Discover Philadelphia’s Hidden Histories with Offbeat Philly
Walking tours in Old City and the Historic Square Mile that reveal buried graves, untold stories, and offbeat colonial truths.
Featured Tours
Three guided walking experiences that explore Old City, Elfreth's Alley, the Delaware River waterfront, and the Historic Square Mile.
About Offbeat Philly
Offbeat Philly offers immersive walking tours in Philadelphia that reveal lesser-known stories and sites in Old City and the Historic Square Mile. Featured on The Adventure Collective, Offbeat Philly focuses on historically grounded, narrative-driven experiences that explore people, places, and oddities often skipped by conventional tours.
Tours include 'Philadelphia's Forgotten Dead,' an exploration of hidden graves beneath Old City streets that illuminates neglected burial sites and the social history around them; 'Terrible-Tempered Lieutenant Levy,' a walking narrative about Uriah Levy, the first Jewish Commodore, tracing his life through Elfreth's Alley, the Delaware River waterfront, and concluding at A Man Full of Trouble, Philadelphia’s preserved pre-revolutionary tavern; and 'That Broken Bell (and Other Colonial Nonsense),' a lighthearted, evidence-based tour of the Historic Square Mile that visits landmarks such as the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross House while unpacking myth and reality about the Founding era.
Offbeat Philly emphasizes walking tours that balance rigorous research with engaging storytelling. The company operates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and designs routes that use public streets and open sites. Because itineraries use public spaces and historic landmarks, participants should expect an outdoor, pedestrian experience. Tours involve walking between historic sites with regular stops for stories, making them well suited to history-minded travelers and curious visitors. Each trip highlights primary landmarks and offbeat locales using public streets and landmark exteriors, not private properties. Advance reservations are recommended online.
Reserve an Offbeat Philly Tour
Choose a trip, check availability, and book a walking tour to uncover Philadelphia’s forgotten graves, naval history, and colonial curiosities.