Philadelphia Travel Guide (and day trip ideas!)

We spent a whirlwind 3 days in Pennsylvania. During those few days we drove all over the state and experienced a lot of fun and interesting things. In this post, I've put together the perfect one day travel guide for Philadelphia as well as a few other day trip ideas.

Philadelphia:

Make sure to start out your day as early as possible. We chose to park at the National Constitution Center for the day. Your first stop should be to the Visitor's Center just across the street from the Constitution Center to pick up your tickets to see Independence Hall. 

After your tickets are picked up, we suggest going right to the Liberty Bell first thing. The line gets longer as the day goes on. When we went shortly after it opened, we didn't have to wait in line at all. Also when we got to see the Liberty Bell, we were able to easily get around it and have good views. 

If you have early tickets for Independence Hall, head over there right after you finish the Liberty Bell. You need to be at the security line about 20 minutes before the time on your tickets. Check out more info on Independence Hall here. After your tour, there are a few other free tours in the same building that do not require tickets that we highly recommend you visit. 

After Independence Hall, make sure to head back over to the National Constitution Center. There are lots of fun and interactive exhibits. 

The rest of the afternoon, you can spend at Franklin Court. There is a really fun museum, a print shop and a few other exhibits about Benjamin Franklin. We found this to be a true hidden gem in Philadelphia. 

If you have time at the end of your day, make sure to head over to see the LOVE Statue. Usually it is housed at LOVE Park (JFK Plaza), but while they are renovating the park it has been temporarily re-located to Dilworth Park. Reading Market is in the same area and is also a great stop!

Other Day Trips:

If you're in Philadelphia for more than a day, here are a few other things that we did while we were there that we highly recommend you take the time to visit. 

Valley Forge

Valley Forge is just outside of Philadelphia and it is such a great stop! It doesn't take more than a few hours to go through and is so beautiful and full of history. Check out our experience at Valley Forge here. 

Gettysburg

Gettysburg is another beautiful and historic place that you could spend all day at. There is a beautiful museum and fun experiences as well as the battleground itself. If you finish visiting the grounds and museum, check out the cute little tourist town of Gettysburg. Check out our full review here. 

Susquehanna

Located in northern Pennsylvania, Susquehanna is a small town that you have to want to go to to get there. If you are LDS (or even if you're not) going to Susquehanna and seeing the Priesthood Restoration Site is an amazing experience. This was one of my favorite things we did during our trip to Pennsylvania. The surrounding area is absolutely beautiful and the site is absolutely amazing. You can see what we thought by reading our post here.

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia

Right in the middle of historic downtown Philadelphia, is a modern building to house an education center for the Constitution of the United States. Just on the opposite end of the plaza from Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center stands as a place of education about one of the most important documents in American history.

How to Get There:

The National Constitution Center is pretty easy to get to if you are already in Downtown Philly, you can just follow the signs. Or if you have any kind of modern GPS, you can easily find the National Constitution Center. If you would like to park at the National Constitution Center, you can enter the parking garage from Race Street.

What You Will See There:

At the National Constitution Center, there are a few different parts to the center that you can go and explore. Most of the places in the Constitution Center do not allow photographs which is why we don't have a lot photos in this post. There are also some exhibits that are temporary and change quite frequently so be sure to check out their website for more details.

Sydney Kimmel Theater

This theater is a unique, multimedia experience. There are actors that speak in conjunction with video that is projected on the floor and on a circular screen. As of the publishing of this post, the show going on in the theater is called "Freedom Rising" and it is all about the freedoms we have as Americans and how we got those freedoms.

Interactive Displays

As you leave the Theater, you will enter into a circular interactive display that is set up similar to a museum experience. There are lots of interactive exhibits that help you learn about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, their history, and what they look like in action in the world. This was probably my favorite part of the whole Constitution Center.

