General tips / advice for Philadelphia

Hi all

Me and a couple of friends and going to the States in September. During the visit we plan to visit New York Boston and spend 3 days in Philadelphia.

As our visit will be limited, is there any advice / tips you would give:

things to see / do, (do we need to buy tickets in advance or just turn up)

getting around / parking (we will have a car)

places to stay

We will have a low budget for accommodation, so will probably stay somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Ive found a cheap place in Gloucester City.

Any tips would be very welcome

thanks !!

General tips / advice for Philadelphia

Gloucester City is a blue collar Irish ethnic town. It might be cheap but may not what you are looking for on Holiday.

The typical thing to do is do the historic area in old city. Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution Center, All manner of things related to Benjamin Franklin.

Over on the Benjamin frankin Parkway are where the Philadelphia museum of art and the Rodin museum. If you are into Impressionist art you must see the Barnes foundation in Merion. I belive it has the largest colletion of Impressionist Art outside of Paris. If yoaer near the Art Museum you may want to Chesk out Eastern State Penitentiary.

If you like to walk the center of the city is very walkable. Real charming steets in Old City/Society Hill, graveyards to poke around in that sort of thing.

For touristy food thingsto do go to the Italian Market on 9th strrrt in South Philly or pop in to the Reading Terminal Market.

One very neat thing is the new 10,000,000 million pixel video display wall in the lobby of the new Comcast Center 17th and JFK

General tips / advice for Philadelphia

Give me your exact dates of stay for Philadelphia, as well as how much you are willing to pay per night and I will try and help you find something via Hotwire for Philadelphia.

Suzanne

You will ';save'; time if you make your 1st stop the

Philadelphia Independence Visitors Center.In historic district @ 6th and Market.You can get most of attraction tickets in ';one'; place.With exception of Liberty Bell even free admission requires tickets.

Can get on day of arrival.They may be time-stamped and 1st come 1st serve.

Can be purchased ahead by calling or on line $1.50 processing fee-this could change but is showing on their web site.

independencevisitorscenter.com

800-537-7676-----------215-965-7676

There is some security involved

They can also help with tours,lodging and more

Hope this helps.

The way prices work out, it usually does not pay to stay outside the city. You have to factor in commuting costs, which includes parking. Parking will run $18-$36/day depending on where you aprk. There is also the bridge toll and gas, so add $10. Now you are up to $28-$46/day extra to stay in New Jersey. Add that to your room rate to get the true cost of the room.

You say you will have a car ...but you probably don%26#39;t need one to visit the cities you mention. There is excellent train service between Boston, NY and Philadelphia on Amtrak trains.

www.amtrak.com

Rocknroll makes a good point. You will not need nor want a car when you are in these cities. It is more of a liability than an asset. On-street parking in NYC is impossible, and parking lots are VERY, VERY expensive, even factoring in the exchange rate. Philadelphia is only somewhat better in that parking is less expensive ($18-$36/day). Washington is no picnic for parking either, especially in the summer. There are not a lot of paid lots or garages, and the public spaces around The Mall will be filled by 9am (though with a lot of patience, eagle eyes, quick reflexes, and guts, you can usually find something). I%26#39;ve never been to Boston, but I%26#39;ve heard that it%26#39;s pretty much impossible there, too. All three cities have excellent public transit systems. Philadelphia and Washington are both very walkable. NYC is best experienced on foot anyway, but wear very comfortable shoes. I%26#39;ve walked from Greenwhich Village to Central Park, and that area would cover pretty much anything you%26#39;d want to see. Advisory- it is NOT a short walk, but do-able if you are in good shape and the weather is nice.

As others have, I really would recommend against staying in gloucester.. It%26#39;s not a bad area but certainly not convenient to the city at all. Unless you stagger your times, you will be fighting serious rush hour traffic and construction every trip (over one of the worst stretches of highway).

Depending on your travel dates, you should be able to find something in the city, even with parking, that will only be a little more than GC and give you a lot more time to explore with less effort.

In September (ie, kids are back at school, summer vacation%26#39;s over and school trips are not common), you probably won%26#39;t need to buy anything in advance.

Tips?

- Don%26#39;t skip Independence Hall, whatever your thoughts on history, politics and elderly buildings. Beautiful building, and Philadephia%26#39;s heart.

- Eat a soft pretzel with mustard for breakfast. It%26#39;s cheaper and easier than a cheesesteak.

- Go to the Constitution Center. It may sound like odd advice to non-Americans, but it really is well done and their current exhibit about elections may be helpful when there is the inevitable screaming hissy fit in November over Obama losing (personal projection here) And, frankly, the little show you get before each tour is a work of sublime cheesy/moving art.

Discounts and Websites

- Reading Terminal Market is most fun on the days when the Amish are in residence; also, they offer a good parking discount if you%26#39;re only going to be around a short time - buy $10 at the market and your parking for up to 2 hours is $3

www.readingterminalmarket.org/about/parking/

- The Flower Show ended in March, but some of their coupons are good through the end of the year

theflowershow.com/attractions/BFPcoupons2008…

- Pennsylvania%26#39;s tourism website has coupons for Philly and surrounding areas

www.visitpa.com/visitpa/couponSearchForm.pa…

- Sign up with Philly Fun Guide for weekly discounts on entertainment and museums

http://www.phillyfunguide.com/funsavers/

- Check out Phillyblog%26#39;s forums for sometimes startlingly in-depth opinions and views on everything in the Delaware Valley www.phillyblog.com/philly/

You don%26#39;t need a car for the East Coast, exactly, and it can be a drag parking in a major city, but it%26#39;s undeniable that driving really adds to the feel a visitor gets for an unfamiliar place, and since you%26#39;re exploring the whole stretch between Boston and Philly, a car will give you a better idea of the landscape. Which is something I like, personally.

Hi all

Thanks for all your advice, its very much appreciated and has certainly given me something to think about.

thanks

I think we%26#39;ll probably spend 5 days in New York and then hire a car to travel to Boston and Philli. I like the freedom to be able to visit places on the way. Ive been told cape cod is well worth a visit

thanks again

The cape cod area is nice, but time consuming. To get to the cool spots requires a ferry with limited schedules. Also from a logistical standpoint, from North to South its Boston, NY, Philly.

If you want to check out the area, you can get your car in Boston, drive to NY, then drop the car off there and Amtrak into Philly. There is NOTHING between NYC and Philly to see and the traffic can be BRUTAL.