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Center City tour

Photo by Holden Blanco.

On our Center City Pigeon Tour, encounter Philly’s pigeons from Independence Mall 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

Photo by Daniel Bernard on Unsplash
  • 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 90 minutes.

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

Distance

1 mile / 1.6 km

Meetup location

We start the tour at the Independence Visitor Center at 599 Market Street. The tour ends at City Hall, about a mile away.

This is a one-way tour route, but both locations are a short distance from public transit.

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.

Food and water

We don’t have planned stops for refreshments during the tour, but there are abundant options near our start and end points.

Public transportation

Take the Market-Frankford Line (“The L”) to 5th St / Independence Hall.

To get from City Hall (our end location) back to the Independence Visitor Center, take the Market-Frankford Line from 15th St / City Hall to 5th St.

Parking

The meetup location has the following parking nearby:

  • Autopark at Independence Mall (closest)
  • Many other paid parking garages

We do not recommend parking in 2-hour street parking, as it’s unlikely you’ll be able to return to your car in time after the tour ends. 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.

  • 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!