Getting to Know Philadelphia

This section sets out to answer all your travel questions, furnishing you with the practical information that you'll need to handle any and every experience during your stay in Philadelphia -- from figuring out the city layout and transportation to knowing business hours.

Ten Terms to Know in Philadelphia

1. Philly: Use only if you're from here. Otherwise, it's "Philadelphia."

2. Broad Street: The North-South boulevard bisecting Center City is really 14th Street. Broad runs north, becoming Old York Road and 611. Never call Broad Street "14th Street."

3. Second Street: Call it "Two Street," especially in South Philly.

4. Front Street: Really 1st Street. Call it "Front."

5. Schuylkill: Pronounced "Skoo-kill." The name of the river that flows by the Philadelphia Museum of Art between Martin Luther King, Jr., and Kelly drives. Also the name of I-76, the interstate expressway running east-west through the city.

6. Blue Route: I-476, connects I-95, I-76, and I-276 (the Pennsylvania Tpk.).

7. Passyunk: Pronounced "Pass-yunk." This one-way avenue runs diagonally south to north from Broad to South Street, through South Philadelphia.

8. Sansom Street: Pronounced "San-som," not "Samp-son."

9. The Boulevard: This is Roosevelt Boulevard, Route 1 North, a high-speed thoroughfare running through Northeast Philadelphia, connecting the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) to I-276 (the Pennsylvania Tpk., which leads to the New Jersey Tpk.).

10. Cheesesteak: One word. Not "cheese steak." Definitely not "Philly cheese steak."