Philadelphia Travel Forum

I will be in Philadelphia for New Year's for about four days. I am staying at the Westin downtown and wanted to know if any of the museum's, exhibits, or historical points of interest will be available? I will have a car, but would public transportation be easier to get around then driving? Also, looking for a 4 or 5 star restaurant that might not be booked yet for New Years and possibility of a club/dancing after. Thanks for any suggestions.

You can find out about things being open by looking at their websites--a helpful listing can be found at http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/planner/20071109_Museum_and_gallery_events.html

Many museums are open on New Year's Day but most of them are closed one day a week (for instance, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is closed on Mondays).

Public transportation is often better than driving in Philadelphia--not so much for the driving part, but because parking in the city is notoriously difficult. If you don't have definite plans to go to places that are truly inaccessible by public transit or cab, I would forget about renting a car. It will be more trouble than it's worth. Philly has good buses and trains, plus a lot of cabs. When I lived there I barely used my car at all, and my BF who lives there now doesn't even own one.

For restaurants, take a look at www.opentable.com but remember that many are not taking NYE reservations yet (30 days in advance is when most reservation books open).

Is that January 1st features the multi-hour Mummer's Parade. South Broad Street will be closed, and jammed with people, the whole day. But there's no better way to spend the day than to go there and watch the crazy costumes, irreverent humor, and jovial string bands. We've gone twice and will go again this coming NYD if weather permits.

> would public transportation be easier to get around then driving?

Philly is one city where using a car is not only unnecessary, it's a nuisance. Drivers are crazy, and cheap parking near to where you want to go is impossible to find. Using a car is not as bad as in, say, Boston (Philly streets are laid out in an intelligent grid); but that's EXTEMELY faint praise.