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Philly on a budget: Where to get the most bang for your buck this summer

The best spots to make a dollar stretch with drink specials, free art, and yoga in Philly.

Marion Leary demonstrates how she works in unique places remotely at the picnic tables beside Cherry Street Pier, in Philadelphia, Monday, July 18, 2022.
Marion Leary demonstrates how she works in unique places remotely at the picnic tables beside Cherry Street Pier, in Philadelphia, Monday, July 18, 2022.Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer

Philly is such a bustling city, with shopping corridors, streetside restaurants, and an arts and culture scene with hundreds of years of history, that taking strolls around South or Sansom Streets will lead you to something new every time.

🧘🏽 Explore the outdoors: yoga, workshops, and nature walks
πŸ“œ For the history buffs: Black history and Betsy Ross
🍻 Food, drinks, and fun: salsa dancing and citywides
🎨 Arts & entertainment: rooftop movies, stand-up comedy, and free artwork

Now when balling on a budget, this city is your friend. According to AARP’s Livability Index, which ranks cities based on their easy access to retail, entertainment, health care, education, and food or personal services, Philadelphia ranks six in the top 10 most-affordable big cities in the United States.

That means a free or affordable weekend of quality fun is within reach in Philadelphia. Here are some spots to check out this summer.

Free yoga at Race Street Pier.
Free yoga at Race Street Pier.Read moreMatt Stanley

🧘🏽 Explore the outdoors: yoga, workshops, and nature walks

The cheapest way to have fun in Philly is to find free events like Wellness on the Waterfront at Race Street Pier, a free yoga session alongside the Delaware River every Monday, Thursday, and Sunday during the summer. Start a Sunday morning with 10 a.m. yoga and then venture next door to Cherry Street Pier for its rotating workshops and events like SunKissed Sunday, a meetup for local creators to hang out, talk shop, and learn from one another.

These types of events are all over Philly, from Yoga at the Free Library to free nature walks and workshops at Pennypack Environmental Center in the Northeast, which has trails open to the public daily for free.

🧘🏽 Explore outdoors

πŸ“œ For the history buffs: Black history and Betsy Ross

Philadelphia is probably America’s most historic town, and with it comes a plethora of historical walking tours and venues. Take the free route and use The Inquirer’s Black history walking tours available on Soundcloud, which will have you striding through Society Hill, Center City, and Northeast Philadelphia as you learn of an open-air auction block that inspired the U.S. abolitionist movement and a church that hid people escaping slavery in its basement. For a guided tour by a local expert, look no further than The Black Journey: African-American History Walking Tour of Philadelphia, every Saturday at 2 p.m. for $35.

On weekends, the Edgar Allan Poe House β€” where Poe wrote Fall of the House of Usher and The Murders in the Rue Morgue β€” is open to the public for free. Right around the corner is the Betsy Ross House, where if ya can’t cough up the ten-spot for the self-guided tour, then you can enjoy the historical reenactors that frequent the courtyard there, including Margaret Woodby, a free Black woman in the late 1700s who owned and operated her own bakery.

πŸ“œ For the history buffs
Tuesday night free salsa dancing session at Lucha Cartel with instructors from Estilo Dance Studio.
Tuesday night free salsa dancing session at Lucha Cartel with instructors from Estilo Dance Studio.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

🍻 Food, drinks, and fun: salsa dancing and citywides

When it comes to affordable food, Philly is famous for it β€” see cheesesteaks (around $12), soft pretzels (under $5), and β€œwooder” ice (around $2 to $8). Halal trucks also seemingly pop up on nearly every corner of commercial corridors, awaiting the lunchtime rush with chicken and falafel over rice for $5 to $8.

Now to get a little more specific, there are a few locations with guaranteed savings on drinks, dishes, and live entertainment.

Don’t pass up the chance to dip into Bob & Barbara’s Lounge during an evening walk along South Street. This cash-only Philly dive bar that invented the city’s drink special β€” the β€œCitywide Special” β€” which is a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon accompanied by a Jim Beam shot for $4. Every week Bob & Barbara’s hosts DJs, soul jazz bands, and the renowned Miss Lisa Lisa’s drag show.

For a delicious Mexican dinner and free salsa dance lessons, Lucha Cartel in Old City is an absolute blast. Every Tuesday night, enjoy starters under $5, $11 empanadas, and around $15 for shareable nachos for the table, and stick around for the 9:30 p.m. free salsa dance lesson and party that doesn’t stop till 1 a.m.

Brewery tours at Philadelphia Brewing Co. are back as well. This well-loved free activity was on hiatus for a bit, but now it is better than ever because tour days coincide with the brewery’s Caturday events. The free guided brewery tour includes a 20-minute tour of the facility, ending in the upstairs tasting room to enjoy a Walt Wit or two. Caturdays are fun cat adoption events in partnership with the PSPCA. Both events are every third Saturday of the month from noon to 3 p.m. β€” all for free. No reservation needed; large groups of 10 or more people need to call ahead for tours.

🍻 Food, drinks and fun
The "Dream Garden" was created by artist Maxfield Parrish in collaboration with Louis Comfort Tiffany for Cyrus Curtis' 1910 headquarters.
The "Dream Garden" was created by artist Maxfield Parrish in collaboration with Louis Comfort Tiffany for Cyrus Curtis' 1910 headquarters.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

🎨 Arts & entertainment: rooftop movies, stand-up comedy, and free artwork

Philly has some of the funniest comics, beautiful skyline views from rooftop courtyards, and the largest public arts program in the U.S. β€” quality arts and culture events are around every corner. City museums also offer free or discounted admission during certain times of the month and they partner with the ACCESS card program to offer $2 admission to cardholders.

Cira Green is easily one of the city’s highest and most lush places to hang out. This rooftop park at 12 stories high above street-level overlooks the Schuylkill and offers food and drinks, and screens movies like The Batman or Casino Royale. Every day of the week, Cira Green’s restaurant bar, Sunset Social, hosts trivia nights, DJs, and rooftop block parties, all with $3 to $5 drink specials β€” you don’t want to miss it.

For free chuckles and cheap drink specials, head to The Raven Lounge on Sansom Street in Center City for one of the city’s longest-running free stand-up comedy open mics. Every Thursday, Raven Lounge Comedy takes center stage on the second floor with $5 Jell-O shots, $7 citywides, $8 glasses of champagne with Pop Rocks, and $6 β€œHugs and Kisses,” which is a Little Hug Fruit Barrel kids drink spiked with liquor. This is easily one of the best open mics in the city for seeing up-and-coming comedians just before their breakout and drop-ins from seasoned vets like Godfrey, Amy Schumer, and Hannibal Buress.

For one of the most breathtaking, free, and tucked-away pieces of art in the city, look to the lobby of the Curtis Center in Washington Square. Inside, a 50-foot-wide glass mosaic mural made of hundreds of thousands of glass tesserae called The Dream Garden has been on display since 1916. The work, designed by artist Maxfield Parrish and fabricated by Louis Tiffany, is the city’s first designated historic object and continues to be one of the most cherished pieces of public art in Philadelphia β€” completely free to the public.

🎨 Arts and Entertainment