VacationSelector
The skyline over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaThe skyline over the Schuylkill
Château Frontenac from Dufferin Terrace, Quebec City
Quebec CityChâteau Frontenac from Dufferin Terrace

Photos: Philadelphia by Trev W. Adams, Pexels License; Quebec City by Jeangagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Philadelphia or Quebec City?

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 Philadelphia for

  • day trips
  • live music and the arts
  • beaches

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

Choose Quebec City for

  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Quebec City’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. Philadelphia 36, Quebec City 18: Philadelphia leads by 18 points.
Food & drink. Philadelphia 62, Quebec City 57: Philadelphia leads by 5 points.
Culture & sights. Philadelphia 72, Quebec City 70: Philadelphia leads by 2 points.
Nightlife. Philadelphia 55, Quebec City 42: Philadelphia leads by 13 points.
Nature & outdoors. Philadelphia 52, Quebec City 79: Quebec City leads by 27 points.
Day trips. Philadelphia 80, Quebec City 58: Philadelphia leads by 22 points.
Good for families. Philadelphia 68, Quebec City 64: Philadelphia leads by 4 points.
Getting around. Philadelphia 66, Quebec City 50: Philadelphia leads by 16 points.
Shopping & style. Philadelphia 57, Quebec City 45: Philadelphia leads by 12 points.
Affordability. Philadelphia 40, Quebec City 45: Quebec City leads by 5 points.
Live music & performing arts. Philadelphia 72, Quebec City 52: Philadelphia leads by 20 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Philadelphia 26, Quebec City 55: Quebec City leads by 29 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Philadelphia
Best match
57match

Wins on day trips and live music and the arts with your weighting.

Quebec City
53match

Wins on wellness 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.

Philadelphia in July

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

Quebec City in July

25 °Cdaytime high
16 °Cnight-time low
119 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
PhiladelphiaQuebec City

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Philadelphia: 1991-2020 normals, Philadelphia International Airport (11.3 km from centre). Quebec City: 1991-2020 normals, Beauport (3.2 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasurePhiladelphiaQuebec City
Official language-French, English
CurrencyUS Dollar (USD)Canadian Dollar (CAD)
SocketsAB120 V, 60 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-5, UTC-4 in summerUTC-5, UTC-4 in summer
Emergency number911911
Elevation12 m98 m
Main airportPhiladelphia International Airport (PHL)11 km from centre129 non-stop destinationsQuebec Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB)13 km from centre34 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year12 days10 days

By the numbers

MeasurePhiladelphiaQuebec City
City population1,603,797574,482
People per km²4,3391,184
Museums within 10 km5416
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Philadelphia or Quebec City 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). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. 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. 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.