Daytrip to Philly. What to see/do?

UncleChet

I'm currently planning to do a day trip to Philly soon. It would be a Saturday or Sunday. I have a new GPS and now am a bit more willing to explore my local surrounding cities. What's a good idea to do in Philly in just 1 day? If the trip goes well, there'll be more trips.
I'd love to find China Town (if it's more than a single street kind of thing).
Museums are also an option. Is it better to drive into the surrounding area and then take the subway into town (center city?).

So, if you could spend just a day in Philly, what would you do? Cheaper/free options are also very welcome.

shadowane

Well, there's the Art Museum which is pretty nice. Not sure how much it costs. Walking around Old City you can see the Liberty Bell plus the Constitution Center if you're interested in that.

I'd say it's cheaper to drive into the surrounding area and park, but I'm not sure where the best place to do that would be since I've never done it. Maybe other people can help more with that.

Dog

What are you interested in? That always makes it easier to point out things you might like to do there.



Personally, i'll always reccomend the Mütter Museum

UncleChet

The problem is, I don't know what's available to say what I'm interested in. It makes taking trips tougher. Museums are always cool, and any free to the public attractions are bonus. I'd love to find a spot that serves good dim sum, or even street vendors with good food. I'm very adventurous when it comes to food, but unfortunately, that won't be the focus of the trip.

Lewisham

Does one not need to eat a sandwich of steak and cheese?

adejaan

Yes. When I went to Philly, getting a good cheesesteak was paramount (I'd never had one before and thought it was ok at best...). I can't remember where we went to get it, though. But when I was there for a day, we went to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross's house, rode on the subway, and just walked around looking at things, like the Market (? I'm not sure of its actual name) and things like that.

Dog

Independence Hall (US history), Art Museum (Art stuff, duh), Mütter Museum (science oddities), Edgar Allen Poe's house (fun history), Reading Terminal Market (Food), South Street (culture experience), Philadelphia Zoo (animals), Cheesesteak Central (Pats and Ginos), the Sports Complex area (if you're into sports you can prolly catch a phillies game), etc. are all options depending on what you're interested in.


Whatever you do, do not go north of Lehigh Avenue while you are still in the city (as well as Kensington, which is in the same general area), and try to stay east of 44th street while in the city. These are the "bad parts of town" and you do not want to get stuck (or even worse, lost) there unless you know how to find your way back to the nicer areas easily.

I don't mean to scare you or anything, but its a good idea to look out for your well being.

UncleChet

Thanks for the great suggestions. We're gonna go up on the 8th for the first run. I'm printing out Robothero's comments on where to avoid. I just got a shiny new GPS and i dont' wanna get mugged or carjacked for it.

life3

We've got a Pirates exhibit at the Franklin Institute which might interest you depending on your interest in pirates...

Chinatown is pretty big -- at least a couple blocks. The restaurants are very mixed between Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean foods. I've eaten at some very good duck houses and pan-fried noodle places.

Parking in center-city is costly if you don't know where to look and at what time. Most daytime center city streets are 2HR parking, but you can drive a couple blocks north or south and find free parking all day. Alternatively, there are lots everywhere that cost like 20-some odd bucks to park for the day(for comparison, a parking ticket is 26$ so it's almost cheaper to just park illegally and pay the ticket; never do this in a "Tow Zone", however).

A cheesesteak is necessary. Pat's and Geno's are the most popular 2 places. They're across the street from each other and their competition is the result of an ancient family fued involving in-laws. (I like Geno's!)

Also, to reiterate robothero's suggestion: the Mütter Museum. Not for the queasy!

BigMcLargeHuge

You have to make South Street part of your trip. There are so many thing you can do there, and lot's of great food and pubs. I love Pico De Gallo.

UncleChet

Ya'all are awesome for all the tips. Honestly, I'll likely try to find a parking garage that's enclosed and pay to park there. I used to work for PennDOT customer service lines and the stories of Philly's parking authority are LEGEND. I'd rather pay the 20$ or so and be mostly secure than to worry about my plates getting stolen, getting a boot, or getting parking tickets for a car I've never driven. The pirate exhibit sounds interesting, as does the Mutter, but I'm not sure if my companion can stomach it if it's gross.

shadowane

For your GPS, Pat's and Gino's are south at 9th and Passyunk. And don't be a wuss and get Cheez Whiz on it. A proper philly cheese steak has it on it.