What To See On A Day in Philadelphia??

Hi,

We will be traveling this weekend and discovered we will be passing
through Philadelphia on our way home. We have never been and am
considering stopping for the afternoon to sightsee.

The only problem is we are not sure where to begin. My research seems
to say we should park somewhere in "Center City" and roam that area
first, but otherwise we are lost and want to make sure we don't waste
time when we arrive trying to fiqure out where to go.

Any ideas on things one should really see with an afternoon in
Philadelphia?

Thanks!

"Ryan" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

We will be traveling this weekend and discovered we will be passing
through Philadelphia on our way home. We have never been and am
considering stopping for the afternoon to sightsee.

The only problem is we are not sure where to begin. My research seems
to say we should park somewhere in "Center City" and roam that area
first, but otherwise we are lost and want to make sure we don't waste
time when we arrive trying to fiqure out where to go.

Any ideas on things one should really see with an afternoon in
Philadelphia?

Thanks!

Tough call since I don't know your tastes.

Most people would consider a trip to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell
an integral Philadelphia experience. Nearby is the National Constitution
Center which I've heard mixed things about.

http://www.nps.gov/inde/
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/

Visit the corner of E. Passayunk and 9th Street for two of Phillie's most
famous cheesesteak joints, Pat's and Geno's (others will most certainly
barrage you with recommendations for better steaks in the area, but this is
the corner where it all began).

http://www.genosteaks.com/
http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/

Philadelphia has a wonderful art museum if that's your bag.

http://www.philamuseum.org/main.asp

For something a bit more offbeat, check out the medical oddities at the
Mutter Museum.

http://www.collphyphil.org/muttpg1.shtml

On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 20:10:28 -0800, "bamawama" wrote:

tp://www.patskingofsteaks.com/

Philadelphia has a wonderful art museum if that's your bag.

http://www.philamuseum.org/main.asp

Also the excellent Rodin museum just down the Parkway from the Art Museum.

The Reading Terminal Market is always fun, and the Italian food shops on South
9th St. are top-notch.

And for two more excellent places to eat; Monk's Cafe for terrific Belgian food
(mussels, frites) and wonderful beer; and Jack's Firehouse, not far from the Art
Museum and near the prison (which also offers a strange but interesting tour).

-- Larry

"pltrgyst" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 20:10:28 -0800, "bamawama" wrote:

tp://www.patskingofsteaks.com/

Philadelphia has a wonderful art museum if that's your bag.

http://www.philamuseum.org/main.asp

Also the excellent Rodin museum just down the Parkway from the Art Museum.

The Reading Terminal Market is always fun, and the Italian food shops on
South
9th St. are top-notch.

And for two more excellent places to eat; Monk's Cafe for terrific Belgian
food
(mussels, frites) and wonderful beer; and Jack's Firehouse, not far from
the Art
Museum and near the prison (which also offers a strange but interesting
tour).

-- Larry


And Cannoli's from Termini's Bakery on S. 8th.

On 17 Nov 2005 19:52:18 -0800, "Ryan" wrote:

Hi,

We will be traveling this weekend and discovered we will be passing
through Philadelphia on our way home. We have never been and am
considering stopping for the afternoon to sightsee.

The only problem is we are not sure where to begin. My research seems
to say we should park somewhere in "Center City" and roam that area
first, but otherwise we are lost and want to make sure we don't waste
time when we arrive trying to fiqure out where to go.

If you exit from I-95 at the Historical Area exit, and head south on
2nd street, you will eventually come to a city parking garage on your
left a bit south of Chestnut St. This has reasonable rates and is
convenient for the historical sites.

This web site has good driving directions:

http://www.gophila.com/Go/TravelTool...irections.aspx

Across from the garage is City Tavern, which is run as a concession of
the park service. They have wait staff in period costumes and menus
featuring typical colonial fare. If you don't want to take the time
for lunch, you could at least have a hot cider by the fire. I only ate
there once, and it was about 10 years ago; the food was quite good,
although a bit pricey.

