rookie Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Can someone tell me about visiting Philadelphia? I've never been there and can't wrap my brain around it: what to see, where to stay, how long to stay.... I know it's a big city and there's lots to do but I am just interested in the colonial/revolutionary sites, a clean and safe place to stay, and some good eats. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I am just interested in the colonial/revolutionary sites, a clean and safe place to stay, and some good eats. Reading Terminal Market is your good eats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 There's a Comfort Inn in the Old City that's safe and clean. We did the Great Urban Race in Philadelphia and have family there we visited last year, and it was all fine. We did the historic sitrs a few years ago, and I'm looking forward to taking my daughter next year - have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I love Philadelphia! It reminds me of Boston. We are heading there for a day trip in July to see the Mummies of the World exhibit at the Franklin Institute. You could easily spend 3-4 days there sightseeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 These are some great itinerary suggestions: http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/philadelphia-city-guide11.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) We spend a lot of time in Philly. Old City is where most of the colonial sites can be found....Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's home site and grave, historical museums, and other things like that. If you just walk around that area, you'll find all kinds of different small museums...some have neat things in them and others are a little boring. The Academy of Natural Science is nice and the Philadelphia Art Museum (which I think is free on Sundays). In some areas the streets are still cobblestone...not great to drive on but neat to see. The places I know to eat at are mostly Irish pubs...Plough and the Stars at 2nd and Chestnut St. is very tasty but a little pricey and on Sunday nights they have live Irish sessions. There is a little pizza place that is basically a hole in the wall but my kids love their pizza and it is cheap...Soho Pizza on Market St. near 2nd. Can't help you with hotels because we drive in and out. Edited June 14, 2011 by Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 We were just there a few weeks ago. The Holiday Inn was a perfect location, reasonably priced and very nice. The pool would be open now too. It was only two blocks from the visitor's center. Basically just go to the visitor center, get a map and start walking. Pretty much everything historic is on the National Parks Map except for the Betsy Ross house, which isn't part of the NPS, but is only a block away from the Holiday Inn. And of course, if you really want to get into the spirit of things, then you need to get into character! General Washington himself standing in Independence Hall! This was my son's souvenir request. He wore it all day Saturday. He's in photos from high school groups to Japanese tour groups and everyone in between! LOL! He also wore it to dinner at City Tavern where both he and dinner were big hits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 We only live two hours from Philly and wanted to go spend a few days two summers ago doing fun sightseeing kinds if things-but we didn't want to spend a lot on accommodations since it was so close to home. We ended up staying at a KOA campground, in a cabin. Way cheaper than a hotel with the added fun of camping, cooking out, roasting marshmallows etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista in LA Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Besides what everyone else has mentioned, you probably should make your way to South Philly for a cheese steak - Pat's or Geno's, or both so you can compare! http://www.visitphilly.com/restaurants-dining/philadelphia/genos-steaks/ And if you want to get outside of the city, don't miss Valley Forge (there's great shopping at nearby King of Prussia Mall too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 We are planning a trip to the East Coast, and Philly is our first "stop". We plan to spend three days in the area. One to visit Valley Forge, one to tour the Old City historical sites, and one to visit the Ben Franklin Science Museum. If we can, we'd like to tour the national mint. We'll have 6 kids (aged 2-16) and 2 grandparents, so I'm trying to keep the "schedule" light. I'd like to make a detour to Gettysburg on our way to D.C. I'm so glad you started this thread so I can get some good ideas. Oh - we're staying at a Best Western close to Valley Forge, and we'll drive into the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Well, i have never been to Philly, but after watching Parking Wars on TV, I would read signs very carefully and watch where you park. Those fines are something else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasmommy Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I love Philadelphia! It reminds me of Boston. We are heading there for a day trip in July to see the Mummies of the World exhibit at the Franklin Institute. You could easily spend 3-4 days there sightseeing. My kids would love this. It's not cheap though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Slight hijack. How is the public transportation system? Is there somewhere outside the city to park and take the metro in? Is there an all day pass? If I wanted to see some of the historical sights, can I reach by metro? :tongue_smilie: I've always wanted to see some of the historical "stuff" in Philly, but I've never made it there. I'll be coming up that way for the RFWP conference in two weeks and thought I'd go to Philly for the day before heading to.... (uhm, whatever town the conference is in. :001_huh:Total mind-blank!