Reading Terminal Market: Philadelphia Travel Guide (4.7★)

Lunch under a railroad roof

Reading Terminal Market began in 1893, underneath the train shed of the Reading Railroad. The trains are long gone. The market is still there: a low hall laid out as a grid of aisles, with stalls on every side and a sea of shared tables in the middle.

Most stalls are counters with a queue, a menu board and a few stools. You get produce and butcher cases next to cheesesteaks, Pennsylvania Dutch baking, spices, cookware and books. It’s one of the most-reviewed food destinations in the country, and it’s built for grazing, not a single sit-down meal.

Getting to 12th and Arch

The market takes up the block between 11th and 12th Streets, from Arch south to Filbert. There are doors on several sides, and the Arch Street entrance matches the official address. The Pennsylvania Convention Center sits on the old terminal building right next door, so convention crowds come through all year.

• SEPTA Regional Rail: Jefferson Station is directly beneath the market. It’s the easiest option from the airport line.
• Market-Frankford Line (the “L”): get off at 11th Street or 13th Street, then walk two short blocks north.
• On foot: City Hall is about three blocks west, and the Chinatown Friendship Gate is just north on 10th and Arch.

What to put on your tray

Don’t settle on one stall. Pick three or four, share everything and move on. These stalls have built their reputations inside the market over decades:

• DiNic’s roast pork sandwich: sliced pork with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone. Many Philadelphians choose it over a cheesesteak.
• Bassetts Ice Cream: a Philadelphia ice cream name going back to the 1800s, served from a long marble-style counter.
• Beiler’s doughnuts and bakery: you can watch the doughnuts being filled and glazed behind the glass.
• Miller’s Twist: hand-rolled Pennsylvania Dutch soft pretzels, which are soft and buttery, not crunchy.
• Dutch Eating Place: a Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast counter, known for apple dumplings and scrapple.

The Pennsylvania Dutch stalls often keep a shorter week than the rest of the market. If one of them is the reason you’re coming, check the market’s official site for its days first.

Beating the weekend crush

Timing makes the biggest difference here. On weekdays it’s calmest from 8am to 10am. On weekends the quiet stretch runs from 8am to 11am. That’s the time for a breakfast counter, a doughnut and a relaxed browse of the produce and cheese cases.

Try not to show up after 11am on a Saturday or Sunday. From then until the 6pm close, the aisles fill shoulder to shoulder, the famous sandwich queues curl into the walkways and you’ll wait for a table. On a weekend, the smartest plan is to eat an early lunch at 10:30 and be done before the rush.

Queues, tables and paying

Every counter runs its own queue, and people expect you to join the back of the right one. If a stall has one line for ordering and another for pickup, stand in the right one. Know what you want before you get to the front, especially at DiNic’s.

The seating in the middle is shared and first come, first served. It’s fine for one person to hold a table while the others queue at different stalls. Clear your own trash when you’re done, because someone is always waiting. Most counters take cards and mobile payment, but a few smaller vendors may prefer cash.

Close to the center of the market is Philbert, a bronze pig. Visitors rub his snout for luck and drop coins in for a local farm charity. It’s the obvious meeting point if your group splits up.

Before and after the market

Plan on 60 to 90 minutes if you’re eating, or 30 minutes just to walk the aisles. The market also works as a base for exploring on foot. Chinatown is just across Arch Street, and City Hall and Dilworth Park are a few minutes west.

Walk about ten minutes east along Market or Arch Street and you reach Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Many visitors eat an early breakfast here first, then head over for their timed Independence Hall tour.