For Angela Val, experiencing the charms of Philadelphia is far more than just a personal pastime. It’s part of her job.

President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, the nonprofit that serves as the city’s official leisure-tourism marketing agency, it falls to Val to sell the city’s many allures to the wider world. Especially this year, as Philadelphia prepares to ascend the global stage for America’s 250th anniversary.

“It’s exciting for it to be here,” said Val, who has led Visit Philadelphia since 2022, after a prior 17-year stint at the agency, when she worked her way from a receptionist to vice president. “I have been preparing for this year with lots of different people, and to see it come to fruition — to be in the implementation stage — is really thrilling.”

A native of Rockville, MD, Val fell in love with Philly’s rising potential after earning a degree in hospitality management from Drexel University in 1994.

Starting out working hotel front desk and catering jobs, Val first joined Visit Philadelphia in 1998, amid Center City’s long awaited renaissance.

“I just felt like I was going to be part of a city that’s going to have a great deal of growth over the next 10 years,” she said.

Now, Val helps spearhead that growth.

For the 250th, Visit Philadelphia has rolled out a series of marketing campaigns and events, including TED Democracy, a daylong symposium of broadcast TED talks exploring modern day democracy scheduled for June 13 at the Kimmel Center.

Val, who lives in Point Breeze with her husband, and her dogs, Dash and Bailey, who are Mi-Kis, said her Perfect Philly Day would include a rooftop sunset, a killer workout, sweets before dinner, lots of great Philly food, and some late-night hanging with neighbors.

We always start off with my dogs. We have two puppies. They’re about a year old. I take them to the deck to run around very early in the morning. We have a skyline view. We took all of our COVID refund and renovated the deck. I do like to sit on the deck with a cup of tea. The Random Tea Room sells a great loose mint tea that I love.

I usually go back to bed. I am not a morning person. I am somebody who likes to hit the snooze button. So I’ll do that — just chill out in bed a little bit longer and catch the news.

I usually head to the gym. I have a trainer. I belong to the Bellevue Sporting Club. I am all about strength training these days. As you get older, the doctor recommends less cardio, more strength. I had never really lifted weights before. Thus, I got a trainer, and I have to say, I do love it. Emily’s fantastic. I usually try to get that in two or three times a week, if possible. It always makes me feel better.

I get a good walk there and a good walk back. I’m pretty ravenous afterward. Joe and I will usually meet up at Enswell. It’s just so pretty in there. They have this awesome egg sandwich — it’s so buttery and delicious. If that’s not available, I get the omelet, which is also delicious. Always with a side salad..

In the afternoon, we just pick an activity to do. I love to walk so we usually walk some place — go see some exhibit or gallery. If this is a day in 2026, I’m going to want to check out “The Declaration’s Journey” at the Museum of the American Revolution. They have rare copies of the Declaration of Independence but also an advanced copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I have a dream.” And the bench on which he wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

And [I’d go to] Calder Gardens. It’s small, but so different for Philly. It’s so modern and beautiful.

[Then I’m] headed to The Bread Room — from High Street Hospitality and Ellen Yin — to get a couple sweet treats. And I would love to be able to take one of the baking classes there. They have this scone with orange blossom frosting. It is delicious. They also have a chocolate chip cookie that has a little bit of sea salt on the top, which I also think is delicious. And it’s a big boy, so you can share it, and not have to eat the whole thing, like I do.

We would honestly come home and take a nap and play with the dogs. But we would definitely go back out.

We do eat out a lot. It’s just the two of us. We would go to Sao. That is one of the places that I would love to try. We’ve been to Mawn many times and it’s delicious. But we heard Sao was really great too. Fresh seafood. I am a seafood lover. I don’t eat meat regularly. For me to find a great seafood place, especially one that’s close by, I’m in.

We go to Alice a lot. I like their artichoke salad there. We like to sit at the bar there at the very end. Also American Sardine Bar, which is right down the street from our house. I eat so often downtown during the week because of work. So I try really hard on the weekends to hit neighborhood spots. I don’t eat sardines. But what I wish they would bring back is their fried bologna sandwich. I will tell you that at two o’clock in the morning, if you’ve had a few drinks, it’s delicious. Always a cocktail. I’m old school. I’m always going to love the Cosmo (very light pink, not too sweet.) But I was also recently introduced to the Paper Plane. It seems just like a Cosmopolitan, but it has a whiskey base. It’s not too sweet.

A perfect end is actually going next door to see our neighbors. We’re very good friends. And they have a beautiful patio with a Pergola up top, so we’d just hang around with them around the fire pit and listen to records. The soundtrack is probably Leon Bridges. That’s a perfect night.

The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.