Philadephia

[terri110874]

Any good places to eat in this area? I need it to be kid friendly since the kids are going and not very expensive.

Any ideas of what to do there? and places to avoid?


Parking looks like an issue, I have checked out a few tourism thing to do and it looks like I have to pay for parking at most of them? Does any one have any idea to keep the cost of parking down. I have est about 100 for parking so far. Found out its 33 per night for hotel that we are staying at:mad: that totals 99 so far.


Thanks in Advance...going in 2 1/2 weeks panic is starting to set in.

[biodtl]

I have visited a couple of times on business but I always do some sight-seeing, and the bus sytem is very easy to use. I would leave your car at the hotel and take public transportation/walk to as much as possible.

[DisneyDog]

Well, there are quite a few Philly natives on this list (I am from the suburbs, but could probably still help). However, I think you are going to have to give us more specifics. What section of the city are you staying in? What kinds of activities will you be doing? Philly is a big restaurant town. There are lots of kid friendly places. But, it depends on what kind of food you are interested in. There are chain restaurants galore if that's what you want. If you like Asian food, Chinatown is a lot of fun and lots of good choices. That is by the Convention Center.

As far as parking, you could take the train or the buses. There are also metered spots that are pretty inexpensive...just don't forget to feed the meters. Philly is also a fairly good walking city, depending on where you are going. A lot of the big museums are on the Ben Franklin Parkway (Art Museum, Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences, Rodin Museum). The Zoo isn't really near anything, so you would probably need to drive there, if you were planning that. Parking in different areas will be different prices. Center City will be very expensive. University City (by U of Penn and Drexel) will be a little bit cheaper. Parking in Chestnut Hill will probably be free because it's more suburban. It all depends. I can tell you that it will probably be less expensive than Boston parking (I paid $35 for one hour 15 years ago to park at the aquarium. )

Give us some insight and we'll be glad to help. We locals are very proud of our city and will be happy to hype it up:thumbsup: Feel free to PM me if you want.

[judoma]

Pat's Steaks in South Philly. Gino's, which is probably more renowned, is right across the street, but Pat's is better in my opinion!You must get a genuine Philly steak while in Philly.

[DisneyDog]

I agree with Judoma. Gotta get a steak when you come to Philly. Definitely put that on your itinerary!

[terri110874]

We are looking for kid friendly things. Like Franklin, zoo is a maybe, aquarium, reading terminal, and things like that. We are doing Sesame for 1 day (i do have 2 one day passes)

I wanted to try Eastern State Penn but not sure with a 8 and 10 yr old .

We had on our list Campos, since it was on Market st same as our hotel.

[barnaby]

You could check out the Please Touch Museum or The Academy of Natural Science, both are near The Franklin.
Also, you could take a stroll around Penn's Landing and South Street.

[barnaby]

Pat's Steaks in South Philly. Gino's, which is probably more renowned, is right across the street, but Pat's is better in my opinion!You must get a genuine Philly steak while in Philly.

Jim's Steaks on South Street is my favortite.

And Tony Luke's for pork sandwiches!!!

[DisneyDog]

Well, there is no aquarium in Philadelphia. You would need to cross the river into Camden, NJ for that. I have heard it's nice, though. Haven't made it there yet. If you do go over to Camden, the USS New Jersey Battleship is really nice. We took my DS there for his 5th birthday.

The Franklin Institute is great for an 8 and 10 year old. They are way too old for the Please Touch Museum, which, for the moment is right across the street from the Franklin. The Franklin is currently running a Pirates exhibit which is supposed to be very cool. The Art Museum can be fun...if you go on a Sunday it is free with a donation. They have an amazing Arms and Armour exhibit. You feel like you are back in the middle ages.

There is also a little known place called Shofuso, which is an authentic Japanese house. Very cool. I am waiting until my son is a bit older before taking him there. That is in Fairmount Park, and wouldn't be too far from the Franklin Parkway.

The Academy of Natural Sciences has dinosaurs and displays of "stuffed" animals -- the real kind. Very historic.

There's the Constitution Center which is supposed to be amazing. I haven't been there yet either. Saving that one for when my DS is a bit older as well. There's also Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Mint (the money kind).

I'm sure I'll think of more ideas :)

[barnaby]

You would need to cross the river into Camden, NJ for that. I have heard it's nice, though. Haven't made it there yet.

They are way too old for the Please Touch Museum


Adventure Aquarium is pretty good. We have memberships there and go a few times a year.

You are right about the Please Touch for kids that age.

[DisneyDog]

If you are looking for restaurant ideas, the best place to look is Philadelphia Magazine. Click here for their website (http://www.phillymag.com/index.html). They have a pretty good restaurant index. You can search by cuisine or zip code. They also have an events index.

[judoma]

I'm not sure what hotel your staying at but if it is close to the Reading Terminal, there are lots of places to eat in there on all points on the affordability scale. You may find yourself in there each day of your trip trying out different places to eat!

As for entertainment, I would definitly try to hit Franklin Institute. I havn't gotten to the pirate exhibit yet but definitly will before it leaves! Also try to visit the Academy of Natural Science which is a hop skip and a jump from FI. Both are alot of fun and educational without the kids even knowing it, and best of all they are very affordable. Note that you could spend a whole day in FI but the Academy of Nat Science will only take a few hours, like 2 or 3. Also remeber FI has alot to offer. They have an IMAX theater that shows not only the science and nature stuff, but full length movies some nights. Also the Planetarium has a show that they do on weekend nights with lights and music and lasers. It's actually pretty cool.

[SharkBait]

My suggestion for a cheese steak is Steve's Prince of Steaks. Pat's and Geno's, in my opinion are "tourist traps" Make sure you read up on how to order one. "Whiz wit" is a cheese steak with cheeze whiz and fried onions. Soooo good, I think I might go get one for dinner tonight.

I highly recommend the Franklin Institute, or as they refer to it now simply as "The Franklin" Great exhibits, and I think someone mentioned earlier in this post about the Real Pirates exhibit, definitely check it out.

If you are baseball fans, I recommend going to a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park... Who happen to be in 1st place....

You have to check out the Liberty Bell !!!!

[terri110874]

We will be at Crowne Plaza on Market St. Just found that the are redo the restaurant