Visiting Philadelphia

[RUDisney]

Thanks for the advice. Because of what you said, I mapped out the colleges and realized it would be best to rent a car at the start of the trip, dive north to Lehigh, and work my way south. I plan to return my car before we go into Central City and use public transit for the rest of the trip. He decided to visit Lehigh, Haverford, Swarthmore, and the University of Pennsylvania. While he plans to major in STEM, he plus my husband and I want him to get a good liberal arts foundation as well. My husband is an engineer but he felt that attending a school that had a liberal arts core curriculum was very helpful for him in expanding his mind and teaching a variety of useful soft skills.

He's a sophomore.

I SO wanted to go to Swarthmore! Go there before you return your car. It's on the other side of I476 and once you get into the city, public transportation will be easy.

If you come into the city via Lancaster Ave, you'll go past Villanova, too.

My niece told me that when Jim's burned, Delsandro's on Henry Ave was voted best cheesesteak. Whenever we go into the city, we take Henry to avoid the Schuylkill and there is always a long line outside of it. There never used to be a line. I've been taking this route since the early 90s.

 

[tazdev3225]

The 'wit' is wit onions, just so you know what you're getting.

I've lived in Philly my whole life and never heard that. We even owned a pizza shop briefly. Wit is with or without cheese, usually cheese whiz.

OP - You have gotten some great suggestions. The Liberty Bell is always a big draw as is Independence Hall. On 2nd St. you have Franklins Court which was where Ben Franklin lived. Eastern State is supposed to be very interesting although I never have been there. Edgar Allan Poe's house is in the general vicinity also. If you google Independence National Park and go to things to see it has some great suggestions for historical sites. Penns Landing has the USS Olympia which was Admiral Dewey's flagship and the USS Becuna, a WWII submarine, and both are open for touring. A Ferry boat ride across the river and you can tour the Battleship USS New Jersey. In the Art Museum area you have several museums including the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Franklin Institute and the Rodin Museum., admission is pay as you wish although they do have suggested guidelines. City Hall is a fun place to walk around and see the architecture. If you go to Google Maps and close in around 15th and Market you can find some hotels in the center city area, you can also find some historical sites.. If you want to stay out of that area there are a couple of hotels along I-95. There's a Holiday Inn Express just outside the city at the Woodhaven exit. This gives you close access to -95 or the Regional Rail to Center City, my preferred way to head there as parking is expensive.

Depending on your length of stay I would recommend getting a Septa Key Card that is good for 1 or 3 days. It gives you 10 rides on the transit system. If the Philly Phlash is running during your visit, it's a great way to travel Center City and the historic areas.

I explore Center City every year or two and I am still finding things I have never seen before.

 

[Mommb]

Staying at a hotel anywhere within a few blocks of Market Street will get you easily to the subway that goes west to the University of Pennsylvania and east to Penn's Landing, with City Hall, Reading Terminal Market, and the Independence National Historical Park in between.

In addition to the sites already mentioned, if you or your family is interested in early modern art (Picasso/Matisse/Van Gogh/Cezanne etc.) the Barnes Foundation museum (near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum) is worth a visit.

I was once where your son is. My family planned a college visit tour while we were visiting my grandparents in upstate New York. My father gave me the choice of traveling north toward Boston or south toward Philadelphia. I chose Philadelphia because it sounded more interesting, visited Penn and Independence Hall, and was sold. (We also visited Cornell, Bryn Mawr, and Princeton.) I graduated with a double major in Math and English, so I can verify that Penn is great for those interested in both STEM and the liberal arts.