Philadelphia Trip Suggestions
 

I'm being sent, somewhat reluctantly, to Philadelphia next week on business. I'll be there for a couple of days.

I'm staying on Market Street in Downtown, Rittenhouse Square area. I know I would like to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell etc. Those appear to be within walking distance of the hotel.

Any suggestions for a Cheese Steak around that area? Anything else to do? I'll be fairly busy, but I'll have late afternoons and evenings free.

Thx in advance.

If you aren't climbing a greased-up pole, eating horse shit or singing around a trash can on fire wearing fingerless gloves you aren't doing Philly right

I used an audio walking self tour and was really great because my schedule was in flux and I didn't want to pay for tour guides when I might not be able to finish the full tour. The one I used was a 2 and a half mile walking tour with good directions and some audio descriptions of the sites. I thought it worked pretty well for 6 dollars.

https://www.selftour.guide/tours/historic-philadelphia/

Oh cool! Thx for this!

Head west to KC.

Pat's and Gino's are the two quintessential Cheese Steak restaurants. Honestly, I don't think cheese steaks are very good, but if you are determined to eat one...

For great food and atmosphere eat at Tequilas.

the Museum of Art was in the Rocky film and has a statue of Stallone as Rocky. IIRC, it is near the Schuylkil River (pronounced School Kill) and you can watch people rowing on the river from a thin patch of grass and trees along the side of the river (pretty sure this is the only place to see grass and trees in that wretched city).

South Street has tons of bars. Yuengling (pronounced ying ling) is brewed in Philly and it is worth trying.

Have fun and try not to get killed. Remember: people in Philadelphia are uneducated and violent and they hate you (no matter who you are).

Pat's and Geno's are the 2 big names but those are more like south philly and you'd probably have to take a ride to get there. They are the tourist steak places and not the best cheesesteaks. They used to be great when I was a kid but they steadily went downhill for years, going down in quality and size. They are still better than most places though. I prefer Geno's to Pat's but why not try both since they are across the street from each other.

You could go to South street and get a steak from Jim's which is good, but the best cheesesteak is located in the Roxborough section of Philadephia - Dallesandro's (Chubby's across the street is good too). If you want to go out one night, this would be a good trip as well, since Main Street in Manayunk, philly is right around the corner. They have a lot of cool bars and the Manayunk Brewpub. A friend of mine owns a bar/restaurant on Main Street called Lucky's Last Chance, which has won awards for their creative burgers if you get hungry again late night. This area of Philly is probably about a 10-15 minute Uber ride from where you are staying. It's my favorite section of philly when you're not checking out the historical sights.

I'm a Pat's fan

Yuengling is an decent beer but nothing special. Worth trying bc it's the oldest brewery in the country. Also, if you go to a bar and want to order one, you don't have to say give me a yuengling - if you just say, I'll take a lager, the bartender will know you want a Yuengling. If you find Troegs (especially Nugget Nectar), Sly Fox, or Yards, I'd drink all of these pennsylvania beers over yuengling, and of course victory, but i think they distribute nationwide anyway.

Isn't there a Chiefs Bar in Philly?

It's not so bad. Restaurants are awesome. Even better if you get one that's BYOB. Easy to walk around and find tons of places you'll like. I think that area is safe and nice. There's definitely plenty of areas that aren't great at all.

Big Charlie's is a Chiefs bar. Not sure if it's worth checking out not on Sunday.

Pat's and Geno's aren't the best cheese steaks. But they're good and the spot is original. Geno's if you like it clean. I prefer Pat's because it's greasy as hell. Don't get caught ordering like an amateur. Look up the rules for ordering.

The Mutter Museum is worth a visit and within walking distance. You also might want to check out McGillin's Ale House which has been in operation since 1860. They have all their liquor licenses on display. And you can easily waste an afternoon inside City Market.

We visited for a couple days a little over a year ago.
We did the hop on-hop off bus tour for an overview. I really enjoyed the Liberty Bell/ Independence Hall tour.
We also enjoyed the Reading Terminal Marketplace - lots of food places in there.

Parking is a nightmare. We flew in there and didn't rent a car until we were leaving town.

Its kind of a shit hole. Hate to say it. I thought it would be nicer. Then when I went to Boston I expected the same but it was a pretty cool town minus their sports obviously

This place has great food. If you go to reading terminal, try DiNic's and order the roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe. It's better than any cheesesteak.