On each successive trip to Philadelphia it gets a little bit harder to find a “new to me” attraction to visit.  That’s probably a good thing.  Trips back to Philly are now more about neighbourhoods, restaurants, and events.  But on my last trip, I did a tourist thing that was right under my nose for all my previous Philadelphia visits.  Unknown to me until last year, you can buy a ticket to take an elevator to the top of Philadelphia City Hall to get an incredible panoramic view from the base of the William Penn statue that overlooks the center city area.

For a city the size of Philly, it’s a bit odd that none of the skyscrapers have a publicly accessible observation deck.  But from the top of City Hall, about 500 feet above street level, you get some pretty nice views.  First, here’s the view straight down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway:

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