Philadelphia was named one of the ten “places to go now,” according to the recent list from Forbes of 'must-see cities' published on Feb. 26.
Forbes compiled a list of ten cities based on reviews from "high-end travel designers." The list includes Louisville, Ky., Philadelphia, Detroit, Savannah, Ga., Portland, Maine, Columbus, Ind., Richmond, Va., Lancaster, Pa., Baltimore, and San Antonio, Texas.
For Philadelphia, the magazine highlights museums, restaurants, the opening of a new Four Seasons hotel, and the recent Eagles’ Super Bowl win as reasons to visit the city.
According to Forbes, the list for 2018 comprises cities that are now being recognized "thanks to grassroots and civic revitalization projects, creative types taking advantage of cheap real estate, and the realization that small can be beautiful.”
The city hasn’t always been known to be ‘cool.’
As recent as 2016, Philadelphia was described as “a city that sleeps.” As opposed to cities with the opposite reputation, like New York, Philadelphia has few restaurants open 24 hours, Wawa being a main exception. Philadelphia is also largely a 9 a.m to 5 p.m city, due in part to the small population, as a large majority of workers commute to their suburban home instead of living in the city.
More recently, Philadelphia was named the second smoggiest city in the Northeast by environmental advocacy group PennEnvironment at a press conference in 2017.
The city has received positive recognition lately, however. Earlier this month, Philadelphia was rated the fourth most romantic city in the country by Instacart.
Philadelphia has not been in previous Forbes' lists, but this year the magazine says the city "should be on everyone's radar."
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