Visiting and want to walk to a few sites (Philadelphia: city hall, hotel)

[clutchrider]

Hello,
I will be taking a trip to Philly next week and staying near the big Marriott dwntwn convention center. Taking the Amtrak in and figuring I will taxi it to the hotel. However I have checked out some spots I want to visit while I am there and HopStopped them to see the walking distances. They range from 15-40 minutes;

Philly Museum of Art - 30 mins
Independence Hall - 15 mins
Geno's & Pat's - 40 mins

I am basically going to these spots from the city hall and wanted to get an idea if it's better/safer to cab it to any of these locations than walk the blocks. I'm familiar with NYC so walking is not new or hard for me. Also if you suggest any other spots/areas to check out while in town I'd appreciate it.

[2e1m5a]

Get a Septa day pass for $11 or buy a few tokens if it would be cheaper. The Broad Street Subway will get you near Geno's and Pat's in less than 5 Minutes from City Hall. Get off at Ellsworth-Federal and it will be about a 5 Min walk down Federal to 9th.

The Market-Frankford L will get you to Indepedence Hall from City Hall in less than 5 Minutes. Get off at 5th Street.

I'm sure there are busses to the Art Museum, but I have never needed to use it. It will probably be nice out but maybe a little too far for a walk. In the Summer Months I see the Philly Phlash Bus going that way but think you might be coming a little early in the season for that.

There are no safety concerns walking to any of these places if you are a walker.

[Cnote11]

Yeah, honestly, you should just walk. I walk everywhere in this city basically, and I live right next to City Hall. This means I want to the Art Museum, Independence Hall area, and Italian Market all the time, basically where you're coming from. Should be no big deal... but if you end up wanting to just take the Market-Frankford line to Independence Hall at 5th, then you could do that. Still, save yourself two dollars and put it toward some great Philly food instead and enjoy the beautiful weather and the beautiful city.

[Phil A. Delphia]

Reading Terminal Market (RTM), right across the street from the Convention Center, great place for lunch, especially later in the week.

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by clutchrider

Hello,
I will be taking a trip to Philly next week and staying near the big Marriott dwntwn convention center. Taking the Amtrak in and figuring I will taxi it to the hotel. However I have checked out some spots I want to visit while I am there and HopStopped them to see the walking distances. They range from 15-40 minutes;

Philly Museum of Art - 30 mins
Independence Hall - 15 mins
Geno's & Pat's - 40 mins

I am basically going to these spots from the city hall and wanted to get an idea if it's better/safer to cab it to any of these locations than walk the blocks. I'm familiar with NYC so walking is not new or hard for me. Also if you suggest any other spots/areas to check out while in town I'd appreciate it.

Walk! Why not? Philadelphia is EXTREMELY walkable... and next week is going to be really nice. So you should walk. Philadelphia does have a pretty good public transit system as well though, so don't hesitate to use it if needed.

Suggestion. DO NOT east at Pat's and Geno's. They are not the best cheesesteak places, and are just tourist traps (unless you want to go for the tourist experience). I'd check out Steve's Steaks on 16th Between Market and Chestnut or Jim's Steaks on South Street or Ishkabibble's on South.

Places to check out?

1. Independence National Park- you are already going here. This includes Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, The National Constitution Center, The President's House, The U.S. Mint, Ben Franklin's Grave, etc.

2. Other Old City locations:
-Betsy Ross House- where the U.S. Flag was sewn
-Carpenter's Hall- site of the first U.S. Continental Congress
-Chemical Heritage Foundation- history of science/chemistry
-Elfreth's Alley- longest continually occupied residential street in the U.S.
-First Bank of the United States
-Second Bank of the United States
-First U.S. Stock Exchange Building
-U.S. Customs House
-The Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent
-Tons of great small art museums/galleries in Old City, if that is your thing

3. See Washington Square Park- victims of the Yellow Fever were buried here as well as troops who died during the revolutionary war. Kinda sadistic that it is now a park, but it is a very nice and serene place.

3. Walk the historic streets of Society Hill- Pine, Spruce and Delancey are especially good.

4. See the Headhouse District on 2nd Street, as well as South Street between Front and 7th Streets.

5. The Italian Market in South Philadelphia on 9th Street... if you have time you can take that down and walk around East Passyunk Ave for a little (good boutiques/ shops).

6. Washington Square West neighborhood (the Gayborhood). A lot of tight narrow streets (like Quincy street), as well as great boutiques and restaurants.

7. City Hall- very beautiful building. Walk into the courtyard.

8. Check out The Avenue of the Arts (South Broad Street), between City Hall and South Street). Many historic skyscrapers here... also Philadelphia's main Theater District.