Here is a good map of the historic area:

http://www.gophila.com/Go/TravelTools/historicmap.pdf

Turning onto Walnut St and walking a few blocks west, you will arrive
at the main historical park area. Independence Hall is a block or two
west and a block north of City Tavern. There is a good tour of
Independence Hall, and even if there is a line, it moves pretty
quickly. Continuing north, you can see the enclosure where the Liberty
Bell is kept. You have to take a tour to see this also.

These two things may occupy a good part of your afternoon. The Art
Museum is worth seeing, but it's not particularly near this area.
There is a tourist shuttle bus which visits a lot of the historic
sites and also the Art Museum. It costs either $1 per trip or $4 for
an all-day pass:

http://tinyurl.com/dmd27

The route of this bus in the historic area is marked on the map I gave
a link for above.

If you want to stay in the general historic area, there are a few more
things worth seeing. If you return to 2nd St. and continue walking
north, in the direction you came in, you will see Old Christ Church on
your left, just north of Market Street. This is the church where many
of the founding fathers worshipped, and their pews are marked.

A bit further north, on your right, is the entrance to Elfreth's
Alley, which is billed as the oldest continually inhabited residential
street in the US. (Note how many qualifiers they have to add to make
it unique.) In any case, it is a colonial street that has remained
almost unchanged for 300 years. Most of the houses are still privately
owned and occupied, but a few are open to visitors, and are
interesting to see.

On Arch St. between 3rd and 2nd is the Betsy Ross house. Although
there is no evidence that she really made the first American flag, the
house and attached workshop are interesting to visit, to see a typical
colonial business and the residence of the owner.

Franklin Court is interesting, especially if you're interested in 18th
century scientific discovery and inventions.

If the weather is nice, the entire area from Chestnut to Pine, and
between 2nd and Broad Street (where 14th would be), is interesting to
walk around, a pretty residential neighborhood with little shops,
including lots of antique shops, especially on Pine Street.

Any ideas on things one should really see with an afternoon in
Philadelphia?

You could easily spend a day or two, but you should be able to see
quite a lot in one afternoon. Someone mentioned the 9th St market;
it's no where near as interesting as it once was, as a lot of the
merchandise now is cheap junk, and anyway it's at its best on a
Saturday morning. The Reading Terminal market is also moderately
interesting, and does have some good food.
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

I used to work in downtown Philly, though that hasn't been for almost 20
years... but did use to live within about half hour of the city for years.

If anyone is headed towards Independence Mall, where a cluster of
historical sites are -- such as the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross house, Ben
Franklin grave, etc... there's a place nearby that's also worth visiting.

There's the U.S. Mint at 5th and Arch Streets. One of the larger office
buildings in the U.S. and occupies an entire city block. Used to be the
top-producing single mint of U.S. coinage -- don't know if still true.

They make billions of coins a year, and has free self-guided tour around
the mint's interior where you see coins being made, as well as a very
impressive and very complete collection of U.S. gold coinage on display.

An interesting and tragic story about Peter the Eagle (bird) there from
1792 is told; don't know if it's an urban legend or not, but certainly
an interesting story. (The official U.S. coinage began in 1793.)

-Dan

Dan Foster wrote:

There's the U.S. Mint at 5th and Arch Streets. One of the larger office
buildings in the U.S. and occupies an entire city block. Used to be the
top-producing single mint of U.S. coinage -- don't know if still true.

They make billions of coins a year, and has free self-guided tour around
the mint's interior where you see coins being made, as well as a very
impressive and very complete collection of U.S. gold coinage on display.

I just checked their web site, by the way, and the Mint has resumed
their self-guided tours (which had been suspended for a few years for
security reasons). (We couldn't tour the Denver one when we were out
there.) However, restrictions may apply. Check
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=philadelphia
for details.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
A passionate commitment to social justice is no substitute for
knowing what the hell you're talking about. --Thomas Sowell

In article .com,
"Ryan" wrote:

Hi,

We will be traveling this weekend and discovered we will be passing
through Philadelphia on our way home. We have never been and am
considering stopping for the afternoon to sightsee.

