It's tempting to spend all your time on the first floor of the Barnes. Don't forget the
second floor

I spent 6 hours at the Barnes, and would have loved more time!

Just so you know. The "Rocky" statue has left Philadelphia.
It was auctioned off and Sly Stallone bought it. It's on its way to his place in California.

Stallone bought the statue that was an exact duplicate that had been at the San Diego Hall of Champions, not the one that is at the "Rocky Steps." While city officials at one time had the statue removed to the Spectrum as a "movie prop", its place as a tourist attraction in the city seems now to be assured.

Maitaitom, the Constitution Center sometimes has good temporary exhibits; those and "Freedom Rising" make it worthwhile to me, and there are some great artifacts, but as a whole it doesn't seem to reach its full potential. But it's worth a one time visit, for sure.

> Just so you know. The "Rocky" statue has left Philadelphia

http://6abc.com/news/rocky-returns-i...ublic/2098878/

DD and I just made plans yesterday for a week in Pennsylvania in July--2 nights in Pittsburgh with a friend, 2 nights in Gettysburg, 3 nights in Philadelphia. So this thread is great! I'm a big fan of maitaitom's humor and travels. We've only just begun our planning (used FF miles, so first thing was securing AA tickets!), so my only question now is--Is a Phillypass worth it? In our 2 full days there, we won't get to visit nearly what maitaitom and co. will get to see, but if we went to see 5 or 6 places, it seems it might be a savings. We might do history sites one day and art museums the next, based on proximity, but all very tentative. Anybody have experience with this pass?

I don't have experience with the pass, but looking at what they offer I'd say that it's probably not worth it for two days. Much of what you would want to visit in the historic section is free; Philadelphia is a very walkable city, so you really don't need the hop-on, hop-off bus for that amount of time; there's no way you'd be able to get to enough places to make it worthwhile to purchase one of the "all attractions" passes. Usually, TBH, I haven't found these passes to be practicable in most cities. Your best bet is to come up with the places you most want to visit, and perhaps start a post asking about the best way to go about getting to those places in your time frame. Happy planning!

Add up the cost of every place you plan to visit, and compare that to the cost of PhillyPass.
The cost of a three-day pass is $89. Checking the places at which you can use this pass, I guess one could visit enough places whose total admission price would be more than $89, but it would be all of the high-end places. I also don't recommend bus tours unless you're in a city where the attractions are spread out -- in Philly they're pretty close together.

I'll add that, in some cities, the pass allows you to go to the front of an otherwise long line. There are no significant lines at any attraction noted in the Philly Pass.

The Masonic Temple looks interesting. Has anyone taken that tour?

((H))

Yes, I took that tour when I went to Philadelphia. It was very good, well worth doing. Also enjoyed seeing the Masonic artifacts in their in-house museum. Gorgeous place. Well worth the visit.

The tour involves seeing numerous rooms put together by the Masons for their "secret" ceremonies. The guide is clear that (1) he won't reveal exactly what happens in the rooms, and (2) anyone can look up the information on the internet. The room are beautifully put together with elaborate, ornate decorations; each fascinating on its own. The Egyptian Room, for example, is used by archeology students from the University of Pennsylvania. If interested in unusual, beautiful room architecture, the tour is definitely worth it.

Maybe I can learn the secret handshake, too.

((H))

Tom, please don't miss dinner and a stroll on East Passyunk Ave. There are so many restaurants to choose from! Laurel and Townsend are both great. The owner of Laurel also opened a bar next door called ITV with great bar snacks and food. You can begin at what the locals call Cheesesteak Vegas, aka Geno's and Pat's. Even if you don't get a steak here, you don't want to miss the scene. Continue down the street past the Acme & CVS to get to the heart of E Passyunk, the fountain at Tasker Street. You can get a drink at Stateside across the street. They open the windows and have bar stools on the street. E Passyunk still has old-school shops mixed in with the new stuff so it's fun to look in all the windows. If you really want South Philly Italian, and it's the weekend, you can go to Mr. Martino's Trattoria. It's a BYOB so bring plenty of wine because dinner won't be quick. Husband runs the front of house and the wife cooks. For more upscale Italian, at the end of the avenue is Le Virtu specializing in the cuisine of Abruzze. Don't miss Capogiro for outstanding gelato. My daughter doesn't live far from E Passyunk but she complains that it is the only part of Philly that I want to go to. I just love it. Have fun! East Passyunk - Philadelphia Neighborhoods ? visitphilly.com

Thanks Suki...now on our list!

((H))

For really authentic South Philly souvenirs, pop into South Fellini. It will be on the left side of the street after you get past the Acme. This is where you get your 'Crumb Bum" hat or your "Jawn" pins ('jawn' being local slang for any noun.)

We're back, and the Trip Report is around the corner (next few days .. going through a million photos). Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. We got to most of the sights we wanted to see, but I'll be darned if we won't have to return. Five nights was not quite enough. I had one of the most memorable meals ever. I do like Philly Cheesesteaks. The Fodorite GTG organized by KarenPhilly was a blast on a chilly evening (the wine helped the chilliness). Our trinity where we stayed was terrific. Museums were remarkable. Loved the people of Philadelphia, especially the couple who guided four misguided tourists to the correct subway. Hopefully the report will start Sunday or Monday. Thanks again for all your help. It was very much appreciated!!!

So glad you had a good trip--I'm looking forward to the trip report! Sorry our weather wasn't more cooperative; this has been a really weird spring.

Amy, no complaints about the weather. We lucked out and hit about the only week where the weather was good. (:

Oh, that's great! That must have been the same week our school did our (outdoor!) cultural fair; it was like spring was making up for all of the other weeks.