Date ideas in Philadelphia: 17 fun date nights and days for couples

• Budgetlow
• Best forfirst date, foodies
• Time1 hour
• Where12th and Arch Streets, Center City

Reading Terminal Market has been feeding Philadelphia since 1893, under the old train shed of the Reading Railroad. Dozens of stalls sell everything from soft pretzels and roast pork sandwiches to Pennsylvania Dutch baked goods and ice cream. Sharing small bites from different counters is a fun, low-pressure first date, and it keeps the conversation going.

Tip: Go on a weekday to avoid the lunch crush. Each of you buys one thing the other has never tried, then trade.

• Budgetfree
• Best forfirst date, relaxed
• Time1 hour
• WhereRittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original squares from William Penn's city plan of 1682, and it's still the city's most elegant park. Sit by the fountains and sculptures, watch the people and dogs go by and then wander the side streets with their brownstones, cafés and bookshops.

Tip: Grab a coffee nearby and claim a bench. If it goes well, Walnut Street is full of places for dinner.

• Budgetfree
• Best forfirst date, history buffs
• Time1 to 2 hours
• WhereOld City

Elfreth's Alley is often called the oldest continuously lived-in residential street in the country, a narrow cobbled lane of little brick houses from the 1700s. Old City around it holds Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross House, along with galleries and cafés in old warehouses. It's an easy walk that gives you plenty to talk about.

Tip: Pretend you're tourists and quiz each other on American history. The loser buys the ice cream.

• Budgetfree
• Best forromantic, evening
• Time1 hour
• WhereKelly Drive, along the Schuylkill River

Boathouse Row is a line of historic rowing clubhouses along the Schuylkill River, each outlined in lights after dark. The calm water near the Fairmount Dam reflects them perfectly, and the lights can change color for holidays and big events. It's one of the most romantic sights in the city, and it's free.

Tip: Walk from the Fairmount Water Works behind the art museum along the river, or view the boathouses from the far side of the river for the full reflection.

• Budgetfree
• Best forromantic, cheap
• Time1 hour
• WhereDelaware River waterfront, Old City

Race Street Pier is a small park that sticks out into the Delaware River right next to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. It has a tiered lawn, benches and trees. At night, the giant bridge above you glows with lights. It's a quiet place to sit and talk after dinner in Old City.

Tip: Bring a blanket and sit on the upper level for the best view of the bridge and the river.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forfun, second date
• Time1 to 2 hours
• WhereSouth Street

Artist Isaiah Zagar spent decades covering buildings across South Philadelphia in mosaics, and his Magic Gardens on South Street are the center of it all: a maze of indoor galleries and outdoor courtyards made from mirrors, tiles, bottles and bicycle wheels. Every wall has something new to discover, and there are endless corners for a photo together.

Tip: Book a time slot in advance on weekends. Afterwards, walk around the neighborhood and look for more of Zagar's mosaics on nearby walls.

• Budgetlow
• Best forfun, visitors
• Time1 hour
• Where9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, South Philly

At the corner of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks face each other across the street, both glowing with neon. Order one at each, share them and vote. Learning to order like a local ("one wit" means with fried onions) is part of the fun.

Tip: Afterwards, walk north on 9th Street through the Italian Market, one of the oldest outdoor markets in the country. It's busiest during the day.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forrainy day, second date
• Time2 to 3 hours
• WhereBenjamin Franklin Parkway

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the largest art museums in the country, with collections from medieval armor to Van Gogh's "Sunflowers." Before you go in, run up the 72 steps at the entrance like Rocky Balboa and turn around for the view down the Parkway to City Hall. Silly, yes, but you'll both be laughing at the top.

Tip: Each of you picks one gallery the other has to see. The bronze Rocky statue is at the bottom of the steps on the right if you want the photo.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forrainy day, art lovers
• Time2 hours
• WhereBenjamin Franklin Parkway

The Barnes holds an amazing collection of Impressionist and modern art, with many works by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse. What makes it special is how it's hung: in dense "ensembles" of paintings, furniture and metalwork, exactly as Albert Barnes arranged them. It's like a puzzle that you solve together, wall by wall.