Signers' Hall

This is one of the only places in the center that allows photos. In this area, you can sign the Constitution and add your name with those of the original signers. Also in this hall, there are life-sized bronze statues of all of the original signers of the Constitution. 

Sum Up:

The National Constitution Center was a great experience. It is definitely worth a stop if you are visiting the other historic sites nearby. Tickets for adults are $14.50 for adults and $8-$13 for kids depending on age. It was a great experience that really reminded me about what the Constitution and Bill of Rights really mean and what they look like in action today. 

Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell

No trip to Philadelphia would be complete without visiting Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. These are two of the most historic sites in all of Philadelphia and they so key to the beginning of our American history.

How to Get There:

Once you get to downtown Philly, there are a few places you can park. The easiest places are at The Constitution Center (that is where we parked) or there is a small lot underneath the building that houses the Liberty Bell. 

For Independence Hall, you will need to go first to the Visitor's Center which is right next to the Liberty Bell. Go to the National Parks desk and you can get tickets to Independence Hall. Tours start at 10:00 and go every 30 minutes or so. 

For the Liberty Bell, be sure to go early to get in line at the building. As the day goes on the line can get very long. 

What You Will See:

At Independence Hall, you will first meet in a small waiting room where a park ranger will give you some information about the hall and introduce you to the site. You will then go to the main hall and see first the court room and then you will be taken to the room where the Constitution was signed. In each room, the park ranger will give you some more historical information and context for each room. After you tour you will exit the hall and then you can go to two of the other parts of Independence Hall. Those other parts do not require tickets. 

The Liberty Bell is housed inside of a small building. After going through security you will go through some nice displays that give the history of the Liberty Bell and how it is still a national symbol today. At the end of the display, you will see the actual Liberty Bell. Again, if you go early it won't be too crowded. But just be warned that the lighting for the bell is not that great so pictures do not turn out that great. 

Sum Up:

Make sure you stop at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall on your next trip to Philadelphia. For each place make sure that you come early and for Independence Hall make sure you get your tickets early. 

Visiting Valley Forge

While we were on our quick trip to Pennsylvania, we made our first stop at Valley Forge. It was a beautiful site with an amazing feeling. We had a great morning there and definitely suggest that everyone take a chance to go see it.

How to Get There:

Valley Forge is pretty easy to get to. Because it is a historically significant site, there are signs that direct you pretty easily to the site. Once you're there, we suggest starting the auto tour, especially if you get there before the visitor's center opens. You can find a map for the tour here. 

What You Will See:

We started our day with the auto tour. We saw a lot of sites along the way, while we didn't stop at every single one, we did stop at a few that we felt had the most significance.

Redoubt

This was the first stop we made (stop #2 on the route). Redoubt had a small parking lot to leave your car and then you cross the street and you can see inside the cabins that were made by the men who camped at Valley Forge. If you listen to the audio guide by dialing the phone number and entering in the correct code, it gives you some nice information about the history of this site. 

National Memorial Arch

The National Memorial Arch was stop #3 on the auto tour. We parked and were able to walk up and around the arch. We were able to learn about some of the symbolism and the history of the arch by listening to the audio guide. 

 

Varnum's Quarters

Stop #8 on the tour and again, we parked and got out of our car, then we headed down a short path to see Varnum's home. During the summer months there are tours available of the home. Sadly when we were there a few days after they had closed the tours for the season. 

Washington Memorial Chapel

This was the last stop on the tour and it was our favorite place. It has beautiful grounds and has the cutest little chapel. It reminded us a lot of the chapels we went to in Europe.

Visitor's Center

At the visitor's center, there are a few exhibits you can look at to give you more history and context of Valley Forge. There is also a movie that you can see. The film starts every hour and the theater is outside of the actual visitor's center. You just go upstairs and head to the left and you will see a building that has signs for the theater. 

Sum Up:

Valley Forge is a great historic site that only takes a few hours to tour. You can take longer though if you want to. There are lots of trails to walk and bike on that go all over the park. It is such a beautiful area and definitely worth the time to stop.



