Philadelphia Travel Forum

Hi everyone! I'll go to New York City tomorrow for a 15-day vacation. I'd like to take a train and spend a whole day in Philly too, leaving early morning and coming back late at night. What should I do, considering I'll have one day? Thank you!

First of all, go by Greyhound - much cheaper ;)
go to the rocky museum, go have a philly cheesesteak at this one corner where 2 of the city's most famouse cheese steak shops are facing each other - just ask a local they will know the name. There is something else that is historic about Philly too but I forgot. Something like the constitution was written there or something.
I personally didn't like philly that much. If you have some time, go to another town in my honest opinion.

If you really want to save money, you can take the Chinatown bus from NY's Chinatown to Philly's. Do a Google search for this and you will find various options. If you more concerned with convenience and comfort, take Amtrak. It is not cheap, but it's a lot nicer.

There is plenty to do in Philadelphia, way beyond Rocky and cheesesteaks. (Plus, you can do a lot better on the cheesesteak front than the two most touristy ones--see http://www.chowhound.com/topics/375865 for a lot more on that subject. Personally, I am a much bigger fan of the Italian roast pork sandwich, a Philly specialty.)

Art/museums: Philadelphia has numerous excellent museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Institute for Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania Archeological Museum, African American Museum, Mutter Museum (this is a weird one, really unique!) and many others. There is also a thriving local art scene if you are into that. See http://www.inliquid.com/gallery/gallery.php for comprehensive listings.

Cool neighborhoods to walk around: Center City (central/western part of downtown), Old City (central/eastern end of downtown), South St., Art Museum (about a 10-block radius east/south of the Art Museum), Italian Market (around 9th St., a few blocks north of South St.), etc.

There is also the historical part of Philadelphia, very important--Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell monument, etc. Doing the Independence Hall tour is more interesting than one might expect. You can learn a lot!

There are a lot of cool places to eat in Philly, not to mention a lot of local specialties that go well beyond cheesesteaks. In addition to the aforementioned roast pork sandwich, you've got soft pretzels, water ice, and a lot of other things. Go to Reading Terminal Market for lunch, and you'll be set for about 8 hours.

Thank you very much! I'll take the Greyhound and try the historical tour.