Philly is a city rich in history. It is home to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed), and the famous steps that Rocky ran up in the “Rocky” movie. Personally, I felt there wasn’t too much else to do as a tourist. But I’ll remember their soft pretzels, what a real Philly cheesesteak is all about, and their variety of nicer but still affordable restaurants.
Here was our itinerary for the 3 day Presidents Day weekend we spent there.
Day 1 – Saturday
9:00-11:00am – Bus from NYC to Philly
It’s only 2 hours by bus, not bad!
11:15-12:15am – Eat brunch at Reading Terminal Market (Down Home Diner, Miller’s Twist, Cookie shop)
Reading Terminal Market is an indoor market with a variety of foods, snacks, sweets, and more. For brunch, we ate at Down Home Diner. Order the scrapple there; it’s a unique Philly food I’d describe as similar to pate. Their corned beef hash was also good. Our absolute favorite thing in this market was Miller’s Twist soft pretzels. SO good. We’re fans of the soft pretzels from Auntie Anne’s chains around the world, but Miller’s Twist pretzels were just perfect, such buttery tender soft pretzels. Our obsession led us to research the topic more, and turns out, Auntie Ann’s originated in Pennsylvania.
https://readingterminalmarket.org/
12:30-1:15pm – City Hall Tower Tour
They’re normally only open Mon-Fri, but they opened up for this Saturday only since the following Monday would be closed for Presidents Day. The 1.5-2 hr City Hall Interior Tour was not offered, so we bought tickets for the City Hall Tower Tour. The view from up there is nice and you can see much of Philly from up there. It’s not much of an informational tour; we only got some info here and there. We learned that Broad street is the longest, straight street in the U.S., at 14 mi. long, but the internet told me otherwise when I went to confirm this fact. But my favorite was the volunteers who ran the operation; a gentleman told us the best stories about how his wife picked him up some 40 years ago and I picked up some marriage advice (know your enemy).
https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/city-hall/#the-history
1:30-4:50pm – The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is Philly’s science center. The highlights for us here were the sports section and the Superpower Dogs showing in their IMAX. While the IMAX didn’t add much to the experience, we enjoyed the showing about how rescue dogs were trained. Their sports section was what made this science museum stand out. It included fun interactive activities to measure how fast you run, how high you jump, reaction times, and recordings when you throw a baseball.
5:00- 5:30pm- Rocky statue and Rocky Steps
Coming from The Franklin Institute, it’s a .6mi. walk along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to get to the Rocky Steps. Lining the parkway are the Flags of the Nations, flags of countries with a significant population in Philly. The Rocky steps is a really popular tourist stop. There were lots of people running up these steps and there was a line to take a picture with the Rocky statue off to the side. These steps actually lead to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but most people are probably just here for the steps. The view from the top of the steps is not bad either.
https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/the-rocky-statue-and-the-rocky-steps/
5:45-6:25pm – John’s Roast Pork
A sandwich shack, whose food is so good, its walls are lined with a bunch of newspaper excerpts about this place. We got the cheesesteak with onions and American cheese, and the roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and spinach. Both were satisfying but we really enjoyed the cheesesteak one. This was our favorite cheesesteak in Philly, well worth making the trip even though it’s not in downtown Philly!
http://www.johnsroastpork.com/
7:00-7:15pm – Fairmount Fish Ladder
Boathouse Row is said to look nice at night. It’s essentially a row of houses outlined with yellow Christmas lights. We got super confused trying to navigate directly to Boathouse Row. As a tip, you should actually navigate to Fairmount Fish Ladder on Google Maps, in order to see Boathouse Row on the other side of the river. To be honest, we were underwhelmed and spent only 5 min here. It’s especially not worth the trip if you don’t have a car.
Day 2 – Sunday
11:15am-12:30pm – Eat brunch at Cafe La Maude (Put name down at 11:15am. Enter at 11:45am)
A very popular brunch spot in Philly. It’s your typical brunch place, with pretty brunch foods and flooded with hipsters. We put our names down and walked around, and the wait only ended up being half an hour. I enjoyed our meal here but don’t remember anything standing out.
