I grew up in upstate New York, with day trips to New York City acting as exciting blips in an otherwise overwhelmingly rural life. I love my hometown, especially the quiet and calm of being surrounded by forest, but one of the reasons I fell in love with Swat was because I was still able to maintain that rural feeling on campus but would have a more direct connection to a big city. Swarthmore started providing all students with 240 free rides per month on all public transit, in and around Philly last year, and my friends and I have tried to take full advantage of it. Here are just some of the things I’ve been able to do with free Septa:
Classic Philly Day
During my first weekend at Swat, I went into Philly with a group of friends and did a bunch of classic Philly activities. We went to the Liberty Bell, walked around Center City and Rittenhouse Square, went to Reading Terminal Market for lunch, walked around and went to an incredible bookstore in Old City, and got dim sum in Chinatown for dinner. Do I think every Philly outing needs to be this jam-packed with activities? No. Am I aware that this list is a little touristy? Yes. Do I still think that this was a perfect first adventure day in Philly? Yes!
Philly Study Break
Although there are many fantastic, cozy, quiet places to study on campus at Swat, the semester is long. And sometimes you just need a way to get off campus while still getting work done. My favorite café to get work done is Chapterhouse Cafe & Gallery on South Street—it’s super quiet with reliable Wi-Fi, good snacks, and lots of places to sit. I wrote almost two entire final essays here last semester. There’s also the classic option of going to the Van Pelt Library at UPenn for a different library vibe. Both good options for a change of study pace!
South Street Crawl
I love hanging out on South Street. It’s a little bit of a walk from the train station, but if it’s good weather, it’s not too bad and definitely worth it. There are so many good vintage and thrift stores and some awesome bookstores, like Wooden Shoe Books and Mostly Books. My favorite thrift stores are Retrospect Vintage, Raxx Vintage, and, of course, Philly AIDS Thrift. There are also a lot of good food options, and if you walk a little further south, you hit Little Saigon and the Italian neighborhood—a really good area to check out!
PMA Friday Night Lounge (+pizza!)
Everyone knows that the Philadelphia Museum of Art is awesome. It’s a great art museum and especially on a nice day, the walk from 30th street station to the museum along the Schuylkill River is really beautiful. But the best thing about the PMA is their Friday Nights. Every Friday night from 5-8:30pm, museum entry is only $7 for students. The galleries are open, and they have food and live music in the Stair Hall, so you can explore the whole museum with friends for a fun Friday night activity. And if you don’t want to pay their exorbitant food prices, you can walk a few blocks to a nearby pizza place and grab a few slices before you head back to school.
So, these are some of my favorite activities in Philly that I’ve discovered so far. I’ve really enjoyed exploring the city by myself and with friends during my three years at Swat, and I’m excited to see what else I can find next year!