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Pennsylvania HELP

I am going to Philadelphia in May with my husband who is going to be going ( on and off) to a conference in Philly. We will have a car and don't want to stay in Philly itself but somewhere outside the city and he can go to the conference at times. Is there anywhere nice to stay outside of Philly and what are the "must see and must do" places in Pennsylvania/New Jersey/New York State

Atlantic City is only 50 miles away from Philly and a few miles from this is Ocean City, NJ. It's a cute little beach town. Go to the Chatterbox for breakfast in OC.

Yes this board is so terrific I have had one reply and this is down to 150 now. However there was another query on Philadelphia which got 3 replies so at least I got to read something

aussie, if your husband is attending apa, your best bet is to stay in the city or a suburban location near a train station. the commute could be horrible if staying elsewhere. if this is the conference, post again. my husband is also attending; we live near phila. maybe i can assist.

Yes Helpmd, it is the APA we are attending and we would have stayed in the center of Philly except for a mistake made here in OZ where I paid for accommodation on a Liberty Hotel Pass only to find that when I went to book something there actually was nothing through Liberty in Philly and only one hotel in the whole of Penn. Threw my hands up in horror, told them to .... it and decided to rent a car and go outside the city and get to see something of the countryside. Also because our $ is weak against the US$ the cost of a normal hotel is unbelievably expensive and I didn't want that to interfer with my spending money :0) I doubt that H will attend a lot of the conference content as the main reason are the silly points we have to get. The travel and meeting people is the main attraction. My email address is [email protected] and I most certainly would be very grateful for any help you can give me. Thanks in advance, Elizabeth

Tons of people (probably especially Males) are watching important national basketball tournament games today. So many who would ordinarily answer queries are not on line. Try another time (preferably during the evening our time)

there are many nice things to do in & around Philadelphia. For starters, Liberty Hall & the Liberty Bell. On the waterfront, the tall ship & submarine exhibits are worth seeing. Across the Delaware River from Penn's Landing is the New Jersey State Aquarium. The Philadelphia Zoo and Franklin Institute are also both very good attractions, as is the Museum of Art, whose steps were made famous by the movie "Rocky." Enjoy!

Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell! Welcome and have fun!

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. I will enjoy my time there I am sure as I have in the past enjoyed most places I have visited in the US - the only problem is that the Australian $ is so pathetic again the US$ that we are comparative paupers.. I knew that I should have continued with my music lessons so I could have done a bit of basking on the side for money :0)

My personal favorite things to do in and around Philadelphia are: Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square PA (www.longwoodgardens.com), The Barnes Foundation in Marion PA (www.barnesfoundation.org), and Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford PA (www.brandywinemuseum.org). In Philadelphia don't miss The Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org) and Reading Terminal Market (www.readingterminalmarket.org.)

BTW since you will have to watch your $$$ I wanted to mention that Longwood Gardens is fairly expensive, but the Barnes and Brandywine Museum have minimal entrance charges. The Philadelphia Art Museum is free on Sunday (I think) and Reading Terminal Market is free.

New York has a beautiful wine region although I'm sure the wine doesn't compare to the wine in Australia. You might want to look into some winery tours.

I am absolutely useless when it comes to wine - all I like is something fairly sweet and bubbly so I really wouldn't know what our Australian wines are like - except that most things that others like, I don't. I have been in NY state and yes the area you are talking about is lovely ( with or without wine) and I was hoping to go up there again. Just as long as I can skirt NY city otherwise I should suggest that you see it is a car free day for everyone except that darned Aussie who insists on driving on the wrong side of the road.

Aussie, I love your sense of humor. You say you want to stay outside Phila. The Valley Forge area has many hotels,motels, and is about 25 minutes from Center City. The only problem is all the construction on the Expressway which would make your commute to Phila. less than pleasant. However, staying in Valley Forge (King of Prussia) area gives you good access to Longwood Gardens, Chadds Ford, Valley Forge Park,the Barnes Foundations AND the HUGE King of Prussia Mall. You could always drop your husband off at one of the local train stations as a previous poster suggested.

here is a website to check out:http://www.citypass.com/philadelphia/index.html This is a special ticket you can get which lets you visit 5 different attractions for only $28 US. I hope this will fit your budget a bit better as the venues are quite good. Also, besides Valley Forge, you can try searching for lodgings in the Plymouth Meeting area. Good Luck!

How far outside Philly do you want to be? If your husband has to get downtown to attend the conference, you might be better off staying in a nearby burb or the outskirts of the city so he can take SEPTA in while you take the car and go have fun. We once stayed here: http://www.anamcarabandb.com/index.html and liked it. Chestnut Hill is a nice neighborhood with shops and cafes and commuter rail.

You'll probably want to stay in the western suburbs of Phila. and see the sites there. Some of the earlier posts have good recommendations for things to see: Longwood Gardens, Brandywine Battlefield, Valley Forge Park. Here's a suggestion for a hotel. Consider the Concordville Inn, which is at the intersection of Routes 1 and 322. I think the rooms are about $100US/night, and it's well located for site seeing and access to Phila.

Thank you all so much for your input. I like the suggestion of dropping Hubby off and me taking myself off for some fun and enjoyment sightseeing - I may even get some shopping done without the constraints of a man about ( any married woman will know what I mean) even window shopping is nice if you don't have someone in your ear saying " how long are you going to be" OR " I'll just sit here and get bored while you look" I AM going to have a good time. Thanks again to all posters.

Dear Liz, There is SO much to see in the area. I agree with msot of the other ideas including "the shore" (atlantic city is big on casinos while beaches like Wildwood have the largest boardwalk to stroll on, which is about 1-2 hours from philly area. The immediate city is the birthplace or first capital of the US so their is so much history here (first hospital, university etc). You can visit the new independence visitor center in downtown and they can provide you with maps, info on touring/walking around town. You can see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross (made the flag supposedly), Elfreth's Alley (oldest continually lived in homes) with so much more. You can ride to the top of city hall for free (the top of William Penn statue for a good view of the city. The suburbs also have so much. In Chester county, Longwood gardens is beautiful since it was one of the homes of the wealthy DuPont family from Delaware, but it is rather pricey. It is only $8 on Tuesday. There is also a very good winery on route 1, same road as longwood but before, called Chadds Ford and they have free wine tastings. The concern I have for you about lodging is as mentioned. If you stay in town, it will easy to get to the conference but expensive. There are several packages but the ones advertised now only go to the end of this month. If you stay out of the immediate city, I would suggest to be near a train station if one is taking the car and the other driving around. As with all big cities, you need to have "street smarts" about you especially at night. I did a search for Philadelphia and Brandywine valley (near longwood and delaware, the home of NO taxes!). I have listed some that may be of help. Most of the hotels will have web sites that you can contact about closeness to attractions/trains/city etc. Good luck and have a GREAT time. If you stay in town and like to eat hard shell crabs (Maryland style) I would recommend DiNardos at 4th and Race. Also, check to see if the Phillies are playing (baseball), that might be a treat as well. Here are the sites: independencevisitorcenter.com gophila .com (can link to other counties) concierge.com/philadelphia philadelphia.about.com phillygo p.com (landmarks) philly.com (newspaper) phila.gov pcvb.org (visitor burueau) swlfest.com (state of PA and NJ) hoteldiscounts.com tripadvisor.com www.hsd.org/DBV (brandywine valley)