Things to do in Philly: Rainy Day Edition

I'm starting this blog post as a way of giving folks coming from out of town some advice on what to do while here. My hope is that other people will chime in in the comments section, with their own ideas.



The reception is at Amada, which is in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood.
Not surprisingly, Old City includes two of Philadelphia's most famous tourist destinations: Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
We'll be honest. We don't ever go to either. But that's what happens when you live someplace, just like Parisians don't go to the Eiffel Tower and Hong Kong residents don't spend a lot of time at The Peak. It doesn't mean those things aren't worth doing. The other nice thing is that Philadelphia is really pumping up those two as part of a bigger historical-tourism destination area, including the Constitutional Center, which often has interesting exhibits.

Feel like a movie? Right near Amada are the "Ritz" theaters (Ritz 5, Ritz East, Ritz at the Bourse). These are the kind of places you go to see Shakespeare in Love or the latest Michael Moore movie, rather than Avatar or Hot Tub Time Machine.

The Art Museum – the one that Rocky runs up – is more driving distance than walking distance, but it is between center city and our house. The Picasso show will be gone by May 8, but they have strong holdings in a variety of areas, and the building itself is worth the trip.

If you're coming with kids, or just want to feel like a kid, there's the Franklin Institute, which is either a long walk from Amada, or a drive on the way to our house (but still downtown, and not particularly easy to park at). It can get kind of crazy with kids, and I would advise *against* trying the flight simulator, but it has a ton of fun science-y exhibits, including a walk-through model of the human heart. For the decidedly un-squemish, there's the Mutter Museum, originally dedicated to the study of "human medical anomalies", on the western edge of center city; and a short drive from center city is the old Eastern State Penitentiary, a former prison in a surprisingly urban location.

For shopping, there are a few options. In center city, there are a variety of small stores in Old City, around Amada. Walnut Street, from Broad to 18th, has some higher-end stores, and there is a mini-mall at 17th and Chestnut. The Gallery is a more traditional mall in center city, and is around 7 blocks from Amada. One nice thing: clothing and shoes are tax-free in Pennsylvania.

But those are just our thoughts - if you have others, add them in the comments section, there's plenty of stuff in Philly that we don't know about!