Navigating Philadelphia, sans car

With a combination of public buses and trains, the city’s sights are approachable without ever having to touch a gas pump.

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The 32 bus goes by some of the city's most prominent museums, such as the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

Broad Street stretches off into the distance in Philadelphia.

Richard B. Levine / Alamy

Visitors can access the landmark City Hall building by several means of public transportation, including subway, trolley and bus.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is one of the city's main transportation hubs. It's served by Amtrak, SEPTA and Megabus, among other systems.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

If you're too full to walk far after eating your way through Reading Terminal Market, hop on the Market-Frankford subway line that stops at the nearby 11th Street and 13th Street stations.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

The Philadelphia Navy Yard offers a different waterfront view and can be reached by taking the Broad Street subway line and then the 71 bus.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

The National Park Service now operates a portrait gallery in the Greek Revival-style Second Bank of the United States, located in Independence National Historical Park.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

The Piazza at Schmidt's in Northern Liberties is a redeveloped brewery site perfect for a relaxed evening out. Visitors can watch a Philadelphia sports team on the big screen or browse a diverse array of shops.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

SEPTA's Spring Garden station, near the hip Northern Liberties neighborhood, sits between the elevated lanes of I-95.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

Several buses stop across the street from historic Woodford Mansion, a historic home in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

From downtown Philadelphia, take the 125 bus to Valley Forge National Historical Park. Be warned if you arrive sans car: The shuttle that takes you around the park operates on a seasonal basis.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

Independence National Historical Park is one of Philadelphia's main attractions. Its 18th Century Garden is about midway between the Fifth Street and Second Street subway stations.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

A mural adorns a park in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, easily reached by train but best explored on foot.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

The reconstructed encampment buildings are one of the few things you'll be able to easily walk to from the visitors center if you come to Valley Forge without a car when the park shuttle isn't operating.

Becky Krystal / The Washington Post

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

TV presenter and conservationist Anneka Tanaka-Svenska wears a hat designed by Louis Mariette during the first day of Royal Ascot, in Berkshire, west of London, on June 18, 2013. The five-day meeting is one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. Horse racing has been held at the famous Berkshire course since 1711 and tradition is a hallmark of the meeting. Top hats and tails remain compulsory in parts of the course while a daily procession of horse-drawn carriages brings the Queen to the course. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNISADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Photos of the day

Royal Ascot, protests in Brazil, Lego exhibition, flooding in India, Cheetah-Cub robot and more.

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 18: Madonna attends the Dolce & Gabbana and The Cinema Society screening of the Epix World premiere of 'Madonna: The MDNA Tour' at The Paris Theatre on June 18, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Madonna, Michael Buble, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Chan, Jerry Seinfeld, Estelle and other celebrities.

Inmates walk at a high-security male prison camp outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk May 14, 2013. High-security male prison camp number 17 is intended to house male inmates who are serving a sentence for the first time, and have been convicted for serious crimes. Prisoners at the facility work in wood and metal processing shops, manufacture furniture, sew clothes and do other kinds of work. They can also take part in educational, sport and cultural programs. Picture taken May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 4 OF 29 FOR PACKAGE 'INSIDE SIBERIA'S PRISONS' SEARCH 'ILYA PRISON' FOR ALL IMAGES

Life in a Siberian prison

A look inside a high-security prison camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Father’s Day picnic in Northeast D.C.

A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

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