12:45-1:30pm – Ask questions and watch videos at Independence Visitor Center
Here you can pick up maps, get your questions answered by NPS rangers, see a small display, and shop at a gift shop.
https://www.phlvisitorcenter.com/IndependenceVisitorCenter
2:00-2:30pm – Take a tour at the Second Bank of the United States
Since it was Presidents’ Day weekend, this tour was about the first four presidents of the U.S. The inside of this bank now houses several paintings of important historical figures, painted at a time when they were still alive. The tour made a stop at each of the first four presidents as the ranger told us their story. It was amusing that much of the tour was a recap of what the play “Hamilton” has taught us.
https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-secondbank.htm
2:30pm – Play Presidents’ Day trivia and visit the Ben Franklin Museum
Another activity going on for Presidents’ Day weekend was the Presidents Quizzo, a trivia game in the Ben Franklin Museum. As expected, we got destroyed. Those kids knew many answers though, so smart. The rest of the museum was fine. It is one level and contains easily digestible and entertaining information. The museum struck me as modern, with plenty of screens and interactive exhibits. As one example, you can play through the scenarios of how you’d survive your first few years after arriving in America.
https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/benjamin-franklin-museum/
4:15pm – Walk down Elfreth’s Alley
A small street with cute, old colonial houses. Our nation’s oldest residential street, it says. Good for a quick stop to take some pictures, very “instagrammable”. People still live in these houses!
4:30-5:00pm – Take a walk on Ben Franklin Bridge
It’s a nice bridge to take a walk on. The pedestrian/bike path is wide and not many people were using it when we went. It’s a long bridge so we had no intentions of walking the whole thing and turned around half way in.
5:15pm – See Ben Franklin’s tombstone at Christ Church Burial Ground
We just walked by to snap a quick picture of Ben Franklin’s tombstone. I think the gates were closed anyway, but his tombstone is right by the gate so you can still take a picture!
5:30-6:45pm – Shop at the mall in Fashion District and play arcade games at Round 1
We had some spare time and stumbled upon this mall in the Fashion District so we went inside. We spent the most time inside the Nike Factory Store, where I was shocked to find that the men’s section was on the bottom level and appalled that I had to walk up a flight of steps for the women’s section. We soon found ourselves in the attached Round 1 arcade, playing several rounds of the quick reflexes game to smash the lighted blue buttons. Guess who won the majority of those games? It’s not who you’d expect 😀
https://fashiondistrictphiladelphia.com/
7:00pm – Check out how city hall looks at night
We had hoped it’d look nice at night, but actually it’s not lit up much at all so there’s no need to make a special stop to see it at night.
7:15pm – Eat dinner at Le Virtù (Arrived at 7:15pm for 8:15pm reservation, let in at 7:45pm)
Philly is known for good Italian food. This place had an intimate feel and a great deal for Sunday/Monday. Standouts to us were their complementary bread with olive oil, cheese plate, and scripelle, a crepe filled with cheese covered in sauces.
9:00pm – Have dessert and pulled tea Saté Kampar
This place was not pre-researched, but instead caught our eye when we were walking to dinner. I literally said the air smelled like saté when we were walking around, so I felt real proud of my nose when we stumbled upon this place- nailed it. We already had dinner plans but came back afterwards for some sweets.
http://satekamparpassyunk.com/
Day 4 – Monday
11:15-11:25am – Eat a Philly soft pretzel at Center City Soft Pretzel Co.
Start your day with a nice, big chunky pretzel. Philly is known for its soft pretzels and this one will fill you up. We got 8 for $4 thinking it would be like the soft pretzels you get from Auntie Ann’s and we bring some back home for later. But the typical Philly soft pretzel, like the kind you’ll find here, are more like the type you’d find at a baseball game (but better of course). They have a much heftier doughier composition, with a soft fluffy inside and a nice crunch to the exterior.
https://www.centercitypretzels.com/
11:30-11:45am – Eat a Philly cheesesteak at Geno’s Steaks
Whatever image you have in mind of a Philly cheesesteak, you may have to throw it out. You would think it’s a normal sandwich with cheese and steak inside, but think more along the lines of a greasy, blob of calories to consume at 2am when you’re drunk and hungry. But we’re not going at 2am, we’re going in the morning after pretzels, because it’s conveniently close by. Geno’s is one of the more well-known places to go for these disgusting, grease dripping down your hands sandwiches. Also know that the “correct” way to order one is to get it with either Cheese Wiz or American cheese, as opposed to white cheese. That’s how the locals do it. I also like mine with onions.
