt Centric, Philadelphia hotel, which we found to be clean and modern with a cozy, boutique hotel feel. Other hotels we’ve stayed at that I would recommend are Club Quarters, Philadelphia, which wowed us with complimentary wine each day at 5pm in their hotel lobby decked out with comfortable lounge seating, or the Sofitel, Philadelphia hotel which was also very centrally located with very modern, comfortable rooms.
Wherever you stay, you want to be somewhere near City Hall so you can easily walk around the Center City area. The first thing we did when we arrived for this Christmas trip was head down to the Christmas Village at Love Park.
Christmas Village at Love Park
Just down the street from City Hall is the Love Park which lights up with its annual Christmas Village in winter. Aside from being able to take pictures in front of the iconic Love sign, wrapped in pine boughs and red ribbons for the holidays, you can stroll through the wooden stalls set up in the tradition of a German Christmas market and have your fill of brats, strudel, schnitzel, raclette and more.
You can’t forget to buy a “boot” and ask to have it filled with spiked hot apple cider or hot chocolate topped with fluffy whipped cream. You get to keep the mug as a souvenir, of course! You can even take it back for refills.
There’s pretzels and beer, and mulled wine as well. There are also handmade gifts and Christmas ornaments on display for purchase. There’s a stand just for imports from Germany, like chocolate covered marzipan, or traditional Christmas stollen. It’s a fun place to spend an afternoon.
You can look up all the vendors and events going on philachristmas.com.
Dilmouth Winter Village
Not far, about a block away, is the Dilmouth Winter Village, which is larger and winds through City Hall itself. There’s an ice-skating rink here, and a small ferris wheel. With more food, mulled wine and gifts, it’s like an extension of the Christmas Village at Love Park and great to stroll through.
Bluecross River Rink Winter Fest
There’s yet another Christmas Market at Penn’s Landing which we didn’t get a chance to visit, but it would be a nice conclusion after an afternoon seeing the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, which are on the way as you walk through East Center City. For more on everything that goes on at Bluecross River Rink Winter Fest, see delawareriverwaterfront.com.
Rittenhouse Square
We always take a walk through Rittenhouse Square, which is lit up at night with lovely holiday lights and looks magical with or without snow.
The park is surrounded by some of Philadelphia’s best restaurants, like Parc, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or The Dandelion, should you want to splurge on a great dinner without going too far.
Shopping
There are many shops lining Walnut and Chestnut streets as you head towards City Hall from Rittenhouse Square. We love to stop by the Anthropologie store as it’s in a beautiful building right on the corner of Rittenhouse Square and 18th street. We also got great holiday sale items at the J. Crew outlet on Walnut street, but there are many more stores to explore like Madewell, Lululemon, Faherty, etc. You can also browse through The Shops at Liberty Place, a mall near Dilworth Park.
Barnes Foundation
It rained during our trip, but that was just a great reason to spend an afternoon at one of Philadelphia’s many museums. As we had already been to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, we decided on this trip to check out the Barnes Foundation. Housed mainly on one floor of a sprawling modern building is an enormous collection of European paintings from the impressionist and early modern art periods, mixed with collections of medieval paintings and art from around the world.
I saw many works by Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, and more.
We easily spent a couple of hours here just browsing, as it was during the week and not too crowded. I was able to get close to many of the artworks and take my time appreciating them.
The museum gift shop is lovely, I got a print by Paul Cezanne and a book on the life of the artists at the turn of the century called, “In Montmarte – Picasso, Matisse and the Birth of Modernist Art” by Sue Roe.
The museum’s restaurant is a fine place to get lunch before or after your visit. We enjoyed a lovely salad Nicoise there.
Some Recommended Dining
Philadelphia is a great town for food, from juicy roast pork sandwiches at Reading Terminal Market, to cheesesteaks near Elfreth Avenue, to fine dining near Rittenhouse Square. Far from an exhaustive list, here are some of our favorites. Make sure to check their websites as some establishments are closed certain days, usually on Monday and/or Tuesday.
Breakfast
K’ Far Cafe – The work “K’ Far” means “village” in Hebrew. Chef Mike Solomonov has brought the Jerusalem bagel to Philly. I recommend it with the labneh sampler flavored with sumac, zaatar, and honey with chopped pistachios. They have boreks, babkas, salads and grain bowls as well. Their pistachio sticky buns are wonderful!
Kismet Bagels – We happened across their Rittenhouse location one morning, and it’s now our favorite place to get classic bagels of all varieties, along with some of their famous cream cheese smears. They have other locations around Philly, and also deliver.
Vernick Coffee Bar (in the Comcast building) – This little gem of a coffee bar is located in the Comcast building, and on the weekends you can enjoy a nice coffee and pastry in spacious modern surroundings with no crowds. If you go to the Comcast building website at the link above, you will also find a list of the other restaurants located here to check out. This is also the location of the Four Seasons hotel.
Lunch
Sonny’s Cheesesteaks – Arguably the best cheesesteak in Philly, and located in East Center City within walking distance of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Be prepared to stand in long lines, and to eat delicious cheesesteak, whether wit’ cheese or not.
Cleavers – A perfectly acceptable cheese steak that is a “cut above” the rest. Located on S. 18th street, it is probably also a lot closer to your hotel. With beers on tap, big portions, and take out, this is where to go to satisfy those cravings.
Reading Terminal Market – If you’re not quite sure what you are in the mood for, there are certainly a ton of options to choose from at Reading Terminal Market. Yes, you can get a cheesesteak, but you can also get Thai food, Cajun Po’Boys, Pizza, Irish Pub fare, fried clams..the list goes on. I recommend the roast pork and broccoli rabe hoagie at Tommy Dinic’s. There are also grocery markets and candy stores if you just want to pick up a treat to go.
Dinner
Almyra – We were so lucky to find this restaurant around the corner from our hotel the Hyatt Centric. It has Greek and Mediterranean inspired dishes with a classy downtown vibe and excellent service. I was in heaven with their lobster pasta, which went very well with my glass of Pinot Grigio. The menu includes a great selection of Mezze like grilled octopus and Saganaki, and a variety of kabobs.
Oyster House – Here you can get some of the best seafood in Philly, from its raw bar to chowders, ceviche, lobster rolls, fisherman’s stew and clam bake, to name just a few things off the menu.
Giovanni’s Bar and Grill – Moderately priced bar food and drinks, with a sports bar vibe. Convenient location on Chestnut street in the shopping district.
McGillin’s Old Ale House – has been serving beer since 1860, making it the oldest continuously operating tavern in Philadelphia. It’s located near 13th street between Sansom and Chestnut.
Other
While we didn’t have time to do anything outside of Center City, of course there are other neighborhoods to explore. I would definitely check out South Philadelphia. At Christmas check out what is called “The Miracle on South 13th Street”. It’s located on South 13th street between Morris and Tasker streets (go to the Tasker Morris metro station if taking public transportation). All the houses lining this block are decked out for the holidays in a dazzling display of festive lights.
The South 9th Street Italian Market is America’s oldest and continuously operating outdoor market. It’s a collection of nearly 200 individual businesses and spans over 20 city blocks, including 8th, 9th and 10th streets. The visitor’s center and gift shop has Christmas ornaments and a variety of gifts to buy. Get the famous cheesesteaks at rivals Gino’s or Pat’s, or celebrate at Villa di Roma. To find out about the market festival that is held in May and to find a list of merchants and more, see Italian Market Philly.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Philly and look forward to more trips to come. If you have a favorite spot that you’d like to share, know the best place to get a cheese steak or anything else, please don’t hesitate to comment below!
Date of trip: December 2023
The Full Itinerary 