You will need reservations for Independence Hall during summer months, but it is free. The Constitution Center is not worth the price tag. Elfreth’s Alley is not all it is cracked up to be. A couple of houses and a plaque.
The Art Museum is immense, you can spend all three days there and not see anything else. I suggest getting a map of the museum and planning what you want to see within the museum. The main gallery houses the “famous” stuff, but there is a great collection of arms and armor and various other unique collections.
Well, I am an international traveler technically, since I’m from Korea. Although my American accent does confuse people. I could probably pass as a student. But yes, I am getting to that age where I feel a little too old to stay in hostels. (28 this April.)
I’ve decided to stay at a B&B - I found a nice place near the city center for $90 per night, which is good.
I do plan to spend the better part of the day at the Art Museum. Big museums always scare me a bit.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I’ll end up skipping the Constitution Center and maybe the Fine Arts museum to make time for other stuff.
I was there several years ago, so my information is probably out of date. That said, I must press on:
I visited the Art Museum when the Degas exhibit was there (I love Degas, and it was a nice coincidence). However, we didn’t know that they sell those tickets separately from the regular museum fee. We were also there on a weekend, and it was a popular exhibit - so popular that the line was long and we weren’t able to get any Degas tickets. (In that system, they sold you a ticket that was for a specific entry time - you showed up at the proper time and they’d let you into the exhibit, where you could stay as long as you’d like.) Even though we were there late morningish, the last entry times had already been sold by the time we got to the line. And I was leaving the next day, so no dice.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t go - like others have said, it’s an amazing collection and there’s lots else to see. I wasn’t disappointed, and would quickly go again. But if you have your heart set on Picasso, that might require some additional planning (unless they’ve changed the exhibit ticketing process).
Thanks for the advice, Snickers. That’s good to know.
phungi, no can do. The B&B I’m staying at has a policy that makes late cancellations pricey. Besides I won’t have time to look up hotel prices 24 hours beforehand, I’ll probably be drunk.
A question about buses - do they announce the stops beforehand, or will I have to keep peering out the window looking for a street sign?
Normally, yes. The Center City buses have GPS-assisted automated stop announcements that call out every stop. (Technically, this system is on all buses but outside of Center City the announced stops are less frequent). If the system is not working the driver is supposed to call out the stop manually.
I’ll also add a few words about Center City street layout. As you may have seen on maps, there is a very regular grid system covering the area. East-west (long) blocks are divided by the numbered streets (2nd, 3rd, and so on), which run north-south. The street number directly correlates to the addresses on the block. So, the 1300 block is between 13th St and Broad St. It’s not like, say, Manhattan, where going east or west an avenue will put you into a different block number. There are two exceptions, though. Front Street is numerically 1st St and Broad Street is numerically 14th St.
Most named streets run east-west. The addresses count by 100 for every major street to the north and south of Market Street. From north to south, those are Spring Garden (usually), Callowhill, Vine, Race, Arch, Market, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine, Lombard, and South. City Hall is at the intersection of Broad and Market, and the streets divert around it.
The local busses (SEPTA) have recordings that announce major intersections, but not every cross street.
The city is laid out pretty much on a grid. The north-south streets in the central district are numbered (except there is Front Street instead of First, and Broad instead of 14th). The east-west streets are named, and you just have to remember them, i.e., there’s no easy mnemonic (from Market, the main axis of the original layout, it’s Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine, Lombard…). There are plenty of little streets in addition, but it’s pretty easy to fine your way around.
Looks like there’s going to be a Renoir exhibit while I’m there. I’m definitely going to have get tickets in advance.
One more question - is there an area of the city I should avoid? I’m staying on the very east end of Lombard St at a B&B, near Lombard and Front. Anywhere between there and the city center I should avoid?
Nah, not really. The number streets between there and Market are mostly residential, up to about Walnut, and all fine. For walking west, I’d probably go up Walnut as the most interesting. (There are lots of empty storefronts on Chestnut between 10th and 12th or 13th, but it’s not unsafe.) I’ve walked alone on Spruce, Pine, Locust, Walnut, and Chestnut well into the evening and never had a problem. Lots of bars on South Street, and there have been occasions when things have gotten out of hand, but it’s usually a matter of too many drunks congregating there – usually Mardi Gras, St. Paddy’s, or a summer weekend with a big event elsewhere in town that ends at dusk. There was a flash mob thing last weekend on South Street and they called in the cops, but I don’t know that it was actually dangerous.
I think I’ll end up skipping the Constitution Center and maybe the Fine Arts museum to make time for other stuff.