Visting Philly First Time from NYC

Hi there. We have lived in NYC for almost 2 years now and want to go to Philly (first time visitors) for a weekend trip. I have a ton of questions:

1. Better to take train or bus (bus is 1/2 the price of train, but not really sure where bus station is in Philly) -- maybe even better to rent a car? Is public transportation around Philly easy? Does it go to major attractions?

2. Where to stay? I am most interested in the historical stuff. So, ideally, we%26#39;d stay near the historical stuff and use public transportation all of the way and around town. However, if it%26#39;s going to be a lot of cab fare getting around town we may rent car and stay outside historical area. As it stands, I am leaning toward staying near water w/in walking distance to historical area. Bottom line, any hotel recommendations would be welcome.

3. Historical stuff? Are there interesting walking tours or good tips/tricks to seeing the historical stuff? Is everything open on Sundays/holidays? How long does it take to see the historical stuff (1/2 day or 1 day or 2 days??)

4. What else to do? If the historical stuff only takes a day -- what else is there to do? For example, if you had to choose 1 extra day activity aside from the historical stuff what would it be? art museum, rodin museum, ???

5. Finally, restaurants? We like good, non-fussy, neighborhood kind of spots. Someone has already recommended Joe%26#39;s Firehouse BBQ (at least I think that%26#39;s the name). If you have any good recommendations, please let me know.

Thanks for all of your help.

Visting Philly First Time from NYC

First, if you are truly interested in history then Philly is more than a weekend trip. Here%26#39;s a good website to help you get a better sense of what is here: ushistory.org

The site include descriptions of sites, several self-guided walking tours, and more. You%26#39;ll see that ';the historic stuff'; is far more that Independence National Historical Park, which by itself is quite a bit.

Are you interested only in Colonial and early US history or are you also interested in Civil War Era?

Public transportation and walking are very easy in Center CIty (Center City is Philadelphia%26#39;s downtown and the original City plan by William Penn and others. It runs from South Street to Vine Street, Delaware River to Schuylkill River.)

More later,

Lynn

Visting Philly First Time from NYC

The bus station is more centrally located that the train station, but either would be fine.

There are lots of hotels in the historical area, but you probably will pay less for one in Center City. You could easily walk, take a cab or public transportation to Old City (all inexpensive options). You could also take the Philadelphia Phlash bus which stops at all tourist attractions and is really cheap. Definitely no car since it%26#39;s not necessary and parking is expensive. Since I live here, I don%26#39;t have many hotel recommendations, but have heard good things about the Omni and the Bond House B%26amp;B, which are both in Old City.

I would recommend going to the Philadelphia Visitor%26#39;s Center website for various tour options (escorted, unescorted, walking, bus, etc.) To do all the historical sites in Old City, you would probably need at least two days. I would probably cut it down to those you really want to see in one day and use the other day for one or two museums. The Art Museum would be my choice, but it really depends on what you like.

There a ton of restaurant recommendations on previous posts, but could you more based on what type of food you like, where you end of staying, price range, etc.

Regarding #3, and with respect to others opinions, I feel that the ';core'; historical sites can be covered in a day. What I%26#39;m talking about here is:

* Independence Hall

* Liberty Bell

* Independence Visitor Center

* National Constitution Center

* Betsy Ross House

* Elfreth%26#39;s Alley

* Christ Church Burial Ground

Further details are available in the list of to-do%26#39;s I created when planning out trip last year: http://piytravel.com/pages/s.piy?t=uspaph

I%26#39;ve heard great things about the Philly Museum of Art and the Mutter Museum, but have never been there myself.

Enjoy your trip!

See my replies, marked with --%26gt;, below...

1. Better to take train or bus (bus is 1/2 the price of train, but not really sure where bus station is in Philly) -- maybe even better to rent a car? Is public transportation around Philly easy? Does it go to major attractions?

--%26gt; As someone else mentioned, the bus station is more centrally located, but do NOT take one of the ';Chinatown'; buses. There have been safety issues. If you take the train, you can take a 10 minute SEPTA rail connection for free right to the same spot as the bus station. BTW, you can take NJT from the Port Authority to Trenton, and then switch to the SEPTA R7 line (should be waiting for you) which will take you right into town. Public transit is very easy in town, but you can probably walk everywhere. Philly is even more walkable than NYC.

2. Where to stay? I am most interested in the historical stuff. So, ideally, we%26#39;d stay near the historical stuff and use public transportation all of the way and around town. However, if it%26#39;s going to be a lot of cab fare getting around town we may rent car and stay outside historical area. As it stands, I am leaning toward staying near water w/in walking distance to historical area. Bottom line, any hotel recommendations would be welcome.

Do NOT get a car. You don%26#39;t need it. Lots of hotels fit the bill. Depends on your budget, really. Stay in town, not in the burbs. Transportation cost will easily wipe out any savings.

3. Historical stuff? Are there interesting walking tours or good tips/tricks to seeing the historical stuff? Is everything open on Sundays/holidays? How long does it take to see the historical stuff (1/2 day or 1 day or 2 days??)

--%26gt; You can get a quick overview in 2 days.

4. What else to do? If the historical stuff only takes a day -- what else is there to do? For example, if you had to choose 1 extra day activity aside from the historical stuff what would it be? art museum, rodin museum, ???

--%26gt; Art Museum AND Rodin Museum. They are 2 blocks apart. Art Museum is free on Sundays before noon (might be 1 PM).

5. Finally, restaurants? We like good, non-fussy, neighborhood kind of spots. Someone has already recommended Joe%26#39;s Firehouse BBQ (at least I think that%26#39;s the name). If you have any good recommendations, please let me know.

--%26gt; Nitsky on Jack%26#39;s Firehouse. It is ling past its prime and was pretty terrible when we went last. Right nearby is Bishop%26#39;s Collar (near the Art Museum). It%26#39;s just a small local pub, but has great, inexpensive food. Lots of other places all over. Depends where you will be and what you like.

I second the Bishop%26#39;s Collar recommendation. Love it there. Also, the Art Museum is free all day Sunday. Well, not really free. It%26#39;s pay what you want, so most people make some type of donation.

Thanks everyone for all of your help. I am starting to get a better feel about doing this trip -- we%26#39;re going down over Labor Day weekend. Debating about whether to go down Friday night (it would be late, though) or early Saturday morning (my choice). I think we%26#39;ll probably do Amtrak from NYC to Philly and try the Omni. All I need is a good map and w/all of your help I am all set. Thanks.

I just saw the Labor Day part - BOOK NOW. Philly %26#39;Phils Up%26#39; that weekend because of special events. Also, check the hours of attractions you want to see, they can change.

Restaurants:

Bishop%26#39;s Collar is good. There are a ton of Restaurants in OldeCity as well.

It%26#39;s a chain, but the Melting Pot near the Convention Center is always fun and centrally located.

Get a steak sandwich from Rick Oliveri in the Reading Terminal Market before his lease battle ends up getting him kicked out.

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