Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront: A Self-Guided Audio Tour
- 0.7–1 hour
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
This self-guided audio tour explores the north-central Philadelphia waterfront, focusing on what remains of this historic locale after the installation of Interstate I-95 in the 1970s, and relating (among other things) how early Quaker settlers lived in caves along the waterfront. Keep in mind that this area was where wheeling and dealing went on to encourage local, regional and national enterprise. It was where early American capitalists made their fortunes. It was where the individual American colonies were crafted into a nation. And it was also where terrible urban contagions began. Your guide is historian, writer and tour guide Harry Kyriakodis. He has what is likely the largest private collection of books about the City of Brotherly Love: about 2700 titles, new and old. He's also a founding/certified member of the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides and has lived at Pier 3 Condominium at Penn’s Landing since 1997.
Inclusions
What's included
- VoiceMap App for Android and iOS
- Lifetime access to this tour in English
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
- Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
- Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start
What's not
- Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
- Smartphone and headphones
- Transportation
- Food and drink
Itinerary
The tour begins outside Christ Church.
The tour passes Penn's Landing.
The tour passes several piers including the Race Street Pier.
The tour passes under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
The tour passes Cavanaugh's River Deck.
The tour passes the Wood Street Steps.
The tour takes you down Elfreth's Alley.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.3
- 51
- 42
- 30
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 3 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Before arrival, please install the VoiceMap mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. This is a self-guided audio tour that you can start, pause, or restart at any time and complete at your own pace. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- VoiceMap Audio Tours
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Philadelphia
- Its from-price is 97% below the median of the 28 city tours we list in Philadelphia.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 15 of 28.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Philadelphia
Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's largest city and the birthplace of American independence, with Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, museums and markets.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn and was the capital of the United States for a decade in the 1790s. In Independence National Historical Park, Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the Constitution drafted in 1787, is a World Heritage site, and the Liberty Bell is displayed nearby. Elfreth's Alley, a lane of small 18th-century houses, is among the oldest residential streets in the country.
Top-ranked sights in Philadelphia: Liberty Bell Center, Carpenters' Hall , President's House.
Special offers in Philadelphia
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
