TravelUSA

Our Day Trip to Philadelphia

Philadelphia is only two hours away, making it a great day trip destination for the whole family! It’s a city rich in culture, history and sightseeing, this should definitely be on your list of places to visit! Our family from France was recently here and we decided to take a day trip… they loved it!

The City of Brotherly Love is awesome! I visited earlier this year and fell in love. (Check out my 10 Reasons to visit Philly.) There are many sites to see, but if you only have one day, like we did, I recommend heading over to the historical center. Here’s what we did.

Our Day Trip to Philadelphia

We left NYC at 8:30 am, arrived at 11:00 am. We parked on 15th Street and walked over to Independence Hall. We opted not to go in because there was a line, but instead we headed over to the Visitors Center, where there is a great exhibit on Philadelphia. (Free!)  You can also take a picture with Rocky! The Visitors Center is also a great place to use the restroom (clean!) and get some information on sightseeing and available tours. There is a food stand and there is also a phone charging station.

We headed over to Campo’s Deli for lunch. It was in walking distance and it was named one of Philadelphia’s best cheesesteak joints.

Arrived in the city of Brotherly love, having Inlaws taste some #philly cheesesteaks @visitphilly #ilovephilly

A photo posted by Diana Limongi (@ladydeelg) on


 

After lunch, we headed over to the Betsy Ross House. We met Betsy Ross herself! She showed us how to make a star out of a simple piece of paper by folding it and only cutting it once!

 

 

We also checked out the Ben Franklin Museum, where we learned a lot about Ben Franklin’s life, inventions, sayings and wisdom.

Philadelphia played a huge part in the creation of the United States. It is the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, where the Continental Congress met. The Constitutional Congress, where the Founding Fathers debated what would be in our founding document, happened in Philadelphia, after many heated and passionate debates. It is natural that the National Constitution Center would be in Philadelphia; it offers a thorough explanation of how the Constitution came to be, it shows the struggles of the Founding Fathers creating the document, it shows how the Constitution was amended throughout the years and highlights the important moments in our Nation’s history: My favorites ones? The election of President Obama and Sonia Sotomayor becoming the first Hispanic Justice on the Supreme Court.

 

 

These are just some of the things we did on our trip, but there is so much more you could do! In the Independence Hall area, you could visit also go to the National American Jewish Museum, or the Liberty Museum. You could also check out the African American Museum. Other options also include Liberty Bell (long lines but free.)

 

Another exhibit worth checking out is the “President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation.” It is located in the Independence National Historical Park site. It shows the paradox of liberty and enslavement and looks at the lives of nine slaves that served during President Washington’s term.

Presidents_House_Philly

For more information on Philadelphia, visit VisitPhilly.com

 

Share with us! Have you been to Philadelphia? What is your favorite attraction or spot? What is your favorite cheesesteak place?

 

Featured photo credit: M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia™

Diana Limongi
Diana a mom, activist, nonprofit professional, podcaster and writer from Queens, NY. She writes about motherhood, activism, raising my multilingual kids, culture and travel. She and her multicultural family live in Queens, NY.

Leave a Response

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.