Driving through philadelphia- what to do for 1/2 day?

We are going on a family road trip next week and will be in New York city and Washington d.c. I will be driving from New York City enroute to d.c and would like to stop off in Philadelphia to see the liberty bell and independance hall. Any suggestions as to what would be the best exit to take? Are there any places to park around these areas? Anything fun for kids to do for a couple of hours etc. (kids are 5, 9, 10)

Thanks

Driving through philadelphia- what to do for 1/2 day?

Well a 1/2 day doesn%26#39;t really do Philly justice, but we can work with that :)

There is a PPA Garage right near the historic district, I want to say 2nd and arch, but I can%26#39;t check right now. One of my compatriots will have the details for sure.

Pre-book your tickets for Independence Hall to make sure you get a time that works for your schedule. You can do that on the parks department website for $1.50 each.

I would just stay in the Independence Hall area, there are a lot of other attractions, especially the 13 storytelling benches that are very popular. The kids can get a card that is marked at each bench and turn it in for a treat at the sweet shop.

Depending on when you arrive, a side trip to Reading Terminal Market for lunch is also an option.

Driving through philadelphia- what to do for 1/2 day?

Regarding driving directions, take the NJ turnpike south from NY to Exit 6 PA turnpike. You will need to connect to 95 S via Route 13 S. Follow these directions which I have taken the liberty of copying from Owlyn%26#39;s recent post...

Come down the New Jersey Turnpike to exit 6 (Pa Turnpike connector). Take this higway over the bridge into Pennsylvania, and stay to the right. Go through the rightmost toll. Immediately after the toll is an exit for Rout 13. Take Route 13 south about 4 miles to Route 413 north (you will be making a right onto 413. Take 413 about 2 miles or so to route I-95 south (you will be making a left). Take I-95 south into Philadelphia. Exit at the route 676, but stay to the right as you exit, as the ramp splits. To the left will take you onto I-476 which bis NOT what you want to do. The right is a ramp that goes downhill. As you go down this ramp, stay to the left, and keep going staright when you get to the traffic light. You will now be on 2nd Street. The parking garage is about 6 or 8 blocks down.

Assuming you%26#39;re coming south on I-95 from NY, you could take exits 22 or 20. I%26#39;m more familiar with 22 - if you follow the signs from this exit, you go straight into the historic area and downtown. At the bottom of the ramp off 95, you can either turn right onto Callowhill (which will feed you into the historic area a little further up, if you stay to the left) or continue straight ahead on what becomes 2nd Street.

Now, for suggestions. I would continue straight on 2nd, going under the Ben Franklin Bridge, across Race, Arch and Market Streets (enjoying the little tour of Old City), and Chestnut. After Chestnut, there is a parking garage on your left, around the middle of the block. I%26#39;d park there (there are many parking garages and lots in the area, so I don%26#39;t suppose it really matters; you can also continue south about 3-5 blocks to the more residential areas around Spruce and Pine if you%26#39;d like to try free on-street parking)

philapark.org/parkinglocator/…

After parking, I would walk south on 2nd to the next corner, Walnut, turn right and and walk west up this street. The City Tavern will be on your right. I would cut across on 3rd, and start going through the gardens that largely make up the blocks in this stretch of the historic area - they%26#39;re a mix of small gardens and large open lawns. Nice for a picnic. At some point, you should pass the Greek temple-looking Second Bank. Then you cross 5th, and you%26#39;re at Independence Hall. Either go around the Hall in the front (the park area) or the back (Chestnut St) and go a block north to Market to the Visitor%26#39;s Center, where you can get tickets and get information about everything in the area.

Website for the National Park Service (ie, the agency that runs all national parks, including Independence National Historical Park, with info about their hours, etc.

http://www.nps.gov/inde/

Website for the Independence Visitors%26#39; Center (run by the state/city to help tourists navigate within the Philadelphia region) http://www.independencevisitorcenter.com/

Superior don%26#39;t you mean exit 4 off the NJ turnpike? That is the other way to go and the way that mapquest will tell you. I%26#39;ve tried the various different ways many times and through experience found that taking exit 6 was the faster way.

The parking garage is on 2nd Between Chestnut and Walnut. See the directions rocknroll copied from an earlier post of mine. This is definitely the fastest way to get here.

I found some errors in my directions, so here they are with corrections:

Come down the New Jersey Turnpike to exit 6 (Pa Turnpike connector). Take this highway over the bridge into Pennsylvania, and stay to the right. Go through the rightmost toll. Immediately after the toll is an exit for Route 13. Take Route 13 south about 4 miles to Route 413 north (you will be making a right onto 413). Take 413 about 2 miles or so to route I-95 south (you will be making a left). Take I-95 south into Philadelphia. Exit at route I-676, but stay to the right as you exit, as the ramp splits. To the left will take you onto I-676 which is NOT what you want to do. The right is a ramp that goes downhill. As you go down this ramp, stay to the left, and keep going straight when you get to the traffic light. You will now be on 2nd Street. There is a Philadelphia Parking Authority garage about 6 or 8 blocks down (between Chestnut %26amp; Walnut) on the left. This is the best place to park for the historic area and Old City.

';Superior don%26#39;t you mean exit 4 off the NJ turnpike? That is the other way to go and the way that mapquest will tell you. I%26#39;ve tried the various different ways many times and through experience found that taking exit 6 was the faster way';

I always forget I-95%26#39;s weird issues around North Jersey and NY, and yes, my directions completely neglect to mention how you%26#39;re supposed to reach I-95 in the first place. Personally, though, I%26#39;d go past exit 6 to either Burlington or Mt. Laurel, because I hate that stretch of 95 from Trenton to the outskirts of Philly. Maybe it%26#39;s different now, I haven%26#39;t driven there in a while, but it always used to be a lousy road surface.

I-95 in Pennsylvania has been repaved and sections have beeen rebuilt.