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Going to Philadelphia, what to do?

V

Veg

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 25, 2011
37
1
In just a few hours I'm leaving for a trip to Philadelphia with a friend, however we don't have much of an itinerary for our trip so we have a pretty flexible schedule. This is my first time visiting Philadelphia so I would appreciate it if some of the people who either live there or have been there a few times could provide my friend and I with some recommendations on where to visit.

Cheers,

Veg
 
Veg said:
In just a few hours I'm leaving for a trip to Philadelphia with a friend, however we don't have much of an itinerary for our trip so we have a pretty flexible schedule. This is my first time visiting Philadelphia so I would appreciate it if some of the people who either live there or have been there a few times could provide my friend and I with some recommendations on where to visit.

Cheers,

Veg
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Cheese steak.
 
Eat!

Try all of the famous foods you've heard of. Cheese Steaks (Pat's, Gino's, Tony Luke's) Soft Pretzels from a homeless man on the corner, Hoagies, Italian Water Ice, Tastykakes, visit the Italian Market and on and on.

Depending on how long you stay, take in a Phil's game (They are out of town right now but will be back Friday). Great stadium, awesome fans.

Countless history if you are a history buff can be found anywhere. Betsy Ross, Liberty Bell, Mutter Museum if you are into gore history. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Zoo, Camden Aquarium, Art Museum, Casinos, Delaware Ave. to name a few.

Philly has ALOT to offer. Unpack your bags, walk outside and let your curiosity drive you. Use your head though, if it looks seedy, stay away and at night stick to the popular places. As much as they like to call it the city of brotherly love, it's more like the brotherly thug.
 
troutspinner said:
Eat!

Try all of the famous foods you've heard of. Cheese Steaks (Pat's, Gino's, Tony Luke's) Soft Pretzels from a homeless man on the corner, Hoagies, Italian Water Ice, Tastykakes, visit the Italian Market and on and on.

Depending on how long you stay, take in a Phil's game (They are out of town right now but will be back Friday). Great stadium, awesome fans.

Countless history if you are a history buff can be found anywhere. Betsy Ross, Liberty Bell, Mutter Museum if you are into gore history. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Zoo, Camden Aquarium, Art Museum, Casinos, Delaware Ave. to name a few.

Philly has ALOT to offer. Unpack your bags, walk outside and let your curiosity drive you. Use your head though, if it looks seedy, stay away and at night stick to the popular places. As much as they like to call it the city of brotherly love, it's more like the brotherly thug.
Click to expand...



I guess I should have mentioned this in my original post, but anyways I'll be there for just a little under 2 weeks so I'll have plenty of time to explore.

Thank you for all the recommendations, I'll be sure to do some of the activities you mentioned, as for TastyKakes about a year ago friend gave me a box of them and now I'm hooked!
 
troutspinner said:
Eat!

Try all of the famous foods you've heard of. Cheese Steaks (Pat's, Gino's, Tony Luke's) Soft Pretzels from a homeless man on the corner, Hoagies, Italian Water Ice, Tastykakes, visit the Italian Market and on and on.

Depending on how long you stay, take in a Phil's game (They are out of town right now but will be back Friday). Great stadium, awesome fans.

Countless history if you are a history buff can be found anywhere. Betsy Ross, Liberty Bell, Mutter Museum if you are into gore history. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Zoo, Camden Aquarium, Art Museum, Casinos, Delaware Ave. to name a few.

Philly has ALOT to offer. Unpack your bags, walk outside and let your curiosity drive you. Use your head though, if it looks seedy, stay away and at night stick to the popular places. As much as they like to call it the city of brotherly love, it's more like the brotherly thug.
Click to expand...

Pretty much sums it up but you forgot to mention south st ;)
 
sumone said:
Pretty much sums it up but you forgot to mention south st ;)
Click to expand...

Now that you mentioned South St I think the person i'm staying with either lives on South st or fairly close by, however, I can't be sure. Do you mind elaborating on the attractions of south st?
 
When you get there, head north for NYC and have some real fun. A cracked bell and cheese steaks can only go so far. :)
 
South Street is...like a mixture of funky and seediness? It's been a while since I've been down there (generally for TLA shows).

