To stay in the middle of town, you will have to shell out, but there are plenty of friendly hotels further out of town to accommodate more modest bank balances.Four Seasons Hotel, One Logan Square (tel: 001 215 963 1500). The Intercity bus service (SEPTA) is easily negotiated, with daily arrivals from all over the country. Call for rail and bus enquiries (tel: 001 215 580 7800).Where to stayPhiladelphia hospitality doesn’t stop with giant food portions. Punctuating the skyline are luxury hotels where impeccably behaved staff clamour to roll out the red carpets – if you are ready to roll out the cash. August flights start at pounds 621 midweek, pounds 651 weekends.

Until December, BA has World Offer fares to Philadelphia which can dip well below pounds 300, depending on dates. For $5 (pounds 3) the airport rail line goes to and from the city centre every half-hour, while Amtrak’s 30th Street Rail Station operates along the Northeast Corridor, stretching from Boston to Washington and from New Haven to Springfield. British Airways (tel: 0345 222111) and US Airways (tel: 0171-484 2100) operate daily services to Philadelphia from Heathrow and Gatwick. But more enticing is the 10-day food festival in March, with its gourmet food sampling, book-signings and feisty debates with local chefs. For the best local cuisine, make sure you get your chops around a lard-smothered Philly cheese-steak After one of these, you won’t have to eat for a week Hotels and airlines offer special deals for both festivals. Information can be obtained from the Visitors’ Bureau (see Information).Getting therePhiladelphia International Airport is con- veniently located eight miles from the city centre. The Sunoco Welcome America festival, lasting for 10 days in July, is the biggest Independence Day knees-up in the world, featuring parades, fireworks and musical events.

The city hosts many events all year round, from jazz festivals and writers’ weekends to cinema days and craft shows. Now it is ready to show off.
When to goPhiladelphia has a fairly moderate climate in spring and autumn, though temperatures can reach the mid-90s in the summer, and winters can be harsh. Why go there?

With a glorious revolutionary history, sweeping boulevards, lanky skyscrapers, classy cuisine, a vast national art gallery and relentlessly cool clubs, Philadelphia has a little bit of everything. Gone are the days when the fifth largest city in the US could only pray for crumbs after the tourists had finished with New York, Washington and Boston It has spent the last 20 years dusting itself down. And I do not believe that winter comes to places where gentle Bohemians get rich in slate cottages in the countryside.. On the GR 36 lives the most Bohemian artisan I have ever seen. Michael Greschny lives in a hamlet called La Maurinie built of slate where the wooden beams are carved into the forms of saints.