12:00-12:10pm – Eat a slice of tomato pie at Cacia’s Bakery
Another unique Philly food is the tomato pie. It’s a pizza with only the tomato sauce, no cheese, no toppings. There are many places to go for this interesting concept, and we went to Cacia’s Bakery, noteworthy to us for being a fourth-generation bakery. Unfortunately the tomato pie was quite a letdown, and tasted exactly like a cold pizza slice with only tomato sauce. Not sure if it was this bakery’s version or just tomato pie’s in general, but we would not get it again.
12:20-1:00pm – Take a walk on Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk
It’s on the other side of train tracks; how do you even get to this boardwalk? You can enter by navigating to Schuylkill River Park. Walk through this park, and use the overpass above the train tracks to get onto the boardwalk. It’s only less than half a mile long, but there’s an alright view of the skyline. It also connects into the much longer Schuylkill River Trail, but we didn’t walk the trail.
https://www.schuylkillbanks.org/landmarks/boardwalk
1:15-2:30pm – Take a tour at Independence Hall (Lined up at 1:15pm. Entered at 2pm)
Known as the birth place of the United States, Independence Hall is one of the main reasons to visit Philly. It was in this building that both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and signed. Entry to this building is free, but only possible via tours guided by the National Park Service. Timed tickets are required except during January and February, and a few other exceptions. A limited quantity of free tickets are made available daily at the Independence Visitor Center on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can also reserve online or by phone. Because we came in February, we didn’t need to get tickets, but instead got into the big line outside at 1:15pm. We were admitted at 2pm for a tour that lasted 22min.
https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/independencehall.htm
2:50-3:30pm – Check out the Liberty Bell
The other reason to visit Philly is to see the iconic Liberty Bell in person. Admission is free and we waited less than 10min to get in. Once inside, visitors are greeted with panels of information that provide interesting context before reaching the bell in the back. These panels covered more than just what the bell symbolizes and why it’s cracked. I appreciated the extra non-obvious topics like how the bell came to be a symbol for those who fought to end slavery, where this bell has traveled to for various purposes, and the what goes into maintaining this fragile relic. Armed with knowledge, you reach the bell at the back of the building. Honestly, in person it’s just an old bell you try to get a quick picture with as tourists swarm around, but the building planners did a beautiful job of framing the bell with Independence Hall in the background.
https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-libertybell.htm
4:15pm – Dinner at Zahav (Line up at 4:15pm. Enter at 4:40pm)
People have claimed this is the best restaurant in America. Indeed, my dinner here is one I will not forget. We couldn’t secure reservations, but found out that if you line up early enough, they reserve a few spots every night for walk ins, so that is why we showed up at 4:15pm even though they opened at 5pm. At 4:40pm, they let us in early to our surprise, and welcomed us with thick hot chocolate to enjoy during our remaining wait time. For the next 15min, I felt as if I was let in behind the scenes as I watched the restaurant quietly put in place its last touches, wiping counters, setting tables. We saw the entire staff of waiters being briefed in the adjacent dining room and then disperse to their battle stations. Nearing 5pm, the lights dimmed, the music turned on, and we were seated. The place immediately sprang to life. I didn’t even get to the food yet! First, the Z&T cocktail was so unique and tasty. We got the tasting menu with the lamb shoulder, and it comes with so much food and variety; you really get to sample a bit of everything. Surprisingly, we actually enjoyed everything else it came with more than the lamb. The lamb was too sweet for our tastes.
http://www.zahavrestaurant.com/menu.html
7:30pm – Take the bus home