Philadelphia Pennsylvania's trendy, lounge-like bowling alleys, with stylish lighting and décor, hit tunes and plush seating, are attracting mostly young and affluent patrons. Strikes started the trend with college students in University City in early 2005.
Bowling parlors include Lucky Strike, a national chain, which launched its first area location in Center City, and North Bowl, located in the modern Northern Liberties section of the city.
Although the bowling parlors feature trendy bars, music and atmosphere, bowlers are still required to wear bowling shoes.
Bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) restaurants are becoming more popular in Philadelphia. Farmicia, a slow-food restaurant in Old City has a BYOB policy every night. Sovalo, a pretty Napa-inspired Italian bistro, in Northern Liberties, allows diners to BYOB for free on Monday nights. Ambler's Bridget 8 West allows free BYOB on Sunday nights.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), with financial assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts, has created a series of free, completely mapped and customizable downloadable audio tours. Visitors can use them, for example, to find where to buy vintage clothes in Philadelphia and where to find the best Vietnamese food in the Italian Market.
Visitors, and people interested in Philadelphia, can listen to these audio tours on their home computers, iPods or MP3 players, as they sightsee. The free audio tours use interesting stories, fun facts and lively music to tell the city's story. The focus is on less-known Philadelphia experiences.