Tip: Try to guess why Barnes put certain works side by side. There's no right answer, which is what makes it a fun conversation.

• Budgetlow
• Best forromantic, rainy day
• Time1 hour
• WhereBenjamin Franklin Parkway

The Rodin Museum has one of the largest collections of Auguste Rodin's sculpture outside Paris. "The Thinker" sits out front, and a bronze cast of "The Gates of Hell" frames the entrance. The small garden in front is calm, and the museum itself is small enough to see without getting tired.

Tip: Combine it with the Barnes nearby for a full art afternoon. Take a photo of the two of you copying "The Thinker."

• Budgetmedium
• Best forrainy day, curious couples
• Time1 to 2 hours
• WhereCollege of Physicians, Center City

The Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians shows the history of medicine through skulls, specimens, old instruments and anatomical oddities, including slides of Albert Einstein's brain. It's strange, fascinating and definitely not for everyone, so ask first. If you both love it, it's a date you'll never forget.

Tip: Grab a drink or a snack afterwards, you'll have plenty to talk about. Rittenhouse Square is a short walk away.

• Budgetfree
• Best foractive, fall
• Timehalf a day
• WhereWissahickon Valley Park, Northwest Philadelphia

Forbidden Drive is a wide, car-free gravel path that runs along Wissahickon Creek through a deep, wooded valley. You'll pass old stone bridges, a historic covered bridge and the Valley Green Inn, an old roadhouse from the 1850s. It's easy walking, beautiful in every season and spectacular in the fall.

Tip: Start near Valley Green Inn and walk upstream to the covered bridge. Bring a snack and sit by the creek for a while.

• Budgetfree
• Best forrelaxed, nature lovers
• Time1 to 2 hours
• WhereSouthwest Philadelphia, along the Schuylkill

Bartram's Garden is the oldest surviving botanical garden in North America, founded in 1728 by botanist John Bartram on the banks of the Schuylkill. Today it's a free park with old trees, meadows and paths that lead to a river view of the skyline. It's quiet and peaceful, far from the tourist trail.

Tip: Go in the late afternoon for soft light on the river. Bring a picnic and watch the sunset over the water.

• Budgetlow
• Best forspring, romantic
• Time1 hour
• WhereWest Fairmount Park

Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is a traditional Japanese house built in Japan in the 1950s and brought to Fairmount Park, with a koi pond, a waterfall and a tea house. In spring, the cherry trees in the park around it bloom, and the area celebrates with festival events. It's peaceful and pretty, a calm date in a busy city.

Tip: Cherry blossom season usually peaks in early April, and Shofuso is generally open from spring to fall. Check the website before you go.

• Budgetfree to low
• Best forsummer, relaxed
• WhereDelaware River waterfront, Penn's Landing

In summer, a stretch of the Delaware River waterfront turns into Spruce Street Harbor Park, with colorful hammocks under the trees, floating gardens, games and food stands. At night, glowing lights hang overhead. Sharing a hammock with a cold drink on a warm evening is a perfect summer date.

Tip: Arrive early on weekends to get a hammock. The park is usually open from late May through September.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forfall, adventurous
• WhereFairmount

Eastern State Penitentiary opened in 1829 and was once the most famous prison in the world. Today it's a museum in a beautiful ruin, with crumbling cellblocks and Al Capone's surprisingly comfortable cell. In the fall, it becomes Halloween Nights, a haunted attraction with haunted houses and themed bars that's perfect for couples who like a scare.

Tip: Daytime tours run most of the year if you'd rather skip the screaming. For Halloween Nights, book ahead.

• Budgetfree to low
• Best forwinter, festive
• WhereLOVE Park and Dilworth Park, Center City

From late November into late December, Christmas Village fills LOVE Park and the area around City Hall with a German-style market, wooden huts, mulled wine and gifts. Across from it, Dilworth Park on the west side of City Hall has an ice rink and a garden of lights. Skate, warm up with a hot drink and take a photo at the LOVE sculpture.

Tip: Weeknights are calmer. The rink usually stays open well into February, so it's a good winter date even after the holidays.