CHESTNUT HILL

Welcome to Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill is a lively, upscale neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia featuring impressive, stately homes, tree-lined streets, and an enchanting European ambiance. Known as Pennsylvania’s garden district, Chestnut Hill is full of greenery. It is bordered on its west side by the 1,800-acre Wissahickon Valley Park, with over 50-miles of woodland trails. Victorian architecture and gorgeous mansions, dating from the 18th century onwards, are found throughout the area.  The area has more of a suburban feel but Chestnut Hill offers an easy commute to downtown Philadelphia via car and public transit on 2 train lines.

Germantown Avenue is Chestnut Hill’s central hub featuring locally-owned commerce, tasteful modern shopping, antiques, art, and farmers’ markets in an elegant old-world setting, drawing locals and visitors alike. Only 12 miles from Center City, Chestnut Hill is home to residents who appreciate a more relaxed, sophisticated lifestyle close to nature and local shops.

What to Love

• Stag and Doe nights in the Christmas holiday season
• Pastorius Park outdoor summer concerts
• Art, live music, crafts, and community at Clover Market’s Second Saturdays
• The annual Home & Garden Festival in May
• Fall for the Arts Festival

Local Lifestyle

Chestnut Hill offers a rich, balanced lifestyle with opportunities to enjoy art and culture, excellent food, and the great outdoors. The extensive, picturesque lands of Wissahickon Valley Park boast rivers, woodlands, hills, and miles of trails where you can go horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, birdwatching, and picnicking. Gardening enthusiasts will love Laurel Hill Gardens with its plant nursery and garden center on lush estate grounds. Take in a play at Stagecrafters, where theatrical productions, readings, and special events—like the Halloween Scary Stories—are presented in an intimate setting. Visit Northwestern Stables, where you can board your horses, take riding lessons, and send the kids to summer camp!

Dining, Entertainment & Shopping

Germantown Avenue runs through the center of Chestnut Hill, lined with locally owned stores in dreamy older stone buildings. Here, you can find upscale consignment shops, cafes, small restaurants with a range of cuisine, specialty stores, and Weavers Way Coop, Philadelphia’s original food coop, featuring organic and local produce and craft foods. Kilian Hardware sells goods for the home and garden from an old-fashioned brick corner store. 

Founded in 1899, Bredenbeck's is an old-world bakery, ice-cream parlor, and a town favorite, making custom cakes and desserts to order. Get lost in a world of local and foreign fine foods and cheese at Evergreen Cheese. 

McNally’s Tavern is a neighborhood establishment boasting the well-loved schmitter sandwich in a warmly-lit, comforting pub atmosphere. Visit CinCin Restaurant for high-end Chinese fusion cuisine and head to Chestnut Hill Brewing for local craft beers and ciders.

Things to Do

Take a stroll on the Morris Arboretum’s award-winning canopy trail, Out on a Limb, which meanders through the treetops at 50-feet high–no climbing involved! 

The Arboretum offers a range of lectures, classes, and workshops in birding, sustainable gardening, wellness, and more. The kids will love the seasonal railway through the gardens as well as their many outdoor activities designed for kids. 

Get on a horse or bike and ride through the miles of challenging trails found in the incredible Wissahickon Valley Park, or just take a stroll in the peaceful woods to the lively sounds of brooks and streams. 

The Woodmere Art Museum hosts art exhibitions, events, and concerts, as well as classes in a wide range of art forms and topics. Find treasures for the home at Clover Market, Chestnut Hill’s award-winning seasonal open-air market, featuring live music, kids’ craft activities, and boutique vendors. 

Find a slice of serenity at the Chestnut Hill Skyspace at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting House, during the golden hours of dawn and dusk. ‘Greet the Light’ is a permanent art installation that immerses the viewer in sublime shifts of color and atmosphere at sunrise and sunset in this simple Quaker setting.

Chestnut Hill is famous for its annual Witches & Wizards Festival which celebrates all things Harry Potter, taking place around Halloween. The festival attracts fans of all ages from around the world and coincides with a Harry Potter Conference at Chestnut Hill College, which gathers academic scholarship on the groundbreaking book series. 

Chestnut Hill is also home to the nation’s oldest country club, the Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, which offers cricket, three golf courses, squash, swimming, lawn tennis, pickleball, and platform tennis. The Wissahickon Skating Club offers a pristine ice rink with full facilities.

Schools

Students in Chestnut Hill are served by the School District of Philadelphia, and the neighborhood is home to several private schools.

• Springside Chestnut Hill Academy [PreK-12] single-sex Elementary to Middle Schools, co-ed High School

Homes For Sale in Chestnut Hill, PA