The Top Tours of Greater Philadelphia

This highly rated tour company offers a smart, sassy and thoroughly truthful take on both well-trod and well-hidden Philly history. The Philly Phables Walking Tour dedicates 90 history-rich minutes to exploring historic Old City . The company also offers a murder-focused Bad Things Happen in Philly tour, a fun seasonal holiday lights tour, and a Beer & Band trolley tour, featuring live music and stops at beer gardens and breweries. Private tours are also available.

• Must-book Tour: Historically Hilarious BYOB (Bring-Your-Own-Bottle) Tours of Philadelphia . Bring a six-pack for this two-hour trolley tour of major historic sites and off-the-beaten-track highlights.

Take your pick from a selection of expert-led walking tours focusing on areas like Independence Hall , the Italian Market and Chinatown . Bonus: Tours are pay what you wish (unless you book a private guided tour for a set fee).

• Must-book Tour: The Good, The Bad, The Philly . This 90-minute tour explores the Logan Square area of the city, from its stunning architecture to religious riots to a citywide curse.

These walking and driving tours cover a lot of ground, from iconic Philly foods to public art in South Philly to attractions (like Longwood Gardens ) in the nearby Brandywine Valley. There’s even a private tour of locations featured in the Rocky movies that you can fully customize for your group.

• Must-book Tour: Valley Forge: American Revolution Tour . This half-day tour departs from Center City, heading out into the scenic countryside, where you’ll explore one of the most important sites of the American Revolutionary War on foot.

An excellent way to get a close-up view of Philadelphia’s fascinating neighborhoods — and see some impressive art while you’re at it — is to sign up for one of Mural Arts’ walking or trolley tours . Professionally trained guides take you through commercial districts and residential blocks in Center City and beyond, dishing on the stories behind just some of the city’s 4,000-plus murals.

• Must-book Tour: Mural Mile Center City Walking Tour . This classic 90-minute tour through Midtown Village , the Gayborhood and Market East makes for the perfect introduction to the “City of Murals.”

The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia offers guided walking tours that interpret the past, present and future of the Philadelphia region as expressed through architecture, urban design and social history. Private tours are available year-round by emailing [email protected]

• Must-book Tour: Littlest Streets . These two-hour tours take guests through some of the charming pockets of historical houses that make up quaint mini-villages within the city.

These tours offer a fresh take on Philly, with a focus on “movements, activism and resistance.” Guides focus on women and LGBTQ history makers who are often left out of traditional historical overviews.

• Must-book Tour: Badass Women’s History Walking Tour . This two-hour walking tour covers 1.5 miles of stories highlighting women entrepreneurs, doctors, artists, activists and others who shaped the city, including the Gayborhood’s LGBTQ leaders.

Listen in as Kalela Williams — a writer, historian and the author of the forthcoming young adult novel The Tangleroot Papers — shares fascinating stories of women’s history, Revolutionary scandals and more. During her newest tour, she offers a living history journey through Old City, covering the roots of slavery and the area’s thriving free Black community.

• Must-book Tour: Black History: The Seventh Ward . Williams’ most popular tour examines the Black community where Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman met with Philadelphia’s activists to help end slavery.

Learn more about the many historic sites throughout Philadelphia’s Historic District on this 75-minute, 1.25-mile tour , offered daily from April through November. Private/group tours are available as well with advance reservations.

• Must-book Tour: Combo Package – The Constitutional and Spirits of ’76 Ghost Tour . Explore Philadelphia’s top sites during the day, then get spooked during the evening hours listening to haunted tales while walking along the city’s cobblestone streets.

The magical history tour is waiting to take you away. This walking tour through Old City combines magic, comedy and history to shed a comedic light on some of Philly’s oldest tales. Award-winning magician Robert Malissa leads visitors through 75 minutes of Philly history, pausing at a number of stops to perform some mind-bending magic in between historic anecdotes. Note: This tour features some humor that is appropriate for those age 13-plus.

Philly went vegan long before it was hip. Need proof? Organized by the American Vegan Center, this 76-minute walking tour focuses on Philly’s deep ties to the history of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. Learn how the history of meat-free living often intersected with the abolitionist and women’s rights movements in the early days of the United States. The tour stops at several locations in Old City where tourgoers learn about trailblazing (and sometimes surprising) pioneers of vegetarian lifestyles, including Benjamin Lay, Sylvester Graham and even Benjamin Franklin . Tour guide and cartoonist Vance Lehmkuhl’s humorous illustrations allow visitors to meat meet these veggie-fueled pioneers at each stop, adding a comedic flair to the interesting history.

Guide Jim Murphy is the author of Real Philly History, Real Fast, a collection of mini-profiles of historical people and sites. His walking tours bring some of these fascinating stories to life, from tales of Philadelphia “superstars” Ben Franklin and William Penn to Philly’s forgotten naval heroes.

