One day in the City of Brotherly Love isn’t anywhere near enough time to get the best of this historic city where the United States was born. Even a week couldn’t do the job adequately. However, if that’s your tight 24-hour schedule, here’s what this old Philadelphian would recommend, keeping in mind that you don’t want to waste any part of the precious day by traveling far and wide. My schedule keeps you mostly within walking distance in the Old City for everything I recommend.
If you’re driving, just pull into the hotel parking lot. If flying, it is a 20-minute taxi or van trip from the Philly International Airport in South Philly. The Omni Hotel at Independence Park at 401 Chestnut Street is just steps or a short walk from Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, US Mint, the Ben Franklin House and many other historic sites. The hotel price is $250 a day, but rooms are large enough with daybed couches for a family of four or five to be comfortable for the few hours you’ll actually spend in the room.
Have lunch nearby at Pizzicato Ristorante, 248 Market St. It features crispy homemade pizza with fresh ingredients, as you watch, in a traditional brick oven. There’s a large menu of Italian and American favorites, including seafood, steak and poultry. The atmosphere is bright and friendly, just right to get you in the mood for your wanderings around Philly.In the early afternoon, visit Ben Franklin’s restored house at Franklin Court, just a short walk to busy Market Street, at numbers 316 to 322, between 3rd and 4th Streets. Admission is free, and there’s a replica of Ben’s narrow row house, with a museum of Franklin furniture, inventions and other artifacts in the basement, including Ben’s privy. There’s always a friendly portly guy there in Colonial costume and granny glasses to answer questions and pose for photos with the kids.
For later in the afternoon, take a taxi or city bus trip to my alma mater, the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Although it is one of the most comprehensive and impressive museums in the world, I know you and your family members just want to run up the 99 steps and do your Rocky victory wave for the camera when … or if … you make it to the plaza without collapsing. Then, go inside to spend an hour or two to check out a few of the many art wonders. The permanent collection of historic artifacts and art runs from Egyptian to pre-Columbian to contemporary. As of April 2008, the visiting exhibition features the paintings of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.
If you have the dough, although it isn’t terribly expensive, have dinner near your hotel at Bookbinder’s, 125 Walnut Street, a Philadelphia landmark since the 1860s. The restaurant has the best, most eclectic and freshest seafood in town, as well as steak and poultry dishes. If the kids are with you, they’ll either love or hate seeing the big tank near the entrance where the huge lobsters await their fate of being boiled alive. Anyhow, the kids will be impressed by the wait staff in Colonial costumes.
For your evening, you may choose the nearby Walnut Street Theater at 825 Walnut, the oldest theater still operating in America. It has been providing entertainment since 1809. When I was a college student, I spent a summer renovating the carpeting there. It was very dusty and dirty work, but we found jewelry and printed programs dating back a hundred years. Incidentally, if you’ll be visiting between mid-May and mid-July, 2008, consider attending the the big Broadway musical, “Les Miserables” at the Walnut.
You may decide to attend another traditional old Philadelphia landmark, the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust Streets. It is a bit of a walk from your Independence Square Hotel, but manageable if you have the time to stroll and enjoy the historic sites along the way. It has been in operation since the mid-1850s, and as a student at college just two city blocks away, I was there often as a patron and volunteer as a spear carrier in opera performances. It is said to have the best acoustics of any theater in America, and even those in the high-up peanut galleries can hear stage whispers. If you’ll be in Philly on May 10, 2008, you may want to see a rivival of the musical, “Gypsy”, or through June, “The Color Purple”. Also check for concerts of the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, or the Academy’s frequent rock and pop music schedules.
Have you had enough of Philly for one day? OK, try to make it back to the Omni for a late drink or snack, and then collapse happily into bed, knowing you chose the right schedule for maximizing your day in the City of Brotherly Love.
