South Philadelphia Travel Guide

Staunchly blue-collar South Philadelphia , center of Philadelphia's black community since the Civil War, is also home to many of the city's Italians; opera singer Mario Lanza (who has his own museum at 416 Queen St) and pop stars Fabian and Chubby Checker grew up here. It's also where to come for an authentic - and very messy - cheesesteak , and to rummage through the wonderful Italian Market (another Rocky location) which runs along 9th Street south from Christian Street. One of the last surviving urban markets in the US, the wooden market stalls that have stood here for generations are packed to overflowing with bric-a-brac, produce, secondhand Levis and live seafood.

South Street , the original boundary of the city, is now Philadelphia's main nightlife district, with dozens of cafés, bars, restaurants and nightclubs lined up along the few blocks west from Front Street, with a tie-dye ambience not unlike New York's St Mark's Place or San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. During the day you can wander amongst the many good book, record and clothing shops (the Book Trader, 501 South St, is open daily until midnight). At night, it makes a lively, if highly commercial, evening out - and is perhaps best avoided on summer weekends when the throngs of visitors can be especially overwhelming.