On our Center City Pigeon Tour, encounter Philly’s pigeons from Washington Square to City Hall!
Your guide will bring you through Center City, visiting pigeon flocks that live everywhere from grassy parks to nooks in buildings. You’ll observe pigeons interacting with people and the built environment, navigating hostile architecture, and bathing in fountains.
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This calendar only shows Center City tours. See all Philly tours.
What you’ll do
- We’ll start the tour at a historic park, where we’ll teach useful birdwatching skills.
- Next, we’ll visit a pigeon flock with unique coloring. We may occasionally see a red-tailed hawk on the hunt!
- We’ll walk through Center City, encoutering smaller groups of pigeons looking for food or roosting.
- Lastly, we’ll visit City Hall, where we’ll discuss pigeon history and observe a larger flock snacking, drinking, and bathing.
What to expect
Duration
This tour lasts 1½ hours. Out of respect for your time, we aim to start and end the tour right on time.
Distance
1 mile / 1.6 km
Meetup / ending location
We start the tour in Washington Square Park, and end at City Hall, about 1 mile / 1.6 km away.
This is a one-way tour route, but both locations are a short distance from public transit.
Accessibility
Sidewalks in this neighborhood are relatively flat. We are not aware of permanent obstacles to wheelchairs or other mobility devices along our route. Unexpected obstacles (like construction) may occur, but we’ll route around them.
If you have specific mobility needs or questions, please get in touch and we’ll work to meet your needs.
Restrooms
There are several cafes around Washington Square Park that have restrooms, but expect to purchase something.
It is unclear whether any nearby restrooms are wheelchair-accessible. (We will update this as we learn more.)
Food and water
Cafes near Washington Square Park offer coffee/tea drinks, snacks, meals, and water. We recommend arriving at least 25 minutes early if you plan to order something before a tour.
Public transportation
Take the Market-Frankford Line (“The L”) to either 8th St or 5th St / Independence Hall. Washington Square Park is less than a 10-minute walk from both stops.
To get from City Hall (our end location) back to Washington Square Park, take the Market-Frankford Line from 15th St / City Hall to 8th St.
Parking
The meetup location has the following parking nearby:
- paid parking garages at the southeast corner of Washington Square Park
There may be metered parking, but we don’t have enough information yet to make a suggestion.
We do not recommend parking in 2-hour spots on residential streets, as it’s unlikely you’ll be able to return to your car in time. 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.
- Weather-appropriate clothes and footwear
- Sun protection, including sunscreen, sunglasses, maybe a hat.
- Water
- Cash (or Venmo) if you’d like to tip your guide
- Your binoculars, if you have a pair you like
If you don’t have your own binoculars, no worries — you can borrow one of our loaner pairs!