Philadelphia Flights:

Flights to Philadelphia

Philadelphia is situated in the state of Pennsylvania and is the 6th largest city in the United States. It is the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ and played an important role in the American Revolutionary War, actually serving as the country’s capital for ten years before Washington D.C. took over.

Philadelphia is easy to reach from South Africa with flights being offered by various airlines, the majority of which involve just one stop en-route. Airlines flying from Johannesburg include Virgin Atlantic, BMI, TAP Air Portugal, Lufthansa, South African Airways, Delta, Air Senegal International, Air France and United Airlines. All except Air Senegal and United have one stop. Flights go via London, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Atlanta or Paris.

From Cape Town you can catch a one-stop flight with SAA, BMI and Delta, flying via London or New York.

The Tourist Attractions in Philadelphia:

As mentioned, Philadelphia is an important city in the heritage of the United States and as such there is a lot of history here for visitors to see, particularly in the Old City itself.

Philadelphia’s Old City features attractions like the Liberty Bell. Situated within the Independence National Historic Park, this is the bell which was rung for public announcements, and it was here that the Constitution was read for the first time to the public on July 8, 1776.

The Independence National Historic Park spreads over an area of several blocks and as well as housing the Liberty Bell there are a number of interesting historic buildings here. Start your visit in the Independence Visitor Center as it’s here that you can pick up the free tickets to enter Independence Hall – famous for its involvement in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Congress Hall and the National Constitution Center are also good to visit, as is Thomas Jefferson’s house, in which he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

The Old City of Philadelphia is also home to various other attractions. This includes the United States Mint which you can take a self-guided tour of. The mint at Philadelphia was the first and largest of the US Mint’s, and you can see here how coins and money are made.

For something a little unique, why not visit the Pretzel Museum?! Yes, this museum is dedicated to pretzels, and is the only one of its kind in the United States, where you can see how pretzels are made in the onsite bakery and watch a video on the history of the pretzel!

Other buildings and museums include Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site and the Fire Museum. Particularly interesting is Elfreth’s Alley, which is the oldest continually inhabited street in the whole of the United States. The oldest house was built in 1702 and there are tours available where you can learn more.

Outside of the Old City of Philadelphia, there are of course many other districts which you can visit too. Downtown Philadelphia is called ‘Center City’ and here you can see the Philadelphia City Hall which is topped by a statue of William Penn – the first Quaker. Also here is Chinatown, though this area contains quite a mix of Asian ethnicities, not just Chinese.

Washington Square is another historic part of Philadelphia, and contains the tomb of the unknown Revolutionary War soldier. Nearby you can see typical old Philadelphia houses, called the ‘trinity’, which have two, three or four floors, each with just one room connected via a spiral staircase.

When Should You Visit?:

Philadelphia has a climate classified as humid subtropical and although summers aren’t as hot as many other parts of the United States, they are renowned for being very humid. The average daily high in July is 31C (87F). Spring and autumn are mild – the average high in October is a very pleasant 19C (67F), whereas winters are colder – the January average high is 4C (39F).

Philadelphia has a relatively high rainfall, occurring year round. The wettest month though is July.

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