Take in Rittenhouse Square on a nice day. Lots of surrounding restaurants including IMO the best burgers at Rouge. Walk down Walnut to Broad Street for the main shopping district (Apple finally at last opened earlier this year). Then go down Broad St. to Pine. Continue East on Pine, you'll pass Antique Row and Pennsylvania hospital (first in the nation) before reaching Society Hill. If you like urban architecture you'll likely appreciate the trinity brick rowhouses with colored doors and shutters. Feel free to detour down the many alleys along the way. There's also Washington Square Park on 7th with the tribute to the unknown soldier. Once you're around 2nd-4th St. you can head back up north (direction of Walnut-Chestnut-Market) to the historic district.

That's my preferred walking tour anyway. :) Hope you enjoy your trip!
 
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So to touch on what other people have said...Cheesesteaks are a MUST! Of course, go to Pats, Genos, and Tony Lukes. But try the cheesesteaks from vendors on the street in the little food carts. Delicious food comes from those tiny food carts for cheap!

Also check out Reading Terminal Market (12th and Arch St). That is the mecca for foodies. There are also miscellaneous vendors as well, not just food. Definitely check it out.

Love Park is a must see in person, and so is City Hall. Another place to see is Northern Liberties (around the area of 3rd and Spring Garden St)...Northern Liberties is like the hipster part of the city, but also my favorite part of the city. Theres the Piazza at Schmidts which is like a common place. They host live concerts there on Saturdays hosted by a local radio station. They have a farmers market every weekend (some weekdays), and they host other events (check yelp or FB for upcoming events). Theres this burger joint called PYT which is delicious! Best burgers ever!

Also soak in a Phillies game. Just for the experience if you're not interested in the sport of Baseball. The Phanatic is hilarious, and the food in the ballpark is above the standard baseball food. Chickies and Petes Crabfries are a MUST try!


I'll add more to this list when I have time. For now, just have fun! And be safe! If you want to meet up while you're here, I'm down. I work at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. I'm off this weekend, and I'll find out my schedule for next week this Friday.
 
please dont go to pats or genos for cheesesteaks. they are over rated.. go to see them dont go for the food. try chinks steaks on torresdale. steves price of steaks on bustleton. tony lukes is good. check out chickies and petes for the fries. art museum is free on sundays. its nice to just go at night after hours too to walk around.
 
phantoms said:
please dont go to pats or genos for cheesesteaks. they are over rated.. go to see them dont go for the food. try chinks steaks on torresdale. steves price of steaks on bustleton. tony lukes is good. check out chickies and petes for the fries. art museum is free on sundays. its nice to just go at night after hours too to walk around.
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overrated for locals, but not for tourists....
 
Illuminated said:
Hahaha NO! Bad idea. Don't get these pretzels. They are an unsanitary mess. Get the philly pretzels from store fronts.
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You'll see what I mean when you get there. Sure you can go to a storefront if that's what you are planning to do but when one presents itself, and it was the last thing on your mind, you just can't say no. Have one and you'll see.

rdowns;

Come on! You can have your due, NY is worth another trip in itself but you can't deny Philly. Are you upset because we have the best team in baseball? ;)
 
troutspinner said:
You'll see what I mean when you get there. Sure you can go to a storefront if that's what you are planning to do but when one presents itself, and it was the last thing on your mind, you just can't say no. Have one and you'll see.

rdowns;

Come on! You can have your due, NY is worth another trip in itself but you can't deny Philly. Are you upset because we have the best team in baseball? ;)
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haha stop. I've worked at Philly Pretzel Factory as a baker. we make the pretzels from scratch every day. nothing frozen/pre made.
 
Thank you guys.

First I'd like to thank you guys (especially Troutspinner, Lara F and Illuminated) for all your guys suggestions and tips for Philadelphia!

Yesterday was my first day here and I mostly unpacked but we did some exploring as well, I had my first Philly Cheese steak from Johns Roast Pork and I'm happy to inform you guys that it was quite a tasty Cheese steak.

Here are some other photos from that day (taken with my iPhone so not the best quality, but not bad.)

IMG_0185.jpg


This one was actually from the airplane ride, but I was still rather impressed by the quality.


IMG_0212.jpg


Apple store of course :apple:


IMG_0214.jpg





IMG_0213.jpg


I was pretty surprised when I went in and was just browsing the white iPhones and noticed that someone had figured out a way to exit out of the information and spec app that was providing info for the iPhone even though apple had disabled the home button on all there info iPads.
Any ideas?


IMG_0224-1.jpg


To end the day we had a little BBQ on our friends roof patio that has a nice view of the city.
 
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