Italian Market tour
On our Italian Market Pigeon Tour, meet the pigeons of South Philly and the historic Italian Market on S 9th St.
Your guide will bring you around the neighborhood, visiting nearby flocks and nesting sites. You’ll observe pigeons nesting above the market’s unique shops, defying anti-pigeon spikes and netting, and boldly strolling through traffic.
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This calendar only shows Italian Market tours. See all Philly tours.
What you’ll do
- We start the tour outside a local cat café with a refresher on useful birdwatching skills. (Nothing says “cat energy” like watching birds.)
- Next, we’ll visit an established flock along Washington Ave, and witness all types of pigeons and behaviors. Sometimes we even see a hawk or falcon chasing them!
- We visit a good pigeon nesting spot. If we get lucky (and we often do), we may see baby pigeons!
- We’ll walk through the Italian Market, observing pigeons braving traffic and nesting in buildings. We talk about how pigeons got their modern reputation.
- We end the tour back at the cat café, where we talk about how to have a different relationship with our bird neighbors.
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 meet outside Get a Gato cat cafe, 638 Christian Street (7th & Christian). The tour ends at the same location.
Accessibility
Sidewalks in this neighborhood are relatively flat. A few curb cuts are moderately steep. 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 with you to meet your needs.
Restrooms
There is a restroom at the start/end location.
Food and water
Get a Gato has baked goods, coffee/tea drinks, and water. We recommend arriving at least 15 minutes early if you plan to order something — the line can be long when we have full tours!
Public transportation
From the Lombard-South station (Broad Street Line southbound), walk 20 minutes or take the 40 bus to 7th St.
From the Ellsworth-Federal station (Broad Street Line northbound), walk 20 minutes or take the 64 bus to 7th St.
From 8th St Station (Market-Frankford Line / “The L”), walk 20 minutes or take the 47 bus to Christian St.
Parking
The meetup location has the following parking nearby:
- 2-hour free street parking (not too difficult to find, except on event/festival weekends)
- "forever parking", not-time limited (always very difficult to find)
- paid parking near South Street, less than a 10-minute walk from the meetup location
Tours are between 90 minutes and two hours long, giving you a short window before and after the tour to move your car. Be aware, parking in this neighborhood is 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!