There are so many things to do and attractions in Philadelphia and it has got to be one of our most favourite city in the United States! You can find history, a modern city and best of all good food all right here in Philadelphia!
What to do in Philadelphia, USA?
Philadelphia is the bed rock of American History. Follow the heritage trails and you will be able to visit world renowned attractions such as the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. But if you prefer modern buildings, a few blocks down and you’d be in the Comcast Center. And if food is your thing, Reading Terminal Market boasts of some of the best foods in the city. So there is definitely no lack of things to do in Philadelphia!
1. Heritage Trail / Historic District in Philadelphia
The best thing we liked about Philadelphia is that its history is intertwined with its modernity. The heritage trail (and Historic District), located near to the modern buildings boasts of the most significant monuments in American history. The Independence Hall and Liberty Bell tells of the story of America’s road to freedom while the Betsy Ross House flew the first flag of the United States of America!
2. Philadelphia – A Modern City
Besides being rich in history, Philadelphia is also a modern city in its own rights. An excellent example is the Comcast Center which boasts of screens on its walls that look as though it is painted in the same colour as the rest of its wall…
What to eat in Philadelphia
If food is your thing, look no further than the Reading Terminal Market! It boasts of the best French-dipped sandwich and ice cream with a rich (in both sense of the word) history! While you’re in Philadelphia, dont miss out on the best nachos ever @ Elvez! Last but not least, what would a visit to Philadelphia be without trying its world famous Philly Cheesesteaks!
Other Attractions in Philadelphia
There are other attraction in Philadelphia such as the City Hall, Rocky Statue & Museum of Art (Rocky ran up and down the steps here at Museum of Art).
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There are indeed so many things to do and attractions in Philadelphia! Do take your time to enjoy these attractions and unforgettable photo moments the next time you visit these attractions in Philadelphia!
To round up our list of things to do and attractions in Philadelphia, we are going to cover Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross and the American Flag as well as all the yummy stuff at Reading Terminal Market!
We start our historical trail at the independence hall and it all starts here, at the independence square…
While we were there, the independence hall was under renovation…
We were led into the hall where the declaration of independence was signed…
We were told by the tour guide (who by the way is very very knowledgeable) that there are currently 2 actual pieces of articles from George Washington’s time. The rest of the tables and chairs re-modeled to resemble what it was like during that time. So the two articles were…
The painting seen here taken with our Philly Bear from Radisson Hotel
and the chair which George Washington sat on…
We were told by our guide that George Washington often questioned whether the sun was a rising sun or a setting sun. The answer was obvious…a rising sun…
Next, we were told a piece of information that even most Americans would not know. The declaration of Independence was actually completed on the 2nd of July 1776! Then why was the declaration of independence only signed on 4th of July 1776? According to our guide, it was time taken to amend from the version that Thomas Jefferson had originally drafted. Some of the things like abolition of slavery as well as the mention of the tyranny of the king were removed from the final version…
Next we were led upstairs…
Other stuff upstairs…
The signer was fashioned to commemorate the fore fathers who signed 2 important documents in the history of America – The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
What we really like about Philadelphia is that life in the city is so delicately interwoven and intertwined with its history. Just a few blocks away, we are along the historical trails where we arrived at the Betsy Ross House. We were just in time for the daily flag raising ceremony at about 10am.
You would almost certainly notice that there are only 13 stars on this flag. This was because it represents the number of states then that participated in the movement…
Next we visited the liberty bell with its infamous crack…
Well we didn’t exactly catch the crack (because of the crowd) as we took it from the back angle. There were many stories in the hall that leads up to the bell which tells of why the bell cracked what happened when they rang the bell when the declaration of independence was read and so on…
There were many recollections and many interesting snippets about the Liberty Bell, do spend some time reading them!
Next we headed to the famous Reading Terminal Market!
The reason why we were here was because of Man vs Food (MVF)! At that time, we were still having our Starhub Cable TV, so we watched MVF every Wednesday. This episode recounted the French-Dipped Sandwich of DiNic’s!
We took the liberty of ordering both the Pork and the Beef sandwich topped one with roasted pepper (Jalapeno – chilli pepper) and the other with Spinach.
We didnt regret it! In fact, even as we’re writing this post, we’re feeling hungry!! The roast was tender and flavourful while the peppers really packed a punch (definitely not for those who do not take chilli). The spinach also complimented the sandwich really really well.
Not only was the food good, there was some eye candy for Kate as well…
As we ventured along the walkways of Reading Terminal Market, we stumbled unto another gem…
The ice cream was o so good! It was because of the high content of butter in Bassetts ice cream, so do take note – especially for those who are watching those calories! The ice cream parlour also packs in alot of history, being established in 1861 and serving in this same spot for a long long long time now…
There was also chocolates galore here in the Reading Terminal Market…
After the delights, we took a walk along the river and caught a glimpse of the USS New Jersey
Along the banks, we saw the Olympia (World’s oldest steel warship afloat today, since 1892) and the Becuna Submarine used during WW2.
Further on, we walked by other memorials such as these Vietnam and Korean War Memorial…
On the last day as we walked about town, we came by the famous Philadelphia Stock Exchange…
Rounding up the trip, there was just one last thing we had to do…that is to enjoy a Philly Cheesesteak!
Philly Cheese Steak from the road stalls, the way the locals have them
Philadelphia has got to be one of our favouritest place in USA. It has got a rich history, modern architecture and great food. It is a must visit place when you are in the USA!
You can read about the other 2 Philadelphia Posts here…
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There are so many things to do and attractions in Philadelphia! Let’s find out what are the things to do right here in Philadelphia!
Venturing on, we passed by the Franklin Institute where we caught a glimpse of Benjamin Franklin seated near its entrance…
There were also tonnes of statues along the way, commemorating different people and events (Philadelphians, care to help us name them?)…
We then saw an iconic structure…the Philadelphia Museum of Art
It was here where Rocky (in the movie) ran up these steps (known as “Rocky” steps) as he trained…which is why the Rocky statue is also situated nearby…
We had a refreshing view of the river along the Schuylkill River Trail…
Near the waterworks was a familiar figure…
Although not nearly as large as its Washington counterpart, but just as iconic.
On the way back, we also saw a statue of Joan of Arc…
as well as the St. Paul and St. Peter Church…
We also caught another view of the City Hall as well as the Independence Hall which we intend to visit the next day…
A wonderful sunset drew the day to a close as we ended our dinner at Elvez, a mexican modern restaurant…
To our surprise, the restaurant was fully packed for dinner and we were advised to return an hour later. We didnt make a booking because we didnt know if our hunger would over come us. Still, we saved the space in our tummies and returned to Elvez at about 8:30pm. It was still very crowded but the friendly staff gave us a cosy table for 2…
There are several famous foods at Elvez and we tried the 2 Nachos, namely Macho Nachos as well as Nachos with Guacamole…
Macho Nachos has got to be the best Nachos we’ve ever tasted. All the ingredients used were fresh and the flavours bursts in your mouth literally as you enter for the first bite. Hints of lime, mighty cheese, a little bit of spice,olives,fresh tomatoes and the meat all blended together to give that WOW taste…you’ve got to try it if you’re there!
Next, we also tried the famous original Elvez Guacamole Nachos…
Again, the ingredients were fresh and the portions were huge. The taste of the guacamole didnt disappoint and went interestingly well with the Nachos. Another favourite here…
We accompanied our dinner with a couple of drinks…
In our next post, we will give the details of the heritage trails (independence Hall, liberty bell, betsy ross house)
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