This City Takes The Crown For Being America's Most Walkable (& It's Not NYC)

It's difficult to say what defines a city as walkable. Features tend to include ample sidewalks where traffic can be avoided, nice things to look at while walking on those sidewalks, and cool attractions you can duck into to get out of the sun. But the defining feature of a walkable city is usually an online list that designates a city walkable, whether people agree or not. In this case, the walkable winner is Philadelphia, as voted by USA Today, for the second year in a row. It has some of the worst-rated traffic in the country, so perhaps locals are being encouraged to get out of the car and walk.

Those below Philadelphia on the walkable podium include Providence, Rhode Island, then Key West, Florida, St. Augustine, Florida, and New Orleans. New York City came in at a distant eighth place, which may be a tad surprising considering it has some of the most sidewalks in the country (not that parking is easy there). But walkability is about more than sidewalks.

It should be noted that this is just one study. Conde Nast suggests that New York actually takes the crown in the U.S. for most walkable, and Walkscore argues that it's San Francisco. But Philadelphia still places in the top 10 on those lists, though it might not make a global top 10, which goes to Munich.

USA Today says its results were decided by a panel of travel experts, as well as voted by readers who had visited and strolled around. It took into account attractions, restaurants, and hotels, and how easy it was for people to get to and from those places on so-called pedestrian-friendly streets. Philadelphia is more than cheesesteaks and the Liberty Bell (though that's a good day in Philadelphia on its own), and has numerous cultural and historical attractions in idyllic areas like Old City, Rittenhouse Square, and Washington Square West, among other totally walkable neighborhoods. Though after a cheesesteak from Pat's or Geno's, you'll probably just want to sit down.