milestogoneedadvice

Hello again fellow travelers! I always count on your great ideas and tips wherever we go. Please share your favorite restaurants, attractions, those things not to miss in Philadelphia. We will have four full days. I have been working on an itinerary and Philadelphia is going to be amazing. We plan on spending a couple of days diving into history. There are the obvious stops like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. But today I read about Elfreth's Alley and One Liberty Observation Deck. They may sound obvious, but I have been so caught up in trying to figure the major historical venues and the not so major that we may still want to see. Today I found the tour for the Kimmel Center with the organ demonstration, that would be a treat. I would appreciate any Philadelphia information that you would love to share. Best sunset?? Best Philly Steak Sandwich??? Oh my, so much to see and do.Thank you.

PaulRabe

Elfreth's Alley may or may not be of interest; its main draw is that it is a street that has remained almost unchanged over the last 250 years or so. If Ben Franklin came back alive, he could walk down the street today and tell you exactly who lived at each house. Some people find that interesting, some don't.

Best sunset? I can honest say there is no place I consider a great place to watch the event. If I see the clouds are going to be just right for the sky to light up as the sun goes down, then I just head to a large parking lot.

Best combination of a good cheese steak AND a good atmosphere is Tony Luke's. Either Pat's or Geno's have good atmosphere, but their sandwiches aren't the best.

gardendiva

Philadelphia is beautiful and very walkable. We took the biggest part of a day to see the historic area. The visitor center, the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall. Elfreth's Alley was interesting but you need to know where it is or you will miss it. There is also Ben Franklin's grave and a few old cemeteries.

Other things we enjoyed:

The Eagle and the organ at Macy's. The organ plays at noon.

Magic Garden on South Street.

Italian market on 9th Street.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Philadelphia Historical Museum. Small but very informative.

NewbE

Eastern State Penitentiary, Reading Terminal Market and the Barnes are our perennial favorites in Philly. Enjoy!

Amy

In addition to all of the above, here are a few more possibilities:

The Art Museum and the Barnes, with maybe a stop at the Rodin Museum and the Waterworks, and a nice walk on Kelly Drive.

Fairmount Park: Shofuso Japanese House, historic mansions

Food tour: I love Chew Philly's Chestnut Hill tour; Chestnut Hill is a great neighborhood and accessible by train from Center City. Often available on Groupon; there are a number of other food tours as well.

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Victor Cafe is a unique dining experience, if you're not here in very early September. http://victorcafe.com/ (Sep 1-4 is the big Made in America festival, so a lot of things are differently scheduled during that time)

My favorite cheesesteak is at Max's at Germantown and Erie, but that is probably not the most accessible to center city visitors.

I also really enjoy the architecture walking tours: https://www.philadelphiacfa.org/even...-walking-tours Of course, you can do these yourself with a book, but the guides are quite informative

www.visitphilly.com is a great resource

missalg.tumblr.com (scroll past the poems) is my own (non-paying) blog about the city (Multiple pages)

Enjoy! September is usually a lovely time to visit.

gardendiva

Just thought of another. The US Mint.

Restaurants

Little Lion, 243 Chestnut (historical district) I had lunch here.

Zinc, French cuisine, 246 S 11th St, huge portions. Waiter did not tell me that they had smaller portions until I was done eating.

Tavern on Broadway, 200 S Broadway. Huge open bar with good food. They had music entertainment during the week.

Georgio's on Pine 1328 Pine. This is BYOB and it may have been cash only. I do not see a credit card charge for it so I am thinking it was cash only.

Lyn95

The best spot for sunset is probably is Penn's Landing. Penn's a Landing is very close to Old City (http://www.visitphilly.com/outdoor-a...penns-landing/).

There are lots of places where you can get a good cheesesteak and everyone who lives in Philly has their favorite. Pat's "The King of Steaks" lays claim to being the inventor of the cheesesteak but I think Jim's on South Street (http://www.jimssouthstreet.com/) is the best. Do not be put off by the long line, which usually goes out the door and around the corner. The line moves quickly as they are very efficient.

The Reading Terminal (http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/) is a great place to walk around and get a bite to eat. If you go be sure to get a cookies from Famous 4th Street Cookie Company and a ricotta cannoli from Termini Brothers but make sure they fill the cannoli fresh for you and not give you one that is already filled.

I would definitely visit the Italian Market. I use to go there lots as a kid with my mom.
My wedding cake came from Isgro's. I've never done a tour of the Market but it might be something for you to consider doing. The Italian Market Visitor Center (http://italianmarketphilly.org/experience-the-market/) will have lots of info for you. If you are staying in center city it would be best to take taxi, Uber or Lyft there as parking can be difficult.

Don't forget to visit the a National Constitution Center (https://constitutioncenter.org/) and get your tickets in advance otherwise you may not get to go or not when the timing is best for you. It would also be wise to get advance tickets for Independence Hall (https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvis...alltickets.htm)

If possible do a walking tour of Old City. I've done it a few times and really enjoyed it. I think we got our walking tours at Independence Visitor Center (http://www.phlvisitorcenter.com/tours-events).

I hope your visit to Philly is fun and memorable!

bachslunch

Pat's and Geno's were the two worst cheesesteak places I tried (have been to several such places, actually) and I cannot recommend them. You will do much better at Jim's or Cosmi's Deli. You could also try Tony Luke's or John's Roast Pork (have only been to the baseball park outpost of the former and not to the latter), both are supposed to do this well. Campo's and Sonny's were just okay, but better then Geno's/Pat's.

