There’s no shortage of cool in Fishtown, which has emerged as Philly’s truest harbor of artistic, culinary and musical action. This classic working-class neighborhood, so named due to its history as an epicenter for the commercial shad-fishing industry, offers a colorful exception to the city’s gridded urban rule with its collection of narrow streets beset with modest row homes and independently owned businesses.

North of Girard, south of Lehigh, east of Front and west of the Delaware River, Philly’s young creative class roots itself here with hopes to take ideas from gestation to reality. This momentous influx of new residents gave way to great new bars, restaurants, music venues, studios and galleries. Newcomers integrating and collaborating with the neighborhood’s longtime residents sets Fishtown apart as one of Philadelphia’s most exciting neighborhoods.