PHILADELPHIA
TOURISM  IDEAS

The staff at Otels hope you enjoy the following Travel Ideas
from travel writer (and enthusiastic naturalist) Mark Kolakowski
Best wishes on your next trip!

 

Visit Franklin's Philadelphia

By Mark Kolakowski
Copyright © 2006 by the author

Philadelphia is one of the great cities of America, with a long list of first-rate attractions that can keep you enthralled for a week or more. Enjoying a favorable location on the banks of the Delaware River, Philadelphia was once the capital of the United States and offers a colonial core (known as Society Hill) filled with dignified brick rowhouses and pocket parks.
   
The most famous building here is Independence Hall, with the Liberty Bell nearby.  Eight blocks further west is City Hall (topped by a statue of William Penn) and the Arts District heading south along Broad Street.  A few blocks further west is stately Rittenhouse Square and the fashionable shops of Walnut Street.  You might also consider visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, Temple University (two miles north of City Hall) and the University of Pennsylvania (a mile west of downtown on the west bank of the Schuylkill River).
 
  Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.    If you have these two historic treasures on the “to do” list, there are several important things to know. Entry to Independence Hall is solely by guided tour. From March through December, you must pick up a free timed ticket at the new Independence Visitor Center, in Independence Mall at the northeast corner of Market and 6^th Streets. It is wise to make a trip to the Visitor Center early in the day (it opens at 8:30 AM) to get your tickets, even if you want a tour later in the day. Especially in the warmer months, tours tend to fill up quickly.

      Alternatively, you can log into www.nps.gov/inde/tickets.htm  or call 1-800-388-2733 to
      reserve in advance. If you do so, there will be a $1.50 charge per ticket. The website also
      shows the amount of open slots currently available for each tour time, so you can judge
      whether showing up at the Visitor Center without a reservation is likely to be successful.

In 1976, the Liberty Bell was moved from Independence Hall to its own glass pavilion just a block north. More recently, it has been moved again, to a new, larger building adjacent to the 1976 pavilion. Tickets are not needed.  (Be prepared to pass through security checkpoints as a post-9/11 measure for both Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell; in March 2006 it took 35 minutes to process a line of visitors about 100 feet long.)
 
  The National Constitution Center  (www.constitutioncenter.org) is marked the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s birth with "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World" in 2006.  Franklin’s own words narrated this 8,000 square-foot show. Highlights of this exhibit in this brand new building opposite Independence Hall included:

    • Original copies of five of America’s founding documents, including the Declaration of
       Independence and Franklin’s own copy of the Constitution.

    • Over 250 artifacts owned by Franklin and his family, many never before displayed
       in public.

    • More than 40 interactive and hands-on exhibits. For example, visitors can board a
       25-foot model ship and see how Franklin charted the Gulf Stream.
 
  The Philadelphia Flower Show (March) is the both the oldest in the U.S., dating from 1829, and the largest in the world (among indoor shows), drawing over 275,000 visitors each year. It is an outstanding event, which attracts visitors from hundreds of miles away. The show is produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the first organization of its type in the nation, founded in 1827. See www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org.

NOTE: Crowds are lightest on weekdays after 4 PM. Advance tickets are available online (leave adequate time for mailing) or at a variety of locations from New Jersey to Virginia. Check the horticultural society website for details. You can save up to $6 per ticket (depending on when you attend the show) by buying in advance rather than at the door.
 

SUBURBS OF PHILADELPHIA

  Many fine universities (including Haverford and Bryn Mawr) lie along the "Main Line", the train line heading west of Philadelphia.
 

    To make hotel reservations in Philadelphia, please visit us at
                                                      PennsylvaniaHotels.com!


              We welcome your comments or suggestions about the above Travel Report: