Philadelphia, PA - one day itinerary

[Sherry in OH]

I need advice from someone familiar with the Philadelphia area.  We are going to be driving through southeastern Pennsylvania and would like to visit a few historic sites. Would this schedule work or is it too much for one day?

 

9:30 or 10-ish – arrive at Independence National Historic Park.  We want to see the Liberty Bell and tour Independence Hall.    

Lunch - whatever we find, ideally pizza.

After lunch – Tour the Philadelphia Mint  (Dh's choice).    

Then drive to Washington Crossing.  We’d like to get there no later than 3 pm.  If we are later than that, are the grounds open or does everything close at 4 pm?     

 

We will be touring Valley Forge the day before. 

Thanks.

[ZooRho]

Snort, on the Washington Crossing, hope it isn't on a Tuesday, NJ is closed on Tuesdays.

Okay sorry for the inside family joke,  We tried to get to that park and one of the ladies in the Tourist office had NO IDEA where it was.  seriously, it was crazy, the other lady realized the doofus mistake that was being made and jumped up to help.  AND that with the security guard at the state capitol who could see the tourist office from his place and had no idea where it was.  We did make it but it was closed, except that we could drive through it. 

Anyway DO check for the times and requirements for those places.  Things are different now for security things.  You may have to set up a time to do it. 

The mint was sort of ho hum for our kids.   there was much more security there and that was pre 9-11.

I think you could do those things in the time allotted but I'm going on WAY back memories.  We did the WCP on the way into Philly.

also Valley Forge was another difficult place to find, The MALL now that was EASY.




 

[Angie in VA]

It has been a few years and we stayed in a hotel in Philly, so we parked at the hotel and walked. Will you spend the night in the city the night before or will you be driving from VF that day? (We too went from VF first then drove to Philly, spent the night, and saw the Liberty Bell.) I ask b/c you must leave plenty of time to find parking and then for walking to where you want to go. We didn't go to the mint, but how cool!

 

Dd planned that whole trip so I just asked her, and when we went, we had to get our tix for the LB that morning. I think it was free, but we still needed tix. Verify that is how it is still done (maybe you can get them online??) and allow for time spent getting those and waiting in line (or on line if you are from the north, lol).

 

Hope this helps! Have fun! We went on a Monday and a few places dd wanted to see were/are closed on Mondays, so we missed out.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Hmmm, are you doing this during the summer, or after? Weekday or weekend?

 

Make sure you reserve tickets to Independence Hall in advance, the tickets are timed. So if you wait until the day of, tickets may be gone.

 

There will most likely be a line for the Liberty Bell b/c there is a security line and everyone has to go through one door.

 

We have gone in March on a weekday and had no line. We just went on a weekday in June and we waited for maybe 15 minutes. I have seen the line on a summer weekend and I would never stand in it.

 

If you have time, you should do the double decker bus tour! We do it every time we visit, it is such a great tour and takes you all over the city. You can tickets at the Independence Visitor Center. The whole tour takes about 90 minutes or so, but you can hop on and off at all the sights. I just highly highly recommend it, especially if you only have one day in the city.

[Sherry in OH]

Thanks for the advice.  

 

Angie, our hotel is near Lansdale. Per local relatives, it should take us about 30 minutes to get to Independence Park.  

 

Zho Rho, thanks for the warning about finding Washington Crossing.  I've been there once, but don't remember anything except a historical marker.  It was a long time ago, though.  

 

Lifeoftheparty, I'll ask dh about the bus.  If it is air conditioned, he might like it.  We will be going on a weekday in July.  Not a good time for touring, but we have to be in Pennsylvania that weekend for a family event.   

[justasque]

Lunch - whatever we find, ideally pizza.

OK, I would *so* not do the pizza!  You won't be that far from Reading Terminal Market, which is an amazing farmer's market that has been there for over 100 years and has some of the best food in the city.  Take your time and walk around the market before deciding what to get. The Italian is excellent, the carved turkey sandwich is excellent, there are many ethnic foods (Greek, middle eastern, Indian, Thai, Mexican) most of which are good.  (Stay away from the sushi.)  There is a whole section of Amish food.  Leave room for Basset's ice cream and grab some baked goods from Flying Monkey to take along.  A smoothie from 4 Seasons is also a great choice.  Pick up some fresh fruit, a loaf of bread, and some wonderful cheese for your evening meal.  There is a seating area in the middle of the market, though it can get crowded.

[Starr]

I would make the effort to be in town and ready to go when the sites open. It's worth getting up early to not wait in line.  

[Runningmom80]

We have been to Philly 5 times in the past 5 months house hunting. We stay in center city. Stop by the free library if you have a chance, also the science museum is amazing.

 

We eat lunch at the reading market every day we are there, it's awesome.

 

My kids were not impressed with the liberty bell, probably due to their ages. Lol

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Thanks for the advice.

 

Angie, our hotel is near Lansdale. Per local relatives, it should take us about 30 minutes to get to Independence Park.

 

Zho Rho, thanks for the warning about finding Washington Crossing. I've been there once, but don't remember anything except a historical marker. It was a long time ago, though.

 

Lifeoftheparty, I'll ask dh about the bus. If it is air conditioned, he might like it. We will be going on a weekday in July. Not a good time for touring, but we have to be in Pennsylvania that weekend for a family event.

The bottom level has A/C, but the wow factor is on the top :) And there's a breeze when you driving around with no top :)

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Thanks for the advice.

 

Angie, our hotel is near Lansdale. Per local relatives, it should take us about 30 minutes to get to Independence Park.

 

Zho Rho, thanks for the warning about finding Washington Crossing. I've been there once, but don't remember anything except a historical marker. It was a long time ago, though.

 

Lifeoftheparty, I'll ask dh about the bus. If it is air conditioned, he might like it. We will be going on a weekday in July. Not a good time for touring, but we have to be in Pennsylvania that weekend for a family event.

The bottom level has A/C, but the wow factor is on the top :) And there's a breeze when you driving around with no top :)

[wintermom]

Personally, I'd limit it to two things, the National Historic Park and the Mint. Do you really want to be driving in Philly in close to rush hour? Besides, there is so much more to see at the Historic Park than just the Liberty Bell, and it's all free. If your dc are interested there is an amazing Junior Ranger program, there is also a story-telling program outside many of the sites called, "Once upon a Nation." We simply loved this, and we came across it totally by accident.