Tours in Philadelphia

Public and private tours of NYC's top pizzerias by bus and on foot.

At Tread Bike Shop, a team of cyclists and professional mechanics unite patrons with their perfect two-wheeled soulmates. Two employees are masters in the art of Body Geometry Fitting, in which they adjust handlebars and saddles to account for riders’ comfort, efficiency, and safety while maintaining their ability to outrace cheetahs escaped from the zoo. Further catering to customers’ individual needs, the staff helps to select bikes from brands such as Cannondale and Dohan and prepare them for test drives. Throughout the store, a vast inventory of accessories and apparel equips riders for any biking situation, and a repair center tunes up frames and erases evidence of collisions with car doors suddenly painted on brick walls. The shop also rents out both comfort and sports models for abbreviated excursions through the city’s streets and parks.

Turn your soul’s storage unit over to Dead Apple Tours for a two-hour sightseeing trip covering some of the city's deathiest spots. Up to seven passengers will climb inside "Desdemona," a 1960 Cadillac hearse, and then be whisked away in the funeral coach to Manhattan's macabre landmarks of murder, death, and mystery. See where President James Monroe spent his last days before his patriotic-to-the-end July 4, 1831, death, and cruise past the locations where artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring each saw final brushstrokes painted upon their respective mortal canvases. Other sights on the tour include the apartment buildings where Heath Ledger and Sid Vicious died, as well as the scene of mobster "Crazy Joe" Gallo's 1972 death by mob-hit. Dead Apple Tours also highlights the grisly histories of such landmarks as the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge and explores true-life tales of mayhem and mutilation, such as Hangman's Elm and the Butcher of Tompkins Square Park—the latter of which is guaranteed to temporarily remove soup from tour-takers' diets.

As the Ale & Arts Walking Adventure tour ambles among famous Philadelphia bars such as McGillin's Olde Ale House and Dirty Frank's Bar, you'll get to drink in the history and cultural significance of 10 distinctive murals, as well as the establishments where they are located. You'll also get to drink in several locally brewed beers served throughout the fact-filled tour. The Mural Arts Program was created to enlighten the public on the collaborative process of how murals transform public spaces and unite artists with the local community. Develop a new appreciation for public art and discover the history behind your favorite local bar with today's side deal.

The Philamazing Race’s BOO-tacular Halloween Race kicks off mere days before Halloween, and shares many hallmarks of CBS’s The Amazing Race. Contestants compete in teams (usually two to four people), and the event hinges on cryptic clues that lead to race checkpoints scattered throughout Philadelphia. Teams race between them on foot or public transit, using their wits, smartphones, and Skypes with the Sphinx to decode their clue packets. At each checkpoint, they tick an item off their scavenger hunt list, by snapping a photo or completing a dare. During the four-hour race, athletes typically cover three to four miles of terrain.

Founded on Christmas Eve in 1741 by a small group of Moravian settlers and christened “Christmas City, USA” in 1937, Bethlehem turns its gaze toward the past during the holiday season with guided tours and museum exhibits. The 10.9-mile Heritage Trail snakes through 80 historic stops, including two National Historic Landmarks, Victorian-era homes, and the nation’s oldest gift shop. On historic walks, guides lead tour groups through the now-defunct site of Bethlehem Steel, the city’s oldest cemeteries, and the 1762 Waterworks, known as the first municipally pumped water system in the country. Located inside the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem curates a collection of exhibits about the town’s settlers, including their missionary work, education system, and medical techniques.