headed to philly this weekend!

I just made a last minute trip plan to visit this weekend (Fri- Sunday). Thanks to priceline, my husband got a great deal at the Crowne Plaza Center City on Market St. Even thought we are only a couple hours away, neither of us has ever been to Philly for leisure (have been for work a few times), so we would like to sightsee and visit the historic sites. I figure it will be busy with the 4th of July but unfortunately this is the only weekend in July that we are able to travel. I have heard in the past that its a very walkable city- will we be walking distance from the Liberty Bell, Art Museum, etc? If not, is there decent public transportation? Also, what about getting to Pat%26#39;s and Geno%26#39;s for the cheesesteaks, and to the Phillies stadium? We will have a car if necessary, but prefer not to drive around town. We also plan on catching the fireworks on either night- from the previous post maybe we will shoot for Saturday instead of Friday.

The Phillies site says there are still tickets available for this weekend- can one generally buy tickets on the day of a game? We are thinking of catching an game but are unsure if we will be too busy doing other things and would like to be able to decide once we are there rather than be tied down to it.

Thanks for the help!

headed to philly this weekend!

Hmm, after reading the below post, maybe we will try Campo%26#39;s for cheesesateaks. It seems more convenient to our hotel.

headed to philly this weekend!

As for the fireworks, the Crowne Plaza is an easy walk to the Parkway so that you can walk over about 11 pm, and stand in the street and watch. No need to go early for the concert , etc. unless you really want to.

Independence Park is about a mile, so whether you want to walk depends on your physical condition and the heat. Busses run along Market St, so that%26#39;s an option, or the Phlash.http://www.gophila.com/C/Tours_and_transportation/401/U/Phlash/1303.html

Same is true for the Art Museum.

I should also mention that there are many events besides the concert and fireworks going on. Check out the schedule here:

http://www.americasbirthday.com/

The Ice Cream Festival and Taste of Philadelphia are usually fun.

Until the recent slump, same-day tickets for the Phillies were somewhat scarce. Hard to say what it will be like this weekend.

Campo%26#39;s is a much better choice that Pat%26#39;s or Geno%26#39;s. If you find yourself on South Street, then do Jim%26#39;s (4th %26amp; South).

Your hotel is centrally located for your activities, so you should be able to walk, weather permitting. You can take any bus down Market Street (except #31) to get to the historic sites. Same is true coming back, except for #48. You will need exact fares, so have plenty of singles if you want to ride the bus.

In any event do NOT take your car. You won%26#39;t be able to park it anywhere you will be going.

Re tickets to a Phillies game, I usually find that I can get last minute tickets at StubHub.com or other ticket services, even when the team%26#39;s official site says they are sold out.

Except for games against Mets/RedSox and or Yankees, walk up tickets are USUALLY available for the upper decks.

For any games with those three teams, buy in advance...

Thanks so much for all the responses! I definitely want to check out the Taste of Philly and Ice Cream Festival too. The Phillies are playing the Mets, so I%26#39;m not sure about the tickets. On the Phillies website it does not say it%26#39;s sold out, but it doesn%26#39;t actually let me get through to buy tickets, so I can%26#39;t tell for sure.

The site is always busy as heck for those games, call the ticket #. But I will bet its single seats and standing room only, or you will need to go to StubHub. Warning - the atmosphere at Phils/Mets games can get a little %26#39;heated%26#39;. A lot of NY fans who can%26#39;t get tickets in NY because of the insane pricing come down to Philly.

I have noticed that no one has yet mentioned taking the subway to see the sites as appose to the bus. Staying at the Crowne, you are a 2 block walk to the subway where you can then take the blue line to either 2nd or 5th and market to see the sights as well as old city and stop at campo%26#39;s and see penns landing the orange line is there as well which will take you down to the phillies stadium.

Hope you have a good trip

Thanks for making the point, Mike. I thought of the subway while I was out, came in to post it, and you had done so. To add to it, from the City Hall station, you can take the Broad St. line to the stadium complex for the Phillies game if you decide to try it.