Center City: Philadelphia

Center City refers to the bustling area of downtown Philadelphia with its many smaller neighborhoods, including Society Hill and Old City, Midtown Village, Chinatown, and the areas around South Street and Rittenhouse Square. While the city of Philadelphia extends far beyond this area, the designation of Center City is reserved for the oldest and (for the most part) densest area of the city between South Street and Vine Street and the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers.

Running north-south through the heart of Center City is Broad Street, also known as the Avenue of the Arts, where you can find swanky hotels like the Doubletree and the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, as well as grand entertainment venues like the Academy of Music and the Kimmel Center. West of Broad offers upscale shopping on Walnut Street, popular bars and restaurants, and the lovely Rittenhouse Square. It's also home to most of the large office buildings in the city, including One Liberty Place and the Comcast Center. East of Broad offers charming homes and small boutiques perfectly suited to the smaller streets that mark this area of town. While Philadelphia as a whole is known for its BYOB restaurant culture, the area east of Broad is packed with delicious places to eat, like Lolita, Mercato, Valanni, Morimoto, to name just a few. Both Chestnut Street between 6th and 9th and 13th Street between Spruce and Walnut are practically lined with restaurants, nearly all of which have received rave reviews from food critics. © NileGuide