I am married to my beautiful wife Venus and have a precoscious 'almost five year old' called Daniel...
I am married to my beautiful wife Venus and have a precoscious 'almost five year old' called Danielle. I enjoy travel, and apart from spending alot of time in my wife's home town of Philadelphia I try and vacation as much as possible.
Member since:16.09.2005
Reviews:22
Members who trust:2
Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love is in my opinion one of the best cities to visit in the USA. It is situated on the Delaware river, right next door to New-Jersey and just 90 miles from New-York.
Between 1790 and 1800 Philadelphia was the capital city of the USA and is steeped in American History with a multitude of places to visit.
The skyline of the downtown area (known locally as 'centre city') is so similar to Canary Wharf in london's East End that on my first visit on looking out of my hotel window on Benjamin Franklyn Boulevard I thought I was back home.
Part of the downtown area is dominated by the Old arts district which comprises of the 45 acre Independance Park where you can find The Liberty Bell exhibition and Independance Hall, (where the American constitution was drafted and signed). Also you can visit the house of Betsy Ross (who made the first flag of the USA) and a variety of art galleries and museums. On the down-side the museums are expensive to get into, apart from a Sunday morning when you can get into the Natural History Museum for just a couple of Dollars.
As most of the Old Arts district is of such historical interest with not only the national buildings, but architecture ranging from American revolution times, colonial, 19th century and modern; you will not find a major hamburger chain to spoil the atmosphere. What you will find is a wonderful array of restaurants, eateries and bars that attracts a really eclectic bunch of people that come nightfall or the weekend really makes the place buzz with life.
Transport links within the city are very good; you can use the numerous buses, an open top tour bus that goes around all the places of interest or even the old trolley car or a horse and carriage.
As you wander around the city you may recognise quite a bit of it; I was certainly surprised at how many movies are made there, like Philadelphia with Tom Hanks, Witness with Harrison Ford, all the Rocky movies and more recently National Treasure with Nicholas cage.
Coming away from Centre City and the Old arts district the water front at Penns Landing is well worth a visit. It is made up of the waterfront (ok obviously) of the Delaware river, a picturesque and realxing walk with a number of ships that are restaurants. And the focal point of Penns Landing is South Street, which I can only describe as Philadelphia's equivelant to Camden Lock; enjoying the same mixture of funky people, quirky stores, fashion, bars, clubs and great places to eat.
Look out for 'The Duck' on South Street; an amphibious touring bus that takes you on a trip of South Street, Penns landing and the Old arts district and then James Bond stylee right onto the Delaware river.
While you are on South Street hang a right onto South 2nd street and stroll down to the Mummers Museum. The Mummers are a large collection of string and brass bands and dancing troupes (all male) that are a Philadelphia institution in their own right. During various holidays they parade through Philadelphia dressed in wonderful and colourful costumes and if you arer lucky enough to be around over New-Year, the new-year day parade is a must see that is televised nation-wide.
Go to Philly; be entertained by the music, informed by the history, make friends with the people, and get fat with the local delicacy; The Philadelphia Cheese Steak.
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I would love to go here but alas it is but a dream at the moment. Belinda
zimba55 27.10.2005 14:22
wow, people always rave about NYC but you never hear much about Philadelphia. Being of an age where I like the city breaks instead of the beach I would love to pay the place a visit.
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Advantages: South Street is an amazing place, and Independence Hall & Liberty Bell are a must to visit. I highly reccommend the Philly Phlash also. It's a fantastic way to see Philadelphia. Disadvantages: Enterance to museums are quite expensive, and shops/attractions didnt open until 10am when I was there.
MelNorthernLine 01.04.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Philadelphia
Advantages: Very close to city centre, comfortable rooms, good amenities Disadvantages: Local area is a bit grubby, hotel is very obviously a chain and is bland in places
Oct 27th, 2005
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