[bong]

a friend and i are thinking about doing a (slightly) spontaneous romp to Philly next weekend. we're leaving Friday night after work and coming back probably Saturday evening. can anyone recommend the must see's of Philly? we only have Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon, so we don't have much time to explore on ort own. what's the essentials for the City of Brotherly Love? besides Pat's and Geno's, which i'll be trying both, LOL.

also, can anyone recommend a cheap place where we can stay? any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong a friend and i are thinking about doing a (slightly) spontaneous romp to Philly next weekend. we're leaving Friday night after work and coming back probably Saturday evening. can anyone recommend the must see's of Philly? we only have Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon, so we don't have much time to explore on ort own. what's the essentials for the City of Brotherly Love? besides Pat's and Geno's, which i'll be trying both, LOL. also, can anyone recommend a cheap place where we can stay? any input would be greatly appreciated!

The Bank St. Hostel in old city is about $20 per person. http://www.bankstreethostel.com/
There are a lot of bars in old city so this would be a great place to crash on Friday night. Also check prices at the Holiday Inn "historic district". Stay either around old city / independence hall or in center city near rittenhouse square.

Pat's and Geno's are good but I prefer Jim's steaks on 4th and South St. South St. is also a fun place to walk around. My favorite steak sandwhich is at Tony Luke's on Front and Oregon but you need a cab to get there.

China Town is great for dinner or dim sum on the cheap. Most restaurants in this area are very good. Try Ocean Harbor for Chinese at 10th and Race or Vietnam Palace on 11th around race st. http://www.eatatvietnam.com.

For touristy stuff, check out independence hall, the constitution center, liberty bell, art museum, eastern state penitentiary (very cool), franklin science center with bodyworlds exhibit and imax.

Check city concerts at wxpn.org.

 

[1911]

my fist advice would be dont...save your self the trip but if you must canman's suggestions are good. must check out the new independence center. pat's/ genos is fun because you eat one then walk across the street and sample the other one and compare...fyi pats is so much better than genos.
cheap place? priceline my man....priceline

 

[gaijin]

If you enjoy art, you could visit the Barnes Foundation, which has a unique collection of early 20th century French paintings :

http://www.barnesfoundation.org/

 

[RYCeT]

Manayunk is a fun place to hang out, you'll need a cab or bus to go there though.

 

[Jahn]

1911 you lived in philly forever, you could have at least told him to drop by 8th street music if he was in Chinatown. They carry Grados and AKGs, but you really go to check out the guitar gear, and the nice used amps they have in the back.

 

[volks4ever]

Franklin Institute has an exhibit named : Body Worlds

Absolute must see.

 

[gordolindsay]

My family and I were just there last week visiting more family. My dad, brother, and I are in the golf profession and my dad had some contacts out there. So we got to walk out on Rolling Green Country Club and the famous Merion Country Club.

I know that doesn't help you out much but it's funny seeing a thread about somewehre I was just last week.

P.S. If anyone ever gets a chance to go to Merion Country Club, I advise they do. It is an incredible course with a ton of history and an absolutely stunning setting.

 

[aerius]

The Mutter Museum of medical anomalies. Requires a bit of a strong stomach since some of the exhibits are rather gross, like the colon of man who was constipated for 15 years and a skeleton of a guy whose chest looks like it was twisted around a half turn. Did I mention a 2-headed baby in a jar? They have that too.

 

[1911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn 1911 you lived in philly forever, you could have at least told him to drop by 8th street music if he was in Chinatown. They carry Grados and AKGs, but you really go to check out the guitar gear, and the nice used amps they have in the back.

yeah that's the point. i have been to all the musuems, mutter, manayunk, constitution, pat's geno's etc..my only point being that there are alot more fabulous places to visit than philly...cmon man when u visited me was it a good time? hahahah

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1911 yeah that's the point. i have been to all the musuems, mutter, manayunk, constitution, pat's geno's etc..my only point being that there are alot more fabulous places to visit than philly...cmon man when u visited me was it a good time? hahahah

that's the typical philly attitude - coming from a guy who didn't grow up here its a fun city to visit.

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong a friend and i are thinking about doing a (slightly) spontaneous romp to Philly next weekend. we're leaving Friday night after work and coming back probably Saturday evening. can anyone recommend the must see's of Philly? we only have Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon, so we don't have much time to explore on ort own. what's the essentials for the City of Brotherly Love? besides Pat's and Geno's, which i'll be trying both, LOL. also, can anyone recommend a cheap place where we can stay? any input would be greatly appreciated!

I went college at Penn in the early 80's. Philly is tough, with only a few "essentials", which have already been listed.

I agree with the PMA, especially if you like Duchamp (they boast a large collection of his stuff).

If you have to to walk around, I would just wander the streets of Society Hill (dowtown grid closer to the Delaware River). It really does make you feel like you are walking through a time warp.

Also, if you have time, on the Penn campus (West Philly), there is the Istitute for Comtemporary ARt and the Annenberg Film Center -- there might be some good avte-garde stuff happening. I beleive Khyber Pass is a music club that has some cool bands -- not sure of the location.

In nicer weather, Fairmont Park is nice.

Hope this helps.....

 

[bong]

thanks so much for the suggestions, guys! i totally forgot the Mutter Museum is in Philly, *brain fart* so i definitely want to check that out. hope my friend Sue wouldn't be too grossed out. The Body Worlds exhibition at The Franklyn Institute sounds interesting too... we have a similar exhibition happening in NYC but i haven't the chance to see it yet. Society Hill sounds quite nice too, for the Architect in me.

we'll most likely be taking one of those Chinatown buses that run between NYC and Philly, so we'll be dropped off at Chinatown, i think near Market East Square or something like that, so we'll probably need to find lodging near there. that hostel Canman suggested looks really good for one night, but since we're guy-girl i dunno if we want to be split up.

1911, you must not like Philly very much, LOL. well, the idea was to spotaneously go somewhere to explore for the weekend, but on a shoestring budget. since i've never been to Philly and neither has she, and it's considerably nearby to NYC, it was the first city that came to mind. we've been to Boston, DC, Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun, etc... and they're all farther away. i guess Providence would be another city to explore, but i'd rather do Philly first.

again, thanks so much guys! keep the suggestions coming...

 

[euclid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by volks4ever Franklin Institute has an exhibit named : Body Worlds Absolute must see.

i was there last week, very cool stuff.

 

[sleepkyng]

did anyone mention the Rodin Museum?

totally sweet.