{"id":158122,"date":"2025-08-19T10:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T10:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/158122\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T10:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T10:11:10","slug":"bursting-the-penn-bubble-a-first-years-guide-to-exploring-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/158122\/","title":{"rendered":"Bursting the Penn bubble: A first year\u2019s guide to exploring Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"exploring-philly-8-16-25\"\/
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Eunice<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

By going to school in Philadelphia, Penn students can access a culturally rich, vibrant city with so much to explore beyond campus.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

While it may feel easiest to stay within the \u201cPenn bubble\u201d close to campus, there are plenty of ways to burst it \u2014 exploring Philadelphia while giving back, too.\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Getting around<\/strong><\/p>\n

Penn operates its own bus services<\/a> that run Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. daily. Evening shuttles<\/a> are available seven days a week within campus boundaries and, during limited hours, into Center City. These services are free with a PennCard, as are Drexel University buses<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

Students can utilize SEPTA buses or trains \u2014 which include trolleys into Center City and buses that connect campus to different neighborhoods \u2014\u00a0to venture farther outside the blocks that comprise Penn\u2019s campus and into the city. SEPTA services are due to be reduced significantly<\/a> this month because of budget cuts. For Penn, this will mean reduced bus offerings and no trolley service after 9 p.m.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Students can also take Amtrak \u2014\u00a0which offers a 15% discount<\/a> for college students \u2014 from the nearby William H. Gray III 30th Street Station to access other cities on the East Coast.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Exploring <\/strong>Philadelphia<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Schuylkill River Trail \u2014\u00a0a riverside path with views of the city that is popular for runners, walkers, and bikers alike \u2014\u00a0is a short walk from Penn\u2019s campus. Wissahickon Valley Park and Fairmount Park also offer expansive access to nature.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n

A walk along the Schuylkill River leads to Philadelphia Museum of Art<\/a>, which houses one of the nation\u2019s most expansive fine art collections and offers \u201cPay What You Wish\u201d admission on the first Sunday of each month.\n<\/p>\n

Other notable museums nearby include the Rodin Museum<\/a>, the Barnes Foundation<\/a>, and the science-focused Franklin Institute<\/a>. Philadelphia\u2019s cultural offerings also include orchestra concerts at the Kimmel Center<\/a> and Broadway musicals at the Academy of Music, which recently hosted \u201cHamilton\u201d and will soon feature \u201cKimberly Akimbo.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival is held in Old City every evening through the end of August. Philadelphia\u2019s annual Christmas Village will begin in front of City Hall after Thanksgiving.\n<\/p>\n

On Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., vendors from across the region flock to the Rittenhouse Square Farmers\u2019 Market, selling produce, bread, plants, and more. For a shorter walk, the Clark Park Farmers\u2019 Market also takes place on Saturday mornings.\u00a0\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tSign up for our newsletter<\/p>\n

Get our newsletter, DP Daybreak, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.<\/p>\n

Engaging with the surrounding community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Penn also offers numerous opportunities to engage with the neighboring community. These include Academically Based Community Service<\/a> courses \u2014\u00a0known by their acronym, ABCS \u2014\u00a0which allow Penn students to connect with West Philadelphia students while earning academic credit.\n<\/p>\n

These courses are offered by the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, a hub for Penn\u2019s community engagement, which also offers other volunteer opportunities that include<\/a> math and writing tutoring, sports, food security, and mental health support. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Opportunities for community involvement are also available through Penn\u2019s Civic House<\/a>, where students can work alongside Philadelphia-area nonprofits, join trips focused on social justice issues, or tutor West Philadelphia students in various academic subjects. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.<\/p>\n

Donate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Eunice By going to school in Philadelphia, Penn students can access a culturally rich, vibrant city with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":158123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,8433,8432,50,1448,2830,1311,11027,1399,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,45998],"class_list":{"0":"post-158122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-app-top-news","10":"tag-beats","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pa","13":"tag-pennsylvania","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-studentlife","16":"tag-top","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa","23":"tag-west-philly"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}