9. Rittenhouse Row- Walnut Street between Broad and Rittenhouse Square Park. Many upscale shops.

10. Rittenhouse Square Park- great green space for a time to relax a little.

11. Rittenhouse Square and Fitler Square neighborhoods- very nice historic rowhome neighborhoods. Also check out Fitler Square Park.

12. Reading Terminal Market- great place for food

13. Chinatown- self explanatory

14. Ben Franklin Parkway- also known as "Museum Mile." Sites include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art- Perelman Center, the Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum, the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences.

15. The Fairmount neighborhood. Main tourist site is the old Eastern State Penitentiary. The neighborhood surrounding it is a beautiful rowhome neighborhood too. Some historic mansions on Green Street between 22nd and 24th as well.

16. The skyscraper canyon of Penn Center (Market Street west of City Hall). Very Manhattan-esk. A lot of Modern skyscrapers. Some of the tallest are in this vicinity. Check out the Comcast Center. Go inside. Gorgeous building.

17. The Mutter Museum

18. University City- Penn's historic Ivy League Campus, The UPenn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, Institute of Contemporary Art

19. Neighborhoods that surround University City. Specifically the Spruce Hill/Clark Park area. Beautiful old Victorian housing stock. Clark Park is a very serene park too.

20. Fairmount Park- great place. See the Schuylkill Banks park, the Schuylkill River Trail, behind the Art Museum, Boathouse Row, the Zoo (first Zoo in the U.S.), the Japanese Gardens, the Please Touch Museum (building built for the World's Fair, now a museum)

21. Northern Liberties- specifically the Piazza at Schmidts. Great new neighborhood in the city. Literally being rebuilt from the ground up after it was ravaged by de-industrialization.

22. If you have time, you can head up to the Northwest section of the city. Main Street Manayunk (tons of great boutiques/shops/restaurants), Germantown Ave also has tons of great boutiques/shops/restaurants as well as a lot of historic mansions. This neighborhood is essentially a part of the Main Line (although within the city limits), one of the wealthiest areas in the city as well as the metro and the country and one of the last bastions of Old Money country.

This should give you a TON to do. Haha.

As for the public transit system. The Broad Street Line will take you North and South, the Market-Frankford Line will take you east and west and then once it reaches the river it curves north up into Northern Liberties and the riverwards. Trolleys/street cars also service West Philadelphia extensively and run along Girard Ave servicing the Zoo and West Fairmount Park. You can take the Broad Street Line to Girard then transfer to a Trolley. Or take cabs. The regional rail line will take you to the Northwest. The Norristown line services Manayunk, there are two lines that service Chestnut Hill, the Chestnut Hill East and the Chestnut Hill West lines.

If you need some recommendations for food, restaurants, food trucks, bars, clubs, lounges... we can help you out there too

[Blinx]

If the weather's bad or you're crunched for time, consider the Philly Phlash trolley that hits all of the tourist sites. $2/ride or $10/day.

Seven days a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day
May, September, October (Friday, Saturday and Sunday only)
Pickup approximately every 15 minutes (Between 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.)

(Just realized you said next week -- only operates on Fri, Sat, Sun in April.)

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Suggestion. DO NOT eat at Pat's and Geno's. They are not the best cheesesteak places, and are just tourist traps (unless you want to go for the tourist experience).

This^^^^
These places are a complete waste of your valuable time and way out of your way. Everything else on Smmersm's list is worthwhile, as much as you have time for.

[scosm]

Your times seem pretty accurate - you could probably hustle and get to all those places a little quicker though. If you go to Pat's and Geno's walk south on Ninth Street from South Street to the two cheesesteak places so that you can see the Italian Market. Stop at Sarcone's for a hoagie if it is open and Di Bruno Bros or some of the other nice shops.

[clutchrider]

Thanks for all the input! I definitely plan on spending some time around Independence Park to see it all (Bell, Franklin's Grave, etc.) I was thinking of dropping into the City Tavern for lunch but didn't want to do anything too touristy, thoughts on that?

The whole Pats and Genos thing is more for a photo op than anything. I doubt I will order anything, just want to check out the scene and say I've been there.

It's good to know walking is safe, with almost 70 degree sunny weather I plan on trekking a lot. I'm gonna add the italian market to my itinerary as well.

Thanks again!

[Angus215]

Pats and Genos may not be the best steaks in philly, but they aren't terrible either. I think it's worth going for the experience/photo op and Pat's in particular is decent. If you go down there, you should definitely get one, but if you stay in center city and want a good steak, go to Sonny's at 3rd and Market.