If you liked this article and want to save it for later, don't forget to Pin it!

Visiting Gettysburg National Military Park

Since we just returned from a whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania we are going to take a quick break from Europe posts here at the blog to tell you about some of things we saw in that great state.

The entire state of Pennsylvania is special to me because of my time as a missionary there, but Gettysburg holds an especially special place in my heart because of the feeling that rests there, a place where history literally hung in the balance and turned. A place where thousands of men gave up their lives, on both sides, for something that they believed in. It was place of wounding and later a place of healing, and that is an odd combination to find. So forgive me if I'm a little bit passionate about this place, it is a site that I think everyone needs to visit and soak in its history.

How to Get There

Getting to Gettysburg is not particularly difficult, assuming that you are using a modern GPS system which I assume most of you are. There are a few navigational things to keep in mind however. When you visit the battlefield if you are not on a guided tour you will be following the Auto Tour route, which is outlined in red on the park map. You will probably not be stopping at every stop on this tour as that would take a lot of time, so before hand you should map out the stops that you especially want to visit. Then you should follow the route as marked on the map, we began by attempting to go backwards, and that was not a good choice. It puts you against the flow of traffic and will cause you problems in finding signs and with one way roads. 

When you go to the visitor center there is plenty of parking so you should be fine unless you are there at a particularly busy time. Be aware that backpacks are not allowed in the visitor center and museum so leave those in your car or bus. 

What You Will See

Visitor Center

I recommend that you start with visitor center so that you can see the film, cyclorama, and museum before going to the battlefield, I think this help to put the places you see in perspective. If you arrive early however you will have to wait for the visitor center to open at 8 am. In the visitor center you can purchase a combined ticket for the film, cyclorama and the museum. It is $12.50 for adults and $8.50 for children.

Film

There is a film that helps to put the battle of Gettysburg in historical context. It is pretty well put together and certainly worth watching. The Civil War involves complex political issues and while the film certainly has a pro north bias it does do a good job of showing some of the issues at hand. 

Cyclorama

From the film you are taken directly upstairs to view the cyclorama. The cyclorama is a 360 degree hand done oil painting of the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. You will see an impressive presentation here using the cyclorama and projection. This will help you to get a sense for where different action went on during the last day of the battle.

The cyclorama is also important for its own historical significance because it was created to help people learn about the battle and was featured in multiple locations before making its permanent home in Gettysburg. I think it is definitely worth seeing while you are at Gettysburg, I like it better than the film actually. 

Museum

Gettysburg features a well put together museum that leads you through the history of the battle from the beginnings of the Civil War to the giving of the Gettysburg Address. The museum and the film are meant to compliment each other ands they follow a similar pattern and portions of the film are featured throughout the exhibits. If you watched the film before going to the museum you don't have to sit and watch these clips. 

The exhibits in the museum are fairly text heavy which makes it hard to take everything in. There is no audio guide for the museum so you are left to read everything if you want the information. There are plenty of places to sit down and take rests to watch film clips. There are a few fun interactive throughout the museum that give you chance to engage a little with history. 

Battlefield

The battlefield is of course the main event, and your time at the visitor center should really be aimed at setting the stage for your battlefield tour. If you decide like we did to do the tour on your own you should follow the auto tour route. You can get a map from the rangers at the the visitor center. As I said previously try to plan out the stops you want to make before leaving the visitor center and then follow the route in numeric order.

Be aware that there are hundreds of monuments at Gettysburg, ranging from tiny stone markers, to information plaques, to monoliths, to statues, to buildings. You cannot stop to read them all, but when you do stop at particularly important locations you might want to walk a little bit to see some of the markers nearby. You can also drive slowly along the road, especially if you are there on a less busy day, and see at least some of the state names on the larger markers.

