avoid the entirety of north philly, but there's no problem with suggestions of northern liberties and fishtown - the two neighborhoods pretty notorious for pushing out marginalized communities? cool. north philly would be considered "rougher" than city centre or university city or parts of south philly (south philly also has some "rough parts"), but I don't think you need to erase the whole area. parts of Kensington and Port Richmond are getting better and better and there are some great restaurants along 5th Street in North Philly - although I admittedly don't know of many vegan options in the area. if you're around on a Saturday, I would recommend Fermentery Form which is on the border of Kensington and Northern Liberties - they technically make beer, but it's more on the saison/farmhouse spectrum (something you might like as a cider drinker). Helm is a BYO farm-to-table restaurant in Kensington as well which probably has vegan options (their menu hasn't been updated recently). can't recommend Blackbird enough for a vegan cheesesteak as well as other vegan junk food. Vedge is in center city and it's a little more upscale for vegan food - I'm pretty positive you'll need a reservation there though. South Street is fun to walk around (the original Blackbird is right off South Street), and the Mutter Museum might be cool for a little unique part of your trip. I also highly recommend the art museum and the franklin institute - they're both touristy, but they're touristy for a reason. I would also recommend Ranstead Room and Fiume (both have a speakeasy type of vibe - Ranstead Room is definitely fancier though) for delicious cocktails. that's probably a lot of suggestions, if you want any more information on anything I mentioned, feel free to quote or PM me.
Man I’ve spent an insane amount of time in Kensington and Fairhill and I’m lucky to be alive because of it, I’ll tell people to avoid them if I want to
good for you, man. keep on marginalizing that community based on your experience. really bringing the city together, much appreciated.
Lol yeah “North” is a pretty broad area. Fishtown, Brewerytown and Nolibs all fall in it Edit: Ha, BROAD
My wife lived in Fishtown before it boomed. Was definitely not a great, or safe place to be. Sucks she didn't keep her place, probably could have sold it for about 10 times what she got it for back then.
I had a vegan sloppy joe at Sardine Bar that was fucking dopeee. If you’re into the touristy shit, just stay around Center City. More than enough to take up a long weekend
17 year old me from Jersey once drove way too north after visiting ESP. A dude on the street told me "you definitely don't belong here, turn around before someone shoots you".
The Franklin Institute is cool too if you like museums. The Mutter Museum is a center for like odditites and stuff that gets overlooked a lot. Spruce Street is cool depending on the season.
Love Sardine Bar. First time there was a couple Christmas's ago and I def drank waaaay too much Mad Elf.
I suppose it depends what part, a huge chunk of it was just working class similar to NE Philly. I’m fascinated by the gentrification of that particular area
I was born and raised in fishtown. Definitely wasn't great but not the worst although I did have some things happen like being robbed and called some horrible things for walking around in "tight pants" when I was younger, but I never particularly felt unsafe walking around. It's pretty incredible the transition Fishtown has gone through. Side note: I don't see anything wrong with telling a tourist to stay away from Kensington. A few wrong turns and you could be in trouble.
Yeah she had the same thing happen to her and a friend of hers. Thinking maybe those experiences left a bad taste in her mouth. But yeah now Fishtown is insane and real estate is outrageous.
maybe I overreacted, but it's frustrating, disheartening, and gross to hear people suggest avoiding an entire section of the city. yes, there are rough parts in Kensington and you definitely have to be careful in the general area of Hunting Park, Olney, and Tioga. but, on the other hand, to act like there are no spots worth visiting in those areas is appalling. I apologize if I offended anyone - it's hard not to get heated when talking about the "good" and "bad" neighborhoods when the city is constantly being gentrified. regardless of all this, I hope you have a wonderful time, @SamLevi11, and enjoy our great city.
Every city has worse areas for sure. I could tell you areas in the cities I have lived in (Kettering/Northampton, Birmingham, Barcelona, London) that I would say are kinda rough, but they help make the tapestry of the city.
I live in Wilmington, Delaware and we have an incredibly shitty rep. We're known as "Murdertown USA". But the general area of the city where all of these shootings and violent crimes take place is in like a 3 block radius in one certain part of the city. Sucks when that can give a whole city a bad rap. That being said, I love Wilmington and I love Philly. People just need to use their judgement and if something looks shady, get outta there. Enjoy your time there, the city is incredible!