• Must-book Tour: 5 Philly-Tough Women . Through stories covering three centuries, Murphy brings to life the “guts, grit and perseverance” Philadelphians are known for.

From Temple University’s Dialogue Institute, these tours are designed to advance intrareligious, interreligious and intercultural dialogue in the hopes of sparking open and honest conversations. Topics include religious freedom in early Philadelphia and the yellow fever epidemic of 1793.

• Must-book Tour: Customize your own itinerary hosted by scholars according to your interests and schedule; extended programming over multiple days or weeks is available.

On a Big Red Pedal Tour , riders explore Philly by day or night aboard a 15-passenger pedicycle. Together, the group pedals the open-air “tour bus” on a pub crawl through some of the city’s hottest neighborhoods, including Old City and Midtown Village.

• Must-book Tour: Old City Bars Galore . Prefer not to walk? This leisurely bike ride gives you a good sense of the charming Old City neighborhood.

Sit back and relax in a horse-drawn carriage as your guide points out historic sites like Independence National Historical Park and navigates through the quaint streets of Society Hill . Tours are available during the day and evening, and they range from 15 minutes to 1 hour.

• Must-book Tour: Haunted Carriage Tour . Get your friends to “pony” up for this private tour ($200 for up to four people), which features a costumed guide telling spooky tales as horses guide your carriage through historic neighborhoods.

Up to 25 guests board a reproduction 1920s commuter yacht for private tours of the Delaware or Schuylkill rivers, offering stellar views of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Race Street Pier and more. Bonus: The 40-foot yacht is equipped with a full bar.

• Must-book Tour: Delaware River Sunset Cruise. This one-hour trip is perfect for romantics who appreciate a relaxed pace — not to mention a scenic skyline.

After a half-hour hands-on training, visitors take off on motorized Segways on one of four tours . Options include a two-hour, 10-mile showcase of historic landmarks from river to river, as well as a two-hour Mural Arts Philadelphia tour through Old City, Chinatown and Northern Liberties .

• Must-book Tour: Philly Cheesesteak Tour. Hit five top cheesesteak spots as you zoom across town.

Visitors receive 30 minutes of kayaking instruction before heading out on the Schuylkill River for these fun excursions , which run on select dates through September. Specialty experiences, including private group tours, are also available.

• Must-book Tour: Moonlight Kayak Tour . This tour (for ages 12 and up) departs at 8 p.m. to give you an excellent view of the twinkling lights of the skyline as you paddle along the river.

Hop on and hop off this open-top bus tour featuring a live tour guide who points out Philadelphia’s greatest-hit landmarks. It takes 90 minutes to go through the entire ride straight through, but you’re encouraged to disembark to see the sights along the way. Buses run about every 20 to 25 minutes.

With double-decker buses running every 20 to 30 minutes, this hop-on-hop-off service hits more than 100 attractions throughout the city. Audio commentary is available in several languages.

A knowledgeable, energetic team dedicated to maximizing visitors’ Philly experiences designs these tours that offer fresh insights into the city, its residents and attractions. Tour guides who are passionate about public art, history, food, entertainment, food sustainability, conservation and re-imagined spaces guide the public on daily walking tours, lead private driving tours or create custom tours, including for large groups.

• Must-book Tour: Philadelphia Markets, Mosaics & Magic Discovery. This combo art and food tour hits the mosaics at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens , as well as three food stops in the Italian Market.

In a town of Rocky impersonators, Mike Kunda is one of the most dedicated. His popular three-hour, by-reservation-only tour takes fans through Philly to every important stop — from Rocky to Creed II .

Do spectral spirits really inhabit Independence Hall , St. Peter’s Cemetery, the Powel House , battleship Olympia and other historic landmarks? Visitors find out when they listen to the ghost stories and visit real haunted houses during this candlelight walking tour of Independence National Historical Park, Society Hill and Old City. Private tours are also available.

On Saturday nights from June through November, author and ghost investigator Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey leads lantern-lit tours of New Hope , highlighting stories about the town’s spine-chilling hauntings. Spirit-spotting opportunities increase in October, with tours Friday and Saturday nights and on Halloween, and private tours are available year-round.

Authors and professors lead these highly researched, grown-ups-only, off-the-beaten-path tours. All are historic, and many are quite scary. Walking tours run from the mythical (ghosts, vampires, witches) to the despicable (serial killers) and more.

• Must-book Tour: Dark Philly Adult Night Tour . This tour reveals secrets of the Founding Fathers and their contemporaries, touching on espionage, murder, blackmail and sexual impropriety.

The paranormal stories on this ghost tour are “one part history, two parts haunt.” Guests who dare to take this 75-minute outdoor walking journey see 20 of Philly’s frights, including possibly-haunted historic homes and graveyards.