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 We are planning a trip to the East Coast, and Philly is our first "stop". We plan to spend three days in the area. One to visit Valley Forge, one to tour the Old City historical sites, and one to visit the Ben Franklin Science Museum. If we can, we'd like to tour the national mint. We'll have 6 kids (aged 2-16) and 2 grandparents, so I'm trying to keep the "schedule" light. I'd like to make a detour to Gettysburg on our way to D.C. I'm so glad you started this thread so I can get some good ideas. Oh - we're staying at a Best Western close to Valley Forge, and we'll drive into the city. Philly is a huge city! There is lots to do downtown. But be careful with parking otherwise you just might be on Parking Wars. They'll reallly get ya with the fines. LOL Your best bet is to park in a parking garage. But then this time of year its tough. We went to Philly in 2009 and it was the day Michael Jackson had died. Its also the place where he recorded his first record at Philidelphia International Records. It was crazy downtown. You heard Michael Jackson music, there were concerts with children. But you have so much to do and its all pretty much within close proximity. The ONLY bad part is if you think you'll get around with GPS in downtown Philly. Well, your not. There is no signal and if you think I'm kidding. Well you'll find out for yourself. I've told this to people traveling there and they think I'm kidding only to come back and say " Wow, your right." ITs a big city to get lost in. It took us 2hrs to get out. But again it was right at the end of June so ... and it gets really hot there. LOL Be sure to visit the Museum where the Rocky statue is. We didn't get a chance to because we couldn't figure out how to get there. LOL So mapquest everywhere you want to go before you go there. You can google places to see in Philly and really any place you go is worth going to. The only thing I couldn't get over was the old buildings against the newer buildings. It just doesn't look right. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Slight hijack. How is the public transportation system? Is there somewhere outside the city to park and take the metro in? Is there an all day pass? If I wanted to see some of the historical sights, can I reach by metro? :tongue_smilie: I've always wanted to see some of the historical "stuff" in Philly, but I've never made it there. I'll be coming up that way for the RFWP conference in two weeks and thought I'd go to Philly for the day before heading to.... (uhm, whatever town the conference is in. :001_huh:Total mind-blank!) It would probably just be easier for you to drive up 95 to the historic area, park in a garage/lot, and walk. Getting onto the main roads to Phoenixville shouldn't be too difficult as long as you can follow directions and read the road sign. Mapquest it first, don't rely on gps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 We are planning a trip to the East Coast, and Philly is our first "stop". We plan to spend three days in the area. One to visit Valley Forge, one to tour the Old City historical sites, and one to visit the Ben Franklin Science Museum. If we can, we'd like to tour the national mint. We'll have 6 kids (aged 2-16) and 2 grandparents, so I'm trying to keep the "schedule" light. I'd like to make a detour to Gettysburg on our way to D.C. I'm so glad you started this thread so I can get some good ideas. Oh - we're staying at a Best Western close to Valley Forge, and we'll drive into the city. Sounds like so much fun! If Gettysburg doesn't work out (if it is hard to get hotels or something) consider Antietam. At both GB and Antietam, you can hire a personal tour guide to take you around the battlefields. We have done it at both places and it was worht every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Check into museum fees before you go. Often it's cheaper to buy a membership to a museum in your town that has reciprocal arrangements with one in Philly. If you belong to your local science museum, chances are you can get into the Franklin Institute. If you belong to your local zoo, chances are you can get into both the zoo and the aquarium in Camden. If you belong to your local Natural History Museum, you can get into one in Philly. ALSO - if your kids are approaching college age, even if it's a few years away, I strongly suggest you take the opportunity to do campus tours of at least one school. UPenn, Temple, Drexel are all good choices, plus Moore for the artsy types, and so on. Go on the school's web site to get their tour info. A tour typically takes about an hour, there might also be an info session, and they usually give you lunch. I cannot stress enough how useful it is for your kids to hear from *someone who isn't mom* what is expected of them for college admissions. (Even if it's exactly what mom has been saying all along.) Oh - and it really doesn't matter if you would actually choose Penn or Temple or whatever - what matters is to get the ball rolling, and start making a mental list of what you like and what you don't like in a particular school, to begin to have comparison points, and to begin to filter out the kinds of things that all schools will tell you so that you can hone in on the differences between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 ALSO - if your kids are approaching college age, even if it's a few years away, I strongly suggest you take the opportunity to do campus tours of at least one school. UPenn, Temple, Drexel are all good choices, plus Moore for the artsy types, and so on. Go on the school's web site to get their tour info. A tour typically takes about an hour, there might also be an info session, and they usually give you lunch. I cannot stress enough how useful it is for your kids to hear from *someone who isn't mom* what is expected of them for college admissions. (Even if it's exactly what mom has been saying all along.) Wow - this would never have entered my mind. What a fantastic idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Wow - this would never have entered my mind. What a fantastic idea! LaSalle and St. Joseph's are 2 Catholic univ. that are in Philly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 LaSalle and St. Joseph's are 2 Catholic univ. that are in Philly. Plus Immaculata and Holy Family and Villanova (in the surrounding areas). There are TONS of schools here - I think we have more med schools than anywhere else for example (or did until they started merging with each other). Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford - LOTS of good schools in the area. Here's the wiki list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rookie Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 would you stay outside of philly and drive in each day or stay in the city near the historic district? I need CLEAN and CHEAP. (I am totally OCD about cleanliness - a real germophobe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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