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Center City tour

What you’ll do

• We start the tour at City Hall with a refresher on useful birdwatching skills.
• Next, we visit a large nearby flock to observe and learn about pigeon behaviors.
• We visit Reading Terminal Market, where we’ll observe a nesting site. If we’re lucky, we’ll see baby pigeons!
• To wrap up, we return to City Hall, the site of a hilarious story about a failed attempt to control pigeons. We’ll discuss how pigeons got their modern reputation and what we can do about it.

What to expect

Duration

This tour lasts 90 mins - 2 hrs.

Out of respect for your time, we aim to start the tour right on time.

Most tours end around 90 minutes, but sometimes run a little longer based on the interests of the group. We recommend planning for 2 hours.

Distance

1 mile / 1.6 km

Meetup location

We start the tour at Philadelphia City Hall. The tour ends in the same location.

Accessibility

If you have specific mobility needs or questions, please get in touch, and we’ll work with you to meet your needs.

Restrooms

There is a restroom at the start/end location. A public toilet (“Philly Phlush”) is available at 15th & Arch.

Food and water

We recommend bringing water with you. There are food establishments near City Hall you can visit before or after the tour.

Public transportation

On the Market-Frankford Line (“The L”), get off at 15th St / City Hall Station.

On Regional Rail, travel to Suburban Station.

Parking

The meetup location has the following parking nearby:

• 2-hour free street parking (hard to find)
• 2-hour paid parking spots
• Paid parking garages

Street parking in this area is both challenging to find and strictly enforced.

What to bring

Pigeon tours are rain-or-shine — just like pigeons — so make sure to be prepared.

If you don’t have your own binoculars, no worries — you can borrow one of our loaner pairs!