The only problem is we are not sure where to begin. My research seems
to say we should park somewhere in "Center City" and roam that area
first, but otherwise we are lost and want to make sure we don't waste
time when we arrive trying to fiqure out where to go.

Any ideas on things one should really see with an afternoon in
Philadelphia?

I work near Center City. In fact, I plan to visit the historic area
tonight after work.

A good starting point is the Visitors Center at 5th and Market Street.
You can find tons of info there, then spend the afternoon seeing sites
that are all within a brief walk of the Visitors Center, such as the Ben
Franklin Museum, lunch on Saturday at the Reading Terminal Market,
Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, Liberty Bell. You
could easily spend a weekend wondering around that area; I have done it
many times.

Parking in the area of 5th and Market Streets this weekend should be
pretty easy. There are numerous parking garages for Saturday parking. If
you get there early on a Sunday, you should be be able to find free
street parking because the parking meters in that area do not need to be
fed on Sundays.

If you prefer a different kind of experience, head up to the area around
21st and the Ben Franklin Parkway. Parking is a bit more of a challenge
in that area, but its not too bad. In that area, there are several
interesting museums, including: The Ben Franklin Science Museum,
Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, and the Free Library of
Philadelphia (which has a lot of museum qualities). Unfortunately, only
the library is free, but the Art Museum allows free admission on Sunday
mornings before 1:00pm with a donation requested.

On 11/17/2005 10:52 PM Ryan contemplated the inner meaning of Buffalo
Wings then said:
Hi,

We will be traveling this weekend and discovered we will be passing
through Philadelphia on our way home. We have never been and am
considering stopping for the afternoon to sightsee.

The only problem is we are not sure where to begin. My research seems
to say we should park somewhere in "Center City" and roam that area
first, but otherwise we are lost and want to make sure we don't waste
time when we arrive trying to fiqure out where to go.

Any ideas on things one should really see with an afternoon in
Philadelphia?

Thanks!


If you'd like something a little off the beaten path from the usual,
visit one of Philly's Gay neighborhoods. It's roughly located in the
area of Locust, Camac, Chancellor and Spruce. It's a very open area and
there's some really fine gay run restaurants in the area. I like an
ice cream parlor that's open for breakfast and lunch only. They also
serve the usual breakfast fare and at lunch the deli sandwiches an
burgers are great. The William Way Center is nearby where you can learn
something about the community and it's struggle for equality. Chinatown
is a short walk to the east.

If you are a fan of the "Rocky" movies you'll want to park in the Art
Museum's south parking lot and use the steps to the south entrance which
were featured in the first of the series. I can't help but hum the
"Rocky" theme when I climb those steps.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Many good replies already, including the detailed one from Barbara (as
usual!). I work right on Independence Mall, across from the
Constitution Center, and get to enjoy walking around the area every
day.

I'll echo others in saying that for one day (or part of a day), focus
on the historical area and "Old Town," centered roughly between sixth
street and the waterfront and between Race Street and Walnut Street.
There is a parking garage literally right under the National Park/City
visitor center, with entrances on both 5th and 6th streets between Arch
and Market streets (6th street is one-way to the south, 5th is one-way
to the north). It's about $10 to park all day, depending when you get
there.

Philly is, above all, a great walking town. After the obligatory visits
to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (get free tickets at the
Visitor Center), spend some time just walking around the streets nearby
(heading toward the river).

The cemetary containing Ben Franklin's grave is now open for visiting;
it's run by a local church and has a $2 entrance fee. (The cemetary had
been closed to visits since 1976, and only reopened last year.) You
can see Ben's grave from outside the walls, though, as there is a gate
nearby.

I'd plan to start the day at the Visitor's Center, and let them point
out interesting places on their free map. The historic district will
more than keep you busy for an afternoon, and is easily accessed from
the major highways (I-95, I-76, etc.).