Long weekend in Philadelphia-suggestions needed

[KarenB]

We live about 3 hours west of Philadelphia but have never taken advantage of really visiting the city. We have been to Longwood Gardens twice. About 10 years ago, we went when our DSs were very young-went to the zoo, science museum, and that's about it.

DH and I have talked about a long weekend in the near future. Our DSs are now 14 and 15 so it will be quite a different trip. I would love to stay right in the city.

Any suggestions as to where to stay? (of course within $$ reason) Can we park the car and walk? What are the "not to be missed" parts of the city? DS 15 LOVES cheese steaks.....where is the best?

Our DSs are great travelers and have a lot of patience when it comes to walking.

Thanks for any info!
Karen

 

[Cindy B]

Wow, there is so much to do.

You could do the Old City area.. the Betsy Ross House, Liberty Bell, and Alpherth's Alley. There is the new Constitution Center as well (I haven'T been there yet)

If you want to drive, there is a stunning national park called Valley Forge .. its beautiful! (Thats about 1/2 hour away from Philly) Near Valley Forge is the King of Prussia mall.. not your usual mall. Its got about 400 stores in it! (If you are into that kind of thing, its neat to look around)

Cheesesteaks.. now thats a big debate. There are a few in South Philly that people love. You could go for a cheesesteak run and look at the Eagles stadium, the construction of the Phillies statdium, and the Spectrum area. Near the sports area is some boat ports.. if you continue down I95 (towards Center City) you can park the car and look around.. there is a DAve and Busters there, and some boats docked there.

 

[dcgrumpy]

We went to Philadelphia fo rthe weekend in early November. I got a room through Priceline at the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing for $60, it was well worth it, especially since they didn't charged us for parking. We were able to walk from the hotel to all of the historic sites. We also went to the Constitution Center and the Franklin Institute we drove to the latter. We went to Pat's Steaks for cheesesteaks, they were good but I can't compare it to any of the other places.

 

[KingsFanInRI]

best cheesesteaks, bar none... Tony Luke's

If you can find where I-95 and Oregon Ave intersect (Actually Oregon goes under 95) that's where TL's is. The atmosphere is cool (despite almost being under the freeway) because there are lots of pictures of the famous people (some more famous than others) who have been there, but the food makes it worthwhile.

you can check it out here..........

www.tonylukes.com

 

[Chuck-PA]

You might want to check on a Philadelphia website.
I think it is something like gophila.com not sure you may want to do a search. I saw a commericial. They are running a speical until the end of March. Stay one night get one free at select hotels.
Sights to see:
There is the Avenue of the Arts (formerly Broad St). This is the theatre district to see a show. You can tour City Hall and visit the William Penn statue (atop City Hall) and see the city from above. As stated earlier, there is the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, Independence Hall, Carpenters Hall, Seaport Museum, across the Delaware River is the New Jersey Aquarium, Constitution Center, Franklin Institiute, Academy of Natural Science. Trolley tours around the city.
Good cheesesteak is Jim's on South St. This is a street with unique shops. All of above are in walking distance of each other.
You can tour the Wachovia Center (where the Sixers and Flyers play) Maybe catch a game. There is also a new in door football league starting this weekend. Philadelphia Soul owned by Jon Bon Jovi.
Lots of things to see and do here.

 

[Kallison]

Don't forget Ben Franklin's ghost house and museum underground.

You can go through the mint too. When you come out of the mint front door, go left to the next corner - -there is a cemetary. If you look through the fence you will see Ben's grave (lots of pennies on it). You can't get in the cemetary though.

Have fun.

 

[phillybeth]

Don't forget the Art Museum! The Franklin Insitute is cool, it's like a museum of science, all sorts of cool displays and hands-on stuff about all areas of science. The Academy of Natural Sciences presenting a traveling show called GENOME- all about DNA, including forensics, DNA research, etc. It's really cool! The Reading Terminal Market is one of the oldest farmer's markets in the country- but it is more than that too, there are dozens of places to eat there. The convention center has lots of good shows to- the car show, the Flower show (a philly tradition) the baot show, home show, etc.

My vote for best cheesesteaks goes to the original, Pat's, in South Philly at the end of the Italian Market (a 3 block long outdoor market that has everything, produce, meats, cheese shops, one of the best cooking supply stores in the world, Fanti's). Go during the day, walk one side of the market, have a cheesesteak, walk the other.

Most of Center City, where the museums are, is walkable. I would try to stay somewhere centrally located, either at Penn's Landing or in Center City. Parking anywhere in the city is not plentiful OR cheap.

 

[hentob]

We were in Philly for a long w/end this summer. We had the BEST time! Got to stay at the Hyatt at the Bellevue for under $100 via Priceline!

The Art Museum is a must.

Dave and Busters (check out daveandbusters.com) will be a massive hit with the boys! The food is pretty good too.

Cirque du Soleil is coming to Philly soon--That would be fun.

Like sushi? Pack away a few bucks and go to Morimoto's (yep, from the Iron Chef) place. No words can express how awesome the sushi is here. morimotorestaurant.com

You will NOT be bored in Philly!

Keep us posted!

Hentob

 

[Saffron]

If you come on over in the spring or summer, you can go to Penn's Landing on the weekends for any of the cultural festivals. They are always a blast.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned the Camden Aquarium across the river by ferry from Penn's Landing. That's a lot of fun. The little boat ride is just a bit of fun too! It only takes 5 minutes top to go across the Delaware, but a little breeze from the ferry on a hot summer day can feel great!

I would definitely try to go to the Franklin Institute if your son has any interest in any of the sciences.

You definitely have to try a cheese steak, that's just a Philly tradition, but I would also suggest City Tavern for lunch. It's such a cool place for history or non history buffs and they have great food and very reasonable prices. City Tavern is the tavern where Washington, Jefferson etc stayed whenever they were in Philly. They worked on the Constitution there. Everything is replicated to look exactly like it did in the 1770's. The servers are dressed in period cotumes. The food is kind of unusual because the menu is made up of recipes from the era. Your server will tell you all about the tavern. You're free to explore the different rooms (except the kitchen ). It's a great place for lunch. It's in the heart of historic Old City. Here is a link to their site They bring a basket of breads to the table before your meal made from recipes Martha Washington used, like amadama bread (the story about that bread is cute or funny) and sweet potato biscuits, that will make you drool for more! LOL! I love it because it's unique and it's not stuffy feeling at all! It's kind of like going to the Liberty Tree Tavern or something. LOL!

A Phillies game on a Sunday is always fun.

 

[KarenB]

Maggie...chek your PM box!