Some of the places I suggest stopping are the eternal peace flame, the Longstreet tower, Little Round Top, Devil's Den, and the Pennsylvania monument. If you had a relative who fought in the battle it would be worth your while to figure out where they were positioned and see whatever monuments are there.

Longstreet Observation Tower

The battlefield can take as much time as you have and will likely make up the bulk of your visit. It is nice to be able to look out and just ponder what happened here and why. Sometimes it is so peaceful now that it almost hard to remember that the reason we visit is because so many men died here in an incredibly bloody conflict.

Cemetery 

The cemetery is an important part of Gettysburg and worth your time to visit. The cost of the war becomes more real when you look down rows and rows of graves. This of course is where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the cemetery so it is an excellent place to reflect on those immortal words.

The parking lot of cemetery is located up the hill from the cemetery and is just a gravel lot with cord showing parking places. The large cemetery entrance off the street does not actually allow for entrance by car so that can be a little confusing. 

Sum Up

Gettysburg is an extremely important historical site and one you should definitely visit if you can. It is a long excursion to do it well so plan on at least half a day for it. You will probably be pretty tired by the end of it and kids definitely will be. Since everything is accessible by roads though there isn't a ton of walking you have to do, so that helps some.

Reasons We Love America

While we absolutely LOVED our three weeks in Europe, by the end of our trip we were so excited to be back in the States. Seeing how today is the day that we celebrate America, we decided to list the things that we missed about the USA while we were away.

Drinking Fountains

It isn't hard to find a drinking fountain in America; in Europe it was next to impossible. We are so used to being able to get a drink of water or fill up our water bottles basically wherever we are at. It was an adjustment to have to carry all of the water we needed for the day instead of filling up our bottles throughout the day.  It was so exciting when we got back to America to see drinking fountains all over the airports, especially when we saw the drinking fountains with water bottle fillers!

Free Public Restrooms

In America basically every store or museum or building has a public, free restroom. Not so in Europe. First off, we didn't even really see that many public restrooms while we were out. And when we did, often times you had to pay to use them. It almost made me cry tears of joy when we got off our flight in Anchorage and I could use a bathroom with a normal toilet, a sink with warm water, and paper towels to dry my hands; all things I didn't realize how much I missed.

Variety of Food

The places we visited didn't have a lot of variety in their food options. In France we ate a lot of pastries and crepes (which we loved) and in Venice we ate a lot of pizza. But there were some days that all I really wanted were chicken nuggets or fresh, cold fruit or yummy Chinese food. We love how in America, you can always find something that you want to eat; there are so many choices!

Wide Streets

While wide streets are not common in some of America's larger cities or on the East Coast, most of America I would say has quite large streets and roads. Europe felt like more of a walker's world; sidewalks everywhere, plazas, and not very large roads. While we enjoyed walking as a mode of transportation, I really loved being able to drive my car down wide roads when we got home.

Big Grocery Stores

While small markets are cute and it was interesting to visit a few of them while we were in Europe, they always made me feel claustrophobic. I missed the space and variety of America's Wal-Marts, Targets, Costcos and Sam's Clubs.

Signs in English

Signs in France and Italy were easy enough for us to read and understand (lots of them even had English words on them). Signs in Greece were not. While we were able to know where we were going and could figure out directions, it was just comforting to come home and see everything in English.

Conversations in English

Similar to the signs, we were able to get by with our English while we were in Europe. Most people could understand what we were asking for. But after having 3 weeks of zoning out other conversations going on around you, it was a shock and comfort to our ears to be able to understand everything that was being said all of the time.

AM and PM Time

Europe is on a 24 hour clock. It often required a lot of thinking to figure out what time things were actually happening. I loved hearing the announcements at the Anchorage airport letting us know that "the local time is now 10:00 pm."

American Money

Lastly, it is so nice to be able to buy things and not try to make conversions in your head as to how much things actually cost. It is also nice to not have ATM fees and international transaction fees from our bank :)