A quick visit to Philadelphia

Tips:

Find a good parking spot

Take Uber/Lyft/Taxies

Walk!

• On our way down to Washington DC we stopped in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. We only had a few hours and wifey wanted to do the Rocky Steps. We decided to park our car by the 9th St. Italian Market at a $7 a day lot. We walked the market and made our way to The Magic Garden which is an amazing gem in the middle of the city!
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• After having an early dinner we went to the Reading Terminal Market for some coffee. There are plenty of great restaurants in Philly, unfortunately, we did not pick one of those. We suggest you pre-plan a restaurant before you go. After coffee, we took a Lyft to the Rocky Steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We then walked all the way back to the car, taking in as much as we could of the city in the short time that we were there.
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• If you are planning to stay a little longer than we stayed, we recommend that you stay at the Hampton Inn if you are looking for great value and prime location. Also, look at purchasing the CityPASS for Philadelphia. That will give you access to some of the most popular locations at a reduced price, and in many cases you can skip the line. With CityPASS you will be able to choose from and save on the following locations:
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• Adventure Aquarium
• The Franklyn Institute
• Philadelphia Zoo
• Big Bus Company and Philadelphia Trolley Works - Highly Recommended!
• One Liberty Observation Deck
• Eastern State Penitentiary
• Please Touch Museum
• Museum of the American Revolution
• Battleship New Jersey and Memorial
• Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
• National Constitution Center
• Barnes Foundation 

If you are looking to splurge a little we recommend that you stay at The Dwight D a boutique hotel. You can also partake in the following recommended activities:

Philadelphia Lunch Cruise

Philadelphia Dinner Cruise

Philly Sunset Heli Tour

Philly Cheesesteak Segway Tour

Philadelphia Romantic Dinner Cruise

We found everyone in Philly to be very friendly. We indeed found plenty of brotherly love. I don't care how they treated Santa here, they treated us just fine.

Philadelphia has changed for the better since the last time I visited. There was so much more to see and enjoy. While I was a little hesitant to walk in the city because of previous experiences, we found the city to be clean and vibrant and very walkable. We felt safe while there and I can't say that was the case in the past.

What we liked:

There is a lot to see and do.

The city is quite walkable.

There is a lot to see for free.

What we didn't like:

Parking was expensive in Downtown.

We were a little disappointed in the 9th st. Italian Market.

Philly - The Poem

Was it a mistake to go to Philly

And not get a Cheesesteak?

I have Philly purist

Calling me a fake tourist, Furious and eliciting

That I should be visiting certain locations.

But please have some understanding

My time limitations and hotel reservations

Led me to leave the Liberty Bell And Penn's Landing for another occasion.

Philly, no need to attack, I'll be back