Philadelphia Day Trip – Sightseeing in Philly
American Airlines ran an excellent sale fare between Minneapolis and Philadelphia for $89. A friend and I took advantage of the deal and booked a day trip flying in in the morning and returning in the evening.
The trip report will include the following posts:
Philadelphia Day Trip – American Minneapolis to Philadelphia
Philadelphia Day Trip – Sightseeing in Philly
Philadelphia Day Trip – American Admiral’s Club A16 PHL
Philadelphia Day Trip – American Philadelphia to Minneapolis
Philadelphia Day Trip – Sightseeing in Philly
After arriving at the airport, my friend and I located the SEPTA station at the Philadelphia airport and waited for the next train heading to the city.
There were no ticket vending machines available at the airport. A sign was posted that a one-way fare to the city was $8. In addition a 24 hour visitor pass for use on the entire Septa system was offered for $12. The sign indicated that the tickets could be purchased on the train.
A train arrived and we boarded it and located a seat.
The train departed promptly and made about four stops before reaching the city.
The train was an older style train and the tickets were the old punch card system from the past. A conductor made his way through the train car selling tickets. When he arrived at our seat we inquired about the day pass. The conductor told us that it was $12 each. We provided the cash as that was the only method of payment accepted. The conductor took a card that said day pass and he punched the month, date and year on the ticket and provided the ticket. The ticket had a magnetic strip on the back; however, that was not utilized.
Upon arrival in the city, we followed the signs to the blue line subway and we attempted to use the magnetic strip on the card to enter the subway. That did not work. There was a ticket office by one of the entry points and we inquired about the pass. The staff member asked us to show her our cards and she noted that it was punched for that day and she allowed us entry in the subway. This same process occurred throughout the day.
We took the subway to the stop near the historical area.
Upon arrival in the historical area, we went for a walk to view some of the sites.
The first place that we visited was Christ Church was was one of the oldest churches in the United States. The church was minimalistic and it featured pews that face the alter area.
There was a tour going on while we were there so we listened for a few minutes as well as we took a few pictures.
We continued to walk around in the historical area and we located the cemetery where Benjamin Franklin was buried as well as there were statues honoring him throughout the city.
In the historical area, there are a lot of cobblestone streets. We walked on them as we strolled through the area.
We located the Independence Square and visited the national park visitor center before joining the line to view the Liberty Bell.
The line had approximately 40 people in it but it moved quickly as we waited out turn to go through the security process. Medal detectors were not being utilized that day; however, x-ray machines were used for our belongings.
Once we exited the security we walked through the exhibits talking about the history of the liberty bell.
Once me made it through the exhibit, we located the Liberty Bell.
The Liberty Bell is surprisingly quite small and you could step up closely to it. Several people were taking photos of it.
It turns out that the famous crack happened due to a failed attempt to correct a thin hairlike fracture on the bell.
From the room with the Liberty Bell in it, there was a view of a garden as well as Independence Hall.
We exited the Liberty Bell building and made our way around Independence Hall. We did not get tickets to tour the inside; however, we walked around the building.
The building is in excellent shape and we took a few pictures around the grounds.
From the Historical Area, we made our way back into the city center and located the US Mint. Due to the fact that it was Saturday, the Mint was closed; however, we were able to walk around the exterior of the building.
We made our way to China Town where walked around outside some of the business and selected a restaurant for lunch.
We choose one of the Dim Sum locations. The one we selected was a large restaurant that was busy with activity. The restaurant served Shanghai style Dim Sum that you order off of a menu and they serve it from the kitchen rather than the traditional style where the Dim Sum is provided on a cart that is brought to your table.
The Dim Sum was served hot and it had an excellent flavor. We selected three of four different options as well as a Singapore Noodles.
After lunch, we went for a walk down to the South Street.
Upon arrival, we noted a large music festival and the area was busy with activity.
At the entrance to the festival there was a large German festival with traditional german bear garden tables and a German band. Guests could purchase beer in large German glasses as well as have a traditional meal of sausage or brats.
We stayed in the area for a while and listened to the music before continuing to walk down South Street.
The festival featured sections with different types of food and beverages.
There were several stages setup featuring live music.
We made our way down to the end of South Street where we got a view of the water as well as a military ship.
We decided to talk back through the festival before returning to the train.
Summary –
It was a fun day trip walking around the city. We found it easy to walk around and explore the historical sights. It was a pleasant surprise stumbling upon the street festival on South Street. All in all, it was a great day.