Best time to visit Philadelphia

United States · North America

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in Philadelphia

Tap a month for its page

Sweet spot
Good
OK
Avoid
Busy

Go in Apr, May, Sep or Oct — these months score within a whisker of each other; 18C max, 9 rainy days. Aug is the next best.

Plan this trip

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Flights

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Where to stay

Things to do

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Things to do in Philadelphia

Liberty Bell Center The Liberty Bell once rang out public announcements from above the Pennsylvania state…
Independence Hall The centerpiece of the park and one of the most important buildings of the Revolutionary…
City Hall The unofficial center of Center City at Broad and Market Street.
Eastern State Penitentiary A former prison and National Historic Landmark…
Philadelphia Museum of Art Famous on the outside for the steps seen in the film "Rocky" and famous on the inside…
Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank lost its charter.
Barnes Foundation One of the world's most important collections of post-impressionist and modernist art…

Tours and tickets in Philadelphia

Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank

Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Philadelphia/Center City East, Philadelphia/Center City West, Philadelphia/North, Philadelphia/Old City), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.

Month by month

No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.

Month	Max °C	Rain days	Humidity	Sun h/day	Verdict	Why
Jan	5°	8d	66%	6.1h	avoid	bitter cold: 5C daily max
Feb	8°	9d	68%	6.8h	ok	8C max, 9 rainy days
Mar	12°	9d	64%	7.9h	good	12C max, 9 rainy days
Apr	18°	9d	64%	8.9h	sweet spot	18C max, 9 rainy days
May	23°	11d	68%	9.5h	sweet spot	23C max, 11 rainy days
Jun	28°	8d	66%	11.2h	goodbusy	busier than usual
Jul	31°	8d	70%	11.5h	goodbusy	busier than usual
Aug	29°	8d	71%	10.6h	good	29C max, 8 rainy days
Sep	26°	7d	72%	8.9h	sweet spot	26C max, 7 rainy days
Oct	20°	7d	70%	7.8h	sweet spot	20C max, 7 rainy days
Nov	13°	7d	67%	7.4h	okbusy	holidays: US: Thanksgiving Day
Dec	7°	9d	70%	5.8h	ok	7C max, 9 rainy days

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at Center City, 11 km from the airport (PHL): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

Busiest in June; quietest in December.

Then and now

Philadelphia's October days now average 20.2°C, 2.0°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 6 of 12 months are clearly warmer.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1981–90	3.3°	6.3°	10.8°	16.3°	22.2°	26.9°	29.4°	27.8°	24.2°	18.2°	12.6°	6.2°
2017–26	5.1°	7.6°	12.1°	17.9°	22.6°	28.2°	31.0°	29.3°	25.9°	20.2°	12.8°	7.3°
Change	+1.8°	+1.4°	+1.3°	+1.6°	+0.5°	+1.3°	+1.6°	+1.4°	+1.7°	+2.0°	+0.2°	+1.1°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Getting there

How far Philadelphia is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Before you go

Type A and B plugs at 120 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the United states dollar. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Everything for United States: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Being there

On arrival

Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work almost everywhere, though a few small places take cash only. Keep some $1 and $5 notes for tips; Venmo and PayPal are for locals.
UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
Tipping — Expected: 15–20% in sit-down restaurants (18–20% is standard in New York) and 10–20% for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. Large groups may find it already on the bill.

Getting around Philadelphia

Tap a contactless bank card or phone on SEPTA buses, trolleys and both subway lines (the L and the B); a ride is $2.90. On Regional Rail, pay the conductor in cash or by credit card. A SEPTA Key card, bought and loaded online or at station kiosks, works too.

Apps — Rides: Lyft, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and some other cities you can also book a driverless Waymo in its own app.

There are plenty of public transportation options to get around the downtown core of Philadelphia. Buses, trains, and trolleys gather at 30th St. Station and the 69th St. Transportation Center. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Philadelphia, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help

Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (35)

Philadelphia in pictures

Philadelphia from South Street Bridge July 2016 panorama 2 — i

King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Philadelphia from South Street Bridge July 2016 panorama 1 — i

King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

USS Charles F Adams PISMF — i

Chuck Homler, Focus On Wildlife, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Philadelphia from the Delaware River — i

Abhiram Juvvadi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What Philadelphia is like

For ancient Philadelphia renowned for its role in early Christianity, see Alaşehir. Philadelphia, routinely referred to as Philly, is the birthplace of American democracy. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing: Travelers planning to visit multiple attractions may benefit from Philadelphia CityPASS… More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing: The Philadelphia Marathon is also another annual event. This marathon race is held every 3rd Sunday in November. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in: Philadelphia International Airport is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley. More on Wikivoyage
Staying safe: Philadelphia has a major crime problem. Even to this day the city suffers from some of the worst crime rates in the USA. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Philadelphia, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Around Philadelphia

Also in United States

Nearby

Kind of place

Philadelphia is in United States, North America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

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