GBelle

The last time I was at the Franklin Institute https://www.fi.edu/explore-the-museum , I had some kids in tow, but I enjoyed it too. The terracotta warriors from Xian China are on exhibit from the end of September 2017 to March 2018. https://www.fi.edu/exhibit/terracotta-warriors

k_marie

Mural Arts is a program that has brought art to public spaces throughout the city through the collaboration of artists and community. Each mural has a story. Mural Arts offers a mobile app to help you discover the works. We have enjoyed the trolley (or minibus) tours with commentary.

https://www.muralarts.org/about/

Dinner spots I like to recommend include Vernick (reserve ASAP), le Cheri, Estia, Fork, and Talulah's Garden. For BYOB, Melograno.

Start one day at the Independence Park visitors' center to get your timed tickets for Independence Hall. Pick up a map of the area and plot your day's exploration. You may want to watch one or both of the movies on the themes of revolution and independence and then head out. We find the Constitution Center fascinating and spend hours there each time we visit (however, we have never needed to purchase tickets ahead of time). The Museum of the American Revolution opened earlier this year. I have not yet visited; perhaps someone else can comment on it.

bachslunch

Some other suggestions to go with the good ones you've gotten so far:

-in addition to the excellent Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes, and the Rodin, consider the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts which has a nice collection of American art.

-the Rosenbach Museum and Library is home to loads of rare books (some of which will be on display) and a lovely historic house interior to hold them.

-the Masonic Temple is surprisingly nice inside and has a decent collection of Masonic artifacts.

-the Academy of Natural Sciences is a good place to see dinosaur fossils and other natural history related stuff.

-both the Powel House and Physick House are old historic residences worth a tour.

-the Independence Seaport Museum has a nice collection of seafaring artifacts as well as some old ships outside.

-City Hall is pleasant, featuring a good viewing vantage point.

For restaurants, Franklin Fountain is an excellent choice for ice cream and old fashioned frozen desserts. Chinatown has several good options such as Sang Kee Peking Duck House and Rangoon Burmese Restaurant. Estia is kind of an expensive Greek seafood spot, but serves up excellent eats. And the recommendations to hit Reading Terminal Market are spot on, with Di Nic's roast pork sandwich a must, and Bassett's Ice Cream also worth a stop.

k_marie

Agreed. Estia can be expensive. We almost always select the three-course theater menu at $33.

milestogoneedadvice

Every time I reach out to Fodor's forum I am reminded of why I love it. Your responses are perfect. They are personal and always help me think about or rethink where I am traveling. Your perspectives bring great joy to my travel as well. We plan to spend some time with the wonderful history In Philadelphia and you had good tips. It looks like we may have some rain, but I think we can easily spend a day popping in and out of the venues on the historic trail. Things like that always take us much longer than the average time. Benjamin Franklin Parkway which already has so much to offer is celebrating 100 years with numerous special events. Wonderful museums there! I will check out all of your links and update our itinerary with your suggestions. The new American Revolution History Museum is getting really good reviews as well. We look forward to a traditional Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich for sure. I thought the mural tour looked interesting, hope we can do that. As always we thought we were giving ourselves plenty of time, but I think we will just get an introduction. That's good, we can come back and enjoy it again. Thank you for sharing , you are my favorite source of travel information. I will update anything that I think will add to the post. I will also check back for more posts from the group!

gardendiva

Last year while planning my visit I read about a mural tour via public transportation. I was never able to figure out exactly how it worked and planned on asking at my hotel when I arrived. However, when I did arrive there was a public transportation strike so I never asked. I think that you already have enough "rain day" options but I just wanted to put it out there.

Birdie

I love PAFA. It's a lovely small gem of a museum. Doable if you only have a little time. Look for the painting in my profile. The Rosenbach is also fantastic. It's worth it to find out when the house tours are held and take one.

In addition to the great suggestions here, I just love to walk through the neighborhoods. Society Hill near the historic sites is pretty. The area around the Rosenbach and Fitler Square is filled with beautiful homes. Look for the house from Trading Places.

http://movie-tourist.blogspot.com/20...aces-1983.html

Another beautiful walk is along Schuykill Banks from South St to the art museum.

https://www.schuylkillbanks.org/explore

Favorite restaurants? Too many to list here. Where are you staying? What do you like?

I'm going to Philly next weekend and trying out a new hotel in University City so I'll be exploring that part of the city a bit more.

zac495

Le Cheri is one of my favorite restaurants in Phili. Pod used to be great, but has gone downhill. The bar is cool, however. The Fork is great. Osteria has a really interesting menu.

You can go to Manyunk which isn't far - and it's funky and hip. Tons of nice little places you can sit outside if it's still nice - and great little shops. Yanako restaurant is a favorite if you like Asian.

WeisserTee

I'm an ex-Philadelphia (now living in Europe) who goes back to the city every year and will be there again in September.

If you want to stroll through history, one of my favorite walks starts at 2nd and Delancey. Walk up Delancey until 6th, then turn right and head over to Washington Square (history under your feet and around you -- I worked in a townhouse on the Square that had been the Mohican embassy during the brief period that Phila was U.S. capital). Around the Square and take 8th or 9th to Pennsylvania Hospital (also historically important) then up pretty but short Clinton Street, turn left to Pine Street or right to Spruce Street (your choice), walk up those until 18th and then explore Rittenhouse Square. Stop in La Colombe for coffee (on 19th, between Walnut and Sansom). Then back down 20th to Delancey and up Delancey for a block or two. The house that Bruce Willis' character lived (and died) in for The Sixth Sense movie is on that block (we lived around the corner at 21st and Spruce during the filming).

Restaurants: Our standby is the Oyster House on Sansom between 16th and 17th. We've been going every year for ages, never disappoints. Fun vibe.