Few American cities can say: it all began here. Philadelphia can. It was in a plain brick hall, a few blocks from the Delaware River where ships dock, that the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, and later the Constitution of the United States was drafted. Disembarking in Philadelphia means setting foot in the political cradle of a nation, in the heart of a metropolis that has kept its taste for neighbourhoods and markets.

Independence Hall and the cracked bell

From the waterfront, a few minutes are enough to reach Independence National Historical Park. Independence Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is visited with park rangers who bring the Founding Fathers' debates back to life in the very room where they sat. Across the way, the Liberty Bell displays its famous crack behind a glass wall: the bell, which has become a symbol of struggles for freedom far beyond America's borders, draws a steady stream of reverent visitors.

Old City, the original village

Around the park, the Old City neighbourhood retains its 18th-century scale. Elfreth's Alley, a cobbled lane lined with brick houses with colourful shutters, bills itself as one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in the country: families have lived there for more than three centuries. Art galleries, cafés and artisan shops occupy the surrounding former warehouses, and Christ Church, where Benjamin Franklin worshipped, still raises its white steeple above the rooftops. The neighbourhood is especially lively on the first Friday of the month, when galleries and studios open their doors in the evening.

Reading Terminal Market, the city's pantry

About a twenty-minute walk west, beneath the steel vaults of a former 1893 train station, Reading Terminal Market lines up more than a hundred stalls: Amish cured meats from the nearby countryside, warm pretzels, oysters, doughnuts and counters from around the world rub shoulders in a cheerful din. It is the ideal place to taste the famous cheesesteak, the sandwich of thinly sliced beef with melted cheese that Philadelphians have raised to the status of an institution, each defending a favourite counter. The market is also just two blocks from City Hall, whose tower bears the statue of William Penn, the Quaker founder of the colony.

Murals and museums

Philadelphia has earned its nickname of mural capital: thousands of monumental works cover the city's gable walls, the result of a public art program unique in North America. Art lovers will continue by taxi to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, whose monumental staircase, immortalized by the film Rocky, invites a triumphant climb facing the perspective of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The statue of the boxer, at the foot of the steps, remains one of the most popular photo spots in the country.

Ideas for extending your day

• Franklin Court and its underground museum, on the site of Benjamin Franklin's house
• The Betsy Ross House, where legend says the first American flag was sewn
• The Delaware waterfront and its floating parks, steps from the ships
• Society Hill and its lantern-lit Georgian residential streets

The city of brotherly love

Its Greek name means "brotherly love," and the city strives to live up to it, with its blend of historic solemnity and down-to-earth humour. Returning to the ship along the Delaware, you think back to that brick hall where a few men bet on a new idea. Ideas travel well: that one has come on board with you.