Visiting Philadelphia
 

My husband and I, both 77, will be driving to Philadelphia from Nashville TN to visit all the important historical sites around Philadelphia. Any special things happening due to the 250th anniversary?
Interested in where to stay, what tours to take or avoid, must sees, sites to miss. I figure we should be able to do everything in three days.
Suggestions please.

Hi JanBaker,

Three days is a nice visit length to get a sense of what Philadelphia is about but you won’t “see everything”. I’ve been a dozen times and I haven’t seen everything 😀!

The Art Museum is fantastic and I like the nearby Rodin Museum. The Reading Terminal Market and the Italian Market are quite different but I love the energy of both. The tour of Independence Hall I found excellent. Generally speaking, I love just meandering along the streets of Society Hill and numerous (not all) intermediate streets between there and Rittenhouse Square. So many beautiful rowhomes, not to mention the city has some charming and stellar restaurants.

Wishing you a great trip! Daniel

Yeah, forget about seeing all the historic sights around Philly. There are too many.

On your way to Philly, I love the Hagley Museum, though the name is a misnomer. It is the original site where the Dupont family first started making gunpowder. As far as historic homes are concerned, the house itself is not much to see (I wouldn't bother), but the grounds where they made the gunpowder are fascinating. And beautiful. There are a couple of demonstrations that are great to experience. And one of the most unique exhibits anywhere: historic models that were made to obtain patents from the earliest days of the US patent system. In those days, either the President (GW himself) or the Secretary of Sate (TJ) had to personally sign off on the patents. A tremendous delight.

I agree with Danial_Williams -- three days is hardly enough! You will need to be selective. A good guidebook should provide descriptions of the various sites with sufficient detail to allow you to decide what to see and what to skip.

If you enjoy art, I'll wholeheartedly second D_W's recommendations of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Rodin, and I'll add the Barnes.

Restarants:
Parc
Dandelion

There is a lot going on for the 250th anniversary in Philadelphia and nearby Valley Forge National Park.
This site will give you some information:
https://www.visitphilly.com/

Hi Jan Baker,

I agree that 3 days is limiting.

Here's my 2018 TR for a one-day visit to see the Barnes Foundation. We made online reservations, so please do that wherever possible.
https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...ation-1659594/

Looking forward to reading how it goes!

Here is one of our favorite days we spent in Philly, plus our favorite Philadelphia restaurant. Still gets rave reviews

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...-a-revolution/

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/ris...iladelphia-pa/

You can count on great info from maitaitom, JanBaker!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you

Thank you.

I stayed at the Alexander Inn at 12th and Spruce several years ago. It was very nice. The staff was very helpful.

I enjoyed the Eastern Penitentiary. Pretty interesting. If you find yourself around the Italian Market near South Street, The Magic Garden is also beautiful.

Thank you.

I was just there last week for two nights. Here are some of the things we enjoyed.

Thank you maitaitom and nylilly for your often entertaining and insightful reports. I’ll just say for janbaker, that I enjoyed their photos as a not insignificant number of places they highlighted I’ve never been or focused on in Philly. And while I will admit in my dozen or so visits to going invariably back to certain favourite old haunts or stomping grounds for nostalgia sake when in town, I do try to do something new every visit. There truly is a lot to do in the City of Brotherly Love! —Daniel

Thank you.

My youngest daughter and I both went to University in Philadelphia but it has been awhile since we have spent much time in the city. Usually stay with friends on the Main line when we visit. So no real recommendations for restaurants or hotels. If you have the time Longwood gardens, Valley Forge and even New Hope may be of interest to you.
The Italian market has gotten much less Italian over the years so I find it less interesting. Do visit the Art museum, Rodin and Barnes. The Society hill area with Independence hall and the Liberty Bell should not be missed although it is much more regulated and more touristy. One used to be able to walk in off the streets to see the Liberty bell and much of Independence hall. What time of year is your visit?

End of April first week of May.