VacationSelector
Sint Servaasbrug over the Maas, Maastricht
MaastrichtSint Servaasbrug over the Maas
The skyline over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaThe skyline over the Schuylkill

Photos: Maastricht by Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Philadelphia by Trev W. Adams, Pexels License.

Maastricht 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 Maastricht for

  • wellness
  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Philadelphia for

  • live music and the arts
  • beaches
  • nightlife

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. Maastricht 8, Philadelphia 36: Philadelphia leads by 28 points.
Food & drink. Maastricht 58, Philadelphia 62: Philadelphia leads by 4 points.
Culture & sights. Maastricht 60, Philadelphia 72: Philadelphia leads by 12 points.
Nightlife. Maastricht 42, Philadelphia 55: Philadelphia leads by 13 points.
Nature & outdoors. Maastricht 58, Philadelphia 52: Maastricht leads by 6 points.
Day trips. Maastricht 77, Philadelphia 80: Philadelphia leads by 3 points.
Good for families. Maastricht 55, Philadelphia 68: Philadelphia leads by 13 points.
Getting around. Maastricht 74, Philadelphia 66: Maastricht leads by 8 points.
Shopping & style. Maastricht 60, Philadelphia 57: Maastricht leads by 3 points.
Affordability. Maastricht 38, Philadelphia 40: Philadelphia leads by 2 points.
Live music & performing arts. Maastricht 40, Philadelphia 72: Philadelphia leads by 32 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Maastricht 52, Philadelphia 26: Maastricht leads by 26 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Maastricht
52match

Wins on wellness and getting around with your weighting.

Philadelphia
Best match
57match

Wins on live music and the arts and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Maastricht in July

24 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
73 mmrain in the month
7 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
MaastrichtPhiladelphia

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Maastricht: 1991-2020 normals, Maastricht Airport Zuid Limburg (10 km from centre). Philadelphia: 1991-2020 normals, Philadelphia International Airport (11.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMaastrichtPhiladelphia
Official languageDutch-
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
Elevation49 m12 m
Main airportMaastricht Aachen Airport (MST)9 km from centre5 non-stop destinationsPhiladelphia International Airport (PHL)11 km from centre129 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureMaastrichtPhiladelphia
City population120,2271,603,797
People per km²2,0004,339
Museums within 10 km2154
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km51

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Maastricht 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.