Date Night Ideas in Philadelphia

Setup.Comfortable shoes, a layer for the wind over the river, and water. The Philadelphia entrance is at 5th and Race Streets; the New Jersey end comes down at 4th and Pearl Streets in Camden. Check the DRPA walkway page on the day, since only one side is open at a time and it can close for weather.

1. Meet at the 5th and Race entrance about an hour before sunset.
2. Take the climb slowly and save the big conversation for when you are out over the water.
3. Stop over the middle of the river, turn around, and look back at the skyline together.
4. Carry on into Camden if you both want the full crossing, or turn back as the sun drops and walk down into Old City while the lights come on.

Talk about:What is one thing you have always meant to do in this city and keep putting off?

Setup.Sneakers or trail shoes, water, a snack, and the free Friends of the Wissahickon trail map or map app on your phone. Leashed dogs are fine.

1. Start from a trailhead on Forbidden Drive in the morning, while the path is still quiet.
2. Walk the gravel along Wissahickon Creek, sharing it with runners, cyclists and the occasional horse.
3. Find the Thomas Mill Covered Bridge, walk across it, and stand in the middle listening to the water under the old timber.
4. If you still have legs, climb one of the side trails up the gorge before heading back.

Talk about:In 1920 about a thousand riders and twelve thousand people on foot turned out to keep cars off this road. What is one thing you would show up to protect?

Setup.Tickets bought ahead, especially for a weekend, since entry is capacity limited. The museum is on 22nd Street in Center City. Check hours before you go.

1. Split up for the first twenty minutes. Each of you hunts for the one object you most want to show the other.
2. Swap tours and give your partner the full museum guide treatment for your pick.
3. Spend real time at the Hyrtl Skull Collection and read a few of the labels out loud.
4. Find the Chevalier Jackson collection of swallowed and inhaled objects and each invent the backstory for one of them.
5. Walk back out into the rain and decompress somewhere warm.

Talk about:Which object in there has a story you most want to know, and why that one?

Setup.A timed ticket booked online in advance, since they often sell out. The self guided walking tour and the mosaic mural map from the Magic Gardens website saved to your phone. Comfortable shoes.

1. Go in at your ticket time and take the outdoor labyrinth slowly. Look down as much as up.
2. Duck into the indoor galleries, which host rotating exhibitions.
3. Head back out onto South Street with the walking tour or mural map and track down Zagar walls on the surrounding blocks.
4. Take a photo of each other at your favorite wall, then compare picks and argue about the winner.

Talk about:If we covered one wall of our home in mosaic, what would you put into it?

Setup.Timed tickets bought online ahead, since admission is by timed ticket only. Clean socks for both of you: shoes come off in the house and bare feet are not allowed. Shofuso runs on a seasonal calendar, so check dates and hours before you go.

1. Arrive a few minutes early and walk the pond garden first so your pace slows down before you go inside.
2. Shoes off at the house. Find the Hiroshi Senju waterfall murals and take your time with them.
3. Pick a quiet spot and sit for ten minutes without phones or commentary, just watching the water and the koi.
4. Afterward, take a slow wander through West Fairmount Park before heading home.

Talk about:If we set aside one quiet corner at home just for slowing down, what would be in it?

Setup.Clothes you do not mind getting splashed, water and sunscreen. Check the boathouse calendar before you go: free sessions run on set days in summer and early fall and cancel for bad weather or unsafe river conditions. No registration or experience needed.

1. Get to the Community Boathouse at the start of a free session. Staff fit you with a life vest, provide the gear and give a quick lesson.
2. Share a rowboat and practice pulling in sync, or take a kayak each, depending on what is on the water that day.
3. Back on land, walk Bartram's Mile, the paved trail along the west bank of the river.
4. Wander the garden and find the Franklinia, then sit near it for a while before heading home.

Talk about:The Bartrams kept a tree alive that has not been seen in the wild since 1803. What is one small thing from your family you would want us to keep going?

Setup.A farm-to-table restaurant within driving range. Booking essential.

1. Drive out late morning.
2. Order whatever the chef recommends.
3. Walk the farm or grounds afterwards.

Setup.An antiquarian or used bookshop in a literary city. Cash for small purchases. A budget.

1. Each picks the section they would never otherwise visit.
2. Spend 30 minutes there. Pick one book.
3. Reveal at the till.
4. Read at a café for 30 minutes before walking on.

Setup.A pick-your-own orchard within an hour's drive. Autumn weekends.

1. Go early to skip the queue.
2. Pick more than you think, they keep.
3. Cider doughnut and hot apple cider before driving home.

Setup.A weekend farmers' market. Reusable bags, a budget cap.

1. Walk the whole market once before buying.
2. Each picks two ingredients the other will use.
3. Brunch at the breakfast cart at the market.
4. Cook dinner at home with what you bought.

Setup.A beach with a surf school. Reef-safe sunscreen, swimwear, a change of clothes.

1. Group lesson on land first, listen carefully.
2. Whitewater only, do not chase real waves first time.
3. Lunch at the beach café afterwards.

Setup.A baseball, basketball, hockey, or football game. Cheap seats, they are cheap for a reason and that's fine.

1. Get there 30 minutes before first pitch.
2. Hot dog and a drink each.
3. Stay through the seventh-inning stretch.
4. Walk to a bar near the stadium afterwards.

Setup.A public ferry route or commuter boat. Most coastal and river cities have at least one.

1. Take the slowest ferry that leaves before sunset.
2. Sit on the upper deck if there is one.
3. Walk for 30 minutes at the destination, even if you do not stay.
4. Take the next ferry back. Watch the lights come on.

Setup.A working sugar shack in season (Feb–April). Layers, they are cold.

1. Tour the boiling room with the producer.
2. Eat tire-d'érable (maple taffy on snow).
3. Buy a small tin to take home.

Setup.A proper tea house, Chinese gongfu, Japanese, Moroccan, English-style. Often listed under "specialty tea".

1. Ask the staff to recommend one tea each.
2. Order it slowly, many tea houses serve in steeps.
3. Read for 30 minutes between conversations.
4. Buy a small pack of the favourite to take home.

Setup.Snorkel, mask, fins each (rentals are fine). A reef with shore access or a short boat.

1. Apply reef-safe sunscreen.
2. Float on the surface, breathe through the snorkel slowly.
3. Hand-signal anything cool to the other.

Setup.One closet (yours or theirs). Two big bags labelled "donate" and "bin". An hour and a half.

1. Empty the closet onto the bed.
2. Sort: keep, donate, bin. Each gets veto rights on three items.
3. Try on anything that has not been worn in a year.
4. Drive the donate bag straight to a charity shop on the way to dinner.

Setup.A free public lecture from a local university, library, or museum. Topic should be unfamiliar.

1. Read nothing about the topic before going.
2. Sit in the middle, not the back.
3. Listen for one idea each that you can repeat afterwards.
4. Argue about it on the way home, even though neither of you knows anything.