Books & Cooks (Weekends)

Walking & Orientation, History, Parks, Food

Your tour begins at Philadelphia's largest transportation hub, 30th St. Station.  You'll get a glimpse of the fine architecture inside the grand terminal, and you'll be in the midst of the busy intersection of trains, buses, subways, and trolleys.  We leave the station on foot and begin the journey down Market St. and the neighborhood's research core.

We quickly reach Drexel University, head down one of their new green quads and into the beautiful Main Building, the very first building on Drexel's campus.  From here we head down the hill past World Cafe Live and underneath the highline as trains are passing high above. 

We enter Penn Park, a brand new green space with spectacular views of the Philly skyline.  The tour continues over the train tracks and passes by some of the most iconic college sports venues in the country in Franklin Field and the Palestra.  You'll possibly have a chance to see inside the famous Palestra and their wonderful college basketball museum.

From there we head to to the heart of Penn's campus, the very first public university in the United States.  We'll take you past Fisher Library, an architectural masterpiece by Frank Furness.  We'll walk by College Hall, Penn's first building on the campus, and go inside Houston Hall, home of America's first Student Union.  From there we walk up Locust Walk, arguably the most beautiful city campus setting in the country.

From there, the weekend edition of the tour continues deeper into the neighborhood.  We walk past Woodlands Cemetery,one of the city's most historic burial grounds.  We head through University of the Sciences, then into a residential neighborhood with some beautiful Victorian architecture.  

We then arrive at Clark Park.  Here, you'll occasionally see food trucks lining the park as activity surrounds the group.  You'll get your pick of the finest street food around and have a chance to rest your legs.  From the park, we finish the tour with a veiw of Baltimore Ave.'s restaurants, cafes, shops, and markets. 

We arrive at the trolley stop and your guide will provide a token for each person.  This street trolley ride is a unique experience and you'll have the option to ride back to 30th St. or continue into Center City.