What's there to do in Philadelphia?

[Conrad]

Franklin Institute is one of my favorite places cause it sates my nerd impulses and is interactive to boot. They always have really cool traveling exhibits, and there's an IMAX theatre in there that sometimes shows Hollywood movies. I saw Dark Knight there while it was still out. Plus, I made out with a girl in the Heart once.

[Brill Weave]

Drive to Pittsburgh.

[Lucienne]

Another sports thing, Lucie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...n_Philadelphia

Well, shame on him expecting anyone from Sweden to get that then!

[Bregor]

Acela to Washington, DC.

ftfy

[Timwakefield]

Chant "Crosby Sucks!"

[Lucienne]

Is Acela really worth it though? Seems ridiculously overpriced for 15 minutes faster trip.

[Bregor]

Is Acela really worth it though? Seems ridiculously overpriced for 15 minutes faster trip.

No, but if you ride it enough you earn free upgrades from Northeast Regional to Acela. If you go from DC to New York or Boston, it's a noticeable difference.

[Byrthnoth]

Philly can be scary, or it can be just threatening.

I'd recommend going to the Dark Horse pub if you're in town though.

[Telamond]

I will use the conference as cheap way to get to the states, extending the trip with 7 day vacation and travel to NYC.

[Lucienne]

I will use the conference as cheap way to get to the states, extending the trip with 7 day vacation and travel to NYC.

You should take a day in DC then, since you'll be fairly close and it's worth the trip for sure.

[Moridam]

Looking at hotels in Philadelphia now. Which neighbourhood should one stay at/keep away from? (the search engine I have only searches by proximity to tourist attractions)

as someone else mentioned, center city is pretty nice. i'll also echo that cheesesteaks are a must, and also definitely avoid driving as much as humanly possible.

[Conrad]

Chant "Crosby Sucks!"

You'd fit in immediately with this

[Drex]

Lock your door.
If you're feeling really adventurous, you can chain it too. Double-check it before bed each night.
If you want to go sight-seeing, I hear the hotel lobbies are alright. I wouldn't venture too far outside though, unless you've got a Kevlar vest.

[Penthesilea]

as someone else mentioned, center city is pretty nice. i'll also echo that cheesesteaks are a must, and also definitely avoid driving as much as humanly possible.

Ignore these fools. Driving in Philadelphia is incredible compared to NYC. Plus the only reason you'd be driving is to leave the city. Cabs and walking (or biking) is the best way to get around. There are tons of places to eat. Vetri, Stephen Starr, Jose Garces, and on and on.

If you want some good drinks, there's a place that's pretty good, but pricey called Franklin Mortgage (http://thefranklinbar.com/). They only let in as many people as seats, your drinks are meticulously prepared and are quite incredible.

Honestly, my suggestions depend on how long you'll be around. NYC is a bus/train ride away, as is DC but there's plenty of things to do in Philadelphia as well. Like people have mentioned, there are a lot of museums to visit along with historical sites.

[Eggroll]

Throw rocks at trains

[Abandon]

throw rocks, period. bonus points for returning near christmas and getting santa.

[Abandon]

god, i hate you people

[Bingbong]

Well, there's a lotta, a lotta culture here!

[Cichy]

I've visited a family member there recently which was my first trip to Philly and I thought it was great. Her apartment is located like 3 blocks from the city hall which allowed us to walk alot of places. University of Pennsylvania is very impressive, you can check out the liberty bell (I just went there at night on the way back from the restaurant and got chased of the fence by security guard but fuck waiting in line).
There are tons of excellent restaurants and bars around, if that's not your cup of tea there's always Geno's or Pats and a Dive Bar (I think eating a philly cheesesteak at 3 am drunk as fuck is a tradition, I did it and would recommend it).
If you want a gourmet dinner I would recommend Morimotos (if you ever watch Iron Chef he's one of the guys on there, I've been a fan for long time so had to go there, fantastic food), other than that Cochon was a great restaurant, and also loved the soup dumplings in China town.

[Conrad]

Jim's Steaks on South Street is better than Pat's or Geno's. So is Tony Luke's.