Christ Church

Christ Church tickets: which one to buy

Christ Church is in the old city, two blocks from the waterfront and five minutes from Independence Hall, and it asks a small suggested donation rather than an admission charge. Guides are stationed inside through the day and give short talks, which are included. The burial ground is two blocks west at Fifth and Arch and is ticketed separately; it holds Benjamin Franklin's grave, visible through the railings for nothing if you would rather not pay.

Walking tours of colonial Philadelphia take in the church along with the hall, the liberty bell and the alley of eighteenth-century houses nearby, and the national park service runs free ranger-led walks in the same area. Book the Independence Hall tour separately and in advance, as it uses timed tickets. The church holds services on Sundays and visiting is suspended then, but the congregation welcomes visitors at them. Old City is compact and flat, so a single morning covers the church, the hall and the bell.

Visiting Christ Church: what to see

The parish was founded in 1695 by members of the Church of England in a colony established by Quakers, and the present building went up between 1727 and 1744, with the steeple added in 1754 and paid for partly by a lottery that Franklin helped organise. At 196 feet it was then the tallest structure in the American colonies and remained so for decades. The design follows the London churches of Christopher Wren: a symmetrical brick front with arched windows, and inside a light, galleried hall with fluted columns and box pews.

Those pews carry small plaques naming the people who rented them, among them Washington, Franklin, Betsy Ross and several signers of the declaration. The font, brought from the London church where William Penn was baptised, is still in use. In 1785 the rector here became the first presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, which is why the building matters beyond its architecture. Eight bells cast in England in 1754 still hang in the steeple and are rung for services and civic occasions.

Christ Church opening hours and the best time to go

The church keeps daily visiting hours with a shorter schedule in winter and closes for services. Mornings are quieter; the old city fills with school groups from late morning through the afternoon in spring. The fourth of July brings a full programme of events across the historic district and the church holds a service; the crowds that week are considerable. Philadelphia summers are hot and humid and the interior has limited cooling. Autumn is the pleasant season.

Christmas services here are popular and the building is candlelit. The burial ground keeps seasonal hours and closes in bad weather. Everything in the historic district is within a fifteen-minute walk, and the market a few blocks west is the obvious place for lunch. Allow half an hour in the church and twenty minutes at the graves. The church runs guided tours on the hour in summer, and they are the best way to see the pews up close.