VacationSelector
The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
BerlinThe Brandenburg Gate
The skyline over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaThe skyline over the Schuylkill

Photos: Berlin by Claudia Solano, Pexels License; Philadelphia by Trev W. Adams, Pexels License.

Berlin or Philadelphia?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Berlin for

  • nightlife
  • wellness
  • live music and the arts

What lies behind each score is written up on Berlin’s own page.

Choose Philadelphia for

  • day trips
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Philadelphia’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Berlin 38, Philadelphia 36: Berlin leads by 2 points.
Food & drink. Berlin 66, Philadelphia 62: Berlin leads by 4 points.
Culture & sights. Berlin 86, Philadelphia 72: Berlin leads by 14 points.
Nightlife. Berlin 98, Philadelphia 55: Berlin leads by 43 points.
Nature & outdoors. Berlin 50, Philadelphia 52: Philadelphia leads by 2 points.
Day trips. Berlin 66, Philadelphia 80: Philadelphia leads by 14 points.
Good for families. Berlin 76, Philadelphia 68: Berlin leads by 8 points.
Getting around. Berlin 82, Philadelphia 66: Berlin leads by 16 points.
Shopping & style. Berlin 68, Philadelphia 57: Berlin leads by 11 points.
Affordability. Berlin 48, Philadelphia 40: Berlin leads by 8 points.
Live music & performing arts. Berlin 90, Philadelphia 72: Berlin leads by 18 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Berlin 55, Philadelphia 26: Berlin leads by 29 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Berlin and Philadelphia.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Berlin
Best match
69match

Wins on nightlife and wellness with your weighting.

Philadelphia
57match

Wins on day trips and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Berlin in July

25 °Cdaytime high
16 °Cnight-time low
76 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Philadelphia in July

31 °Cdaytime high
21 °Cnight-time low
111 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
BerlinPhiladelphia

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Berlin: 1991-2020 normals, Berlin / Alexanderplatz (0.9 km from centre). Philadelphia: 1991-2020 normals, Philadelphia International Airport (11.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureBerlinPhiladelphia
Official languageGerman-
CurrencyEuro (EUR)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-5, UTC-4 in summer
Emergency number112911
Elevation34 m12 m
Main airportBerlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)19 km from centre161 non-stop destinationsPhiladelphia International Airport (PHL)11 km from centre129 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureBerlinPhiladelphia
City population3,700,5771,603,797
People per km²4,1534,339
Museums within 10 km15754
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km41

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Berlin or Philadelphia somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.