going to philly
 

I will be traveling to Philadelphia in March. <BR>Would like some advice on lodging that is safe and affordable (under @175.00 pn). Also would like to know about local transportation.(ie cab service, subway, buses) <BR>Thank you for any information that you can provide. <BR>Looking forward to a great time in Philly, <BR>JT

The URL you want is <BR> <BR>www.septa.org <BR> <BR>for all info on Philly mass transit. <BR> <BR>I'll say it again: do NOT drive a car in downtown Philadelphia. The streets are narrow, the drivers are maniacs, and there's no parking for less than exorbitant prices.

JT: <BR>If you will be staying over a Friday night, then I'd recommend the Marriott, which has a special of $109 per night, as long as your stay includes Friday night. The Marriott is located next to the Convention Center...you can't get a more central location than that.

And don't drive in Philly because the slightest parking infraction for the smallest possible abount of time will net you an infraction. The meter maids are absolutely amazing; they must be bionic, or have some kind of supernatural powers.

I drive into Philly everyday for work. Do not let people scare you too much. Yes, it is preferable to walk because it is a nice walkable city and it is less hassle. But if you need to drive it really isn't any more difficult than any other city. (And much better than NYC.) The only area I would caution you about is the Parkway area near the Art Museum. If you don't know where you're going you could really get lost in all the circling around. Otherwise the rest of Center city is pretty much just a grid with "tree" streets- Pine, Spruce, Locust, Walnut, Chestnut (plus Market and a few other major ones) running east-west and numbered streets running north-south from Front,2nd, etc. through to 26th (right before the Schuylkill). This area would encompass most of the better restaurants as well as the historic area. I have taken the Market-Frankford el (subway) and also found it pretty clean and very easy. ($1.15 each way if you get tokens). <BR>I would also second the Marriott as a good location. Also the Holiday Inn on 4th street seems convenient. <BR>And do watch if you park. READ THE SIGNS CAREFULLY! Metered hours vary widely depending on what part of the city you're in e.g. in Old City meters are free north of Market on Sundays, but not south of Market. Enjoy!

i second the holiday inn @independence mall (on 4th and arch). location is great (about $100 per nite). also you may want to look into the fairmount park trolley—for a one day pass price (about $15 i think) you can travel all over the city getting off and on at various the trolley stops. the visitor center on 3rd and chestnut has lots of info too.