Neighborhoods in Philadelphia

Old City/Society Hill

This bustling neighborhood comprises the city's best-known historic sites, quiet residential streets, the Delaware riverfront, great nightlife, and busy art galleries.

Best for: Philadelphia first-timers and families who'd like to be able to leave the car in the garage and walk to the sights.

Drawbacks: Friday and Saturday nights can get a bit hectic around 2nd and 3rd streets.

Convention Center/City Hall Area

The blocks just east of city-bisecting Broad Street have seen a renaissance in the past few years, and offer proximity to the heart of the city, the Gayborhood, and the just-expanded convention center. Hotels here tend range from corporate to boutique.

Best for: Conventiongoers and business types, gay travelers, and visitors who'd like proximity to both Old City and Rittenhouse Square.

Drawbacks: This neighborhood is convenient, but not necessarily picturesque.

Rittenhouse Square/West of Broad Street

This retail-rich, skyscraper-dotted section boasts Center City's most expensive hotels, and some of its best restaurants.

Best for: Business travel, special-occasion stays, regatta or race weekends, and walks to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes, and Franklin Institute.

Drawbacks: Old City and Society Hill are within walking distance, but not exactly close.

University City/West Philadelphia

As its name suggests, this student-rich, west-of-the-Schuylkill section of the city centers around the ivy-covered University of Pennsylvania and burgeoning and modern Drexel University.

Best for: Parents' weekends, academic conferences, and visits to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Drawbacks: You'll have to cross the river -- via busy bridges, or on the subway -- to get to the history, museums, dining, nightlife, and shopping of Center City.

Near the Airport

Moderately priced, somewhat generic hotels cluster in this industrial area, located a few miles south of the city near Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).

Best for: Travelers with early flights; road trippers who require an overnight pit stop along I-95.

Drawbacks: If you want to be close to the city -- and if you are at all into good dining -- don't stay near the airport.

City Line & Northeast

Just off the Schuylkill Expressway, shopping center and office park-dotted City Line Avenue (Rte. 1) borders the western suburbs, the Philadelphia Zoo, Fairmount Park, and the river drives, and has comfortable national chain hotels.

Try these options: Homewood Suites Philadelphia, 4200 City Line Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19131 (tel. 800/362-2779 or 215/966-3000); Holiday Inn City Line, 4100 Presidential Blvd. (City Line Ave. at I-76), Philadelphia, PA 19131 (tel. 800/465-4329 or 215/477-0200); the renovated Hilton City Line, 4200 City Line Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19131 (tel. 800/445-8667 or 215/879-4000); and the Best Western Philadelphia Northeast, 11580 Roosevelt Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19116 (tel. 800/528-1234 or 215/464-9500).

Best for: Travelers with business in or near the Main Line or Northeast Philadelphia.

Drawbacks: Like the airport hotels, these places are far from attractions and the personality of the city.