local advice

[brian]

wife and i are looking to do a touristy thing.
we want to hit pat and geno's........yes we know there are better places to get a cheese steak, but we would like to see what the hype is about.

we're in lebanon.
not sure if we want to drive or take public transport.
i dig trains and would have no problem riding one in.
the question is how close would a train get me. not up to speed on cabs, but could figure out how a bus schedule works.
there's no subway in philly correct?

not a big city person, guess that shows.
and how does CC work for out of towners?

[wis bang]

There is a subway. If you come in on the Harrisburg AMTRAK and get to Market street by City Hall, you can take the Broad St line down to the stadiums. I don't know where to get off to go to the steak shops...

[ErSwnn]

Philly does indeed have a subway! But it won't take you to Pat's. You'll need a couple of buses to get there. My own thought would be to drive down, public transportation isn't the best, it's dirty, noisy and confusing. Especially if you have no idea how to use it. Then again, you can call it an adventure and roll the dice. And the hell with all the hype, go to Jim's at 4th St. & South St.. At Pat's you'll be standing outside with cheesesteak juice running down your arm, at Jim's you can have a seat...I recommend upstairs. Since you not city folk you'll want to try going to see Billy Penn. He's the guy on top of City Hall. You'll ride an elevator to the top and see the city from well above the street. Just go to City Hall and pick a door then follow the directions. It's a bit of a labyrinth but hey...it's an adventure! Gotta see the Liberty Bell, just don't carry there. Unfortunately there is nowhere to secure a weapon and they use metal detectors. The rest of the Independence Hall area is fine for CC. The Franklin Insitute is a fine place for some interesting sights. At the opposite end of The Franklin Parkway from The Insitute is the Art Museum. And behind that is a pretty cool place known as the Waterworks. Just some cool old buildings and a great view of the river. You can also get over to Penn's Landing on the Delaware, take a passenger ferry over to Camden and go to the NJ Aqaurium. Don't carry there either unless you want to become a NJ resident 1 to 3 years. If you like a large variety of foods AND large crowds try the Reading Terminal Market on 12St. just off of Market St. For the more macabe try the Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities. It's on South 22nd St. a few blocks off of Market. Now if you REALLY want an adventure ignore the DO NOT ENTER signs at the end of the subway platforms and take a walk. Watch out for the 3rd rail. You'll meet all sorts of interesting people with their own unique view of Philadelphia. Anyone claiming they need 3 bucks to get their lawn shears out of the pawnshop so they can get a landscaping job is a crackhead trying to con you.
Get a map and know where your going before you get there. If you opt for the train, buses and subways....get a map anyway, especially if you use taxis. They'll take you the long way for the extra fare. At least you'll know your about to be ripped off. They can smell a tourist from down the block.
The best of luck to you. Philly does have it's bad side but it has a great side as well. There is an emmense amount of history here. Plenty of food of all sorts. If you look for them there are all sorts of cool shops around. Beware the DVD street vendors, their selling really bad bootleg movies. The cops are cool for the most part, just don't poke them with sticks.

[ErSwnn]

Opps....CC is fine in most places. Not sure about City Hall. I've carried there but not sure if it was legal. Carrying on SEPTA (public trans.) is legal. OC is legal (witha LTCF) but you WILL be hassled for it, and by hassled I mean probably arrested. Don't poke the cops with sticks. And if you drive pay close attention to parking rules, they ticket quickly and tow when able. No mercy. Bring quarters.

[brian]

sweet. that looks like the way we'll go.

was there years ago, saw the normal stuff, the mint, germantown, liberty bell and so on.
looking to do a quick day trip for eats.

[ErSwnn]

Huge variety....Reading Market
Italian....the Italian Market (9thSt., several of them there) or The Spagetti Factory
Oriental....Chinatown (right near the Reading Market)
Roastbeef sandwiches....Nicks on Front a block south of Market St.
Steak sandwiches....Jim's (4th and South)
Steaks.....Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (Broad St.)
Seafood....Old Bookbinders (forget just where...downtown)
Ribs.....my house, I make the best in town.
Hookers......Samson&13th (some ain't girls)
Crack....Mutter St (just east of Broad) or K&A
Booze...if you can't find a bar your hopeless.
Porn....go back to 13th&Samson.

[kutblok]

wife and i are looking to do a touristy thing.
we want to hit pat and geno's........yes we know there are better places to get a cheese steak, but we would like to see what the hype is about.

we're in lebanon.
not sure if we want to drive or take public transport.
i dig trains and would have no problem riding one in.
the question is how close would a train get me. not up to speed on cabs, but could figure out how a bus schedule works.
there's no subway in philly correct?

not a big city person, guess that shows.
and how does CC work for out of towners?

http://www.gophila.com/Go/TravelTools/centercitymap.pdf

The link is a pdf map of Center City. If you come into 30th St Station,an idea is to grab the Market St subway (elevated after 2nd st.) and take it to 5th. You can then walk down 5th to South St if you want to go to Jim's at 4th and South. As you can see, you walk past Independence Hall and the Bourse building and then through a decent looking old neighborhood called Society Hill.

If you follow 5th st on the map, you see that it connects up with a diagonal called Passyunk Ave. Out that way on Passyunk is Pat's and Geno's around 9th st. The Italian Market is there also, although it's Asian and Mexican now also. I don't know that I'd want to see you walk out there. The buses run south on the even numbered streets (8th) or you could get a cab from South.

You could also take the Market st line to 15th (City Hall) and change to the Broad st line south and get off at the Ellsworth/Federal stop. I'd walk from there to 9th but I'm not sure I want to encourage an out of towner to do it. I hope you have Adobe reader for the pdf file. If not, it's easy to get.

Have a good time.

[monco123]

id take the train to the convention center station, walk that area (bell, ind hall, reading terminal market, etc) and take a cab for other locations.

i cant disagree more about Ruth Chris for steaks. they are horribly overpriced for what you get and its a chain place that is also outside of philly.

but K&A is a great location for crack, along with lower diamond st.

[OrionBricks]

Dont take public transit, you will ruin your day. Between the walking, very very dirty people and all the nasty looks you will receive, its not worth it.

Philly is a great place to visit as long as you can roll up your window and leave on your own schedule. But as stated before, BRING QUARTERS!! you will get ticketed downtown 30 secs after you expire, I think they hide under your car and wait, lol..

BTW, 25 cents only gets you 7 minutes in Center City.

[tail pipe todd]

I like the parking at 15th and spring, cheap and safe on the weekends and right off 676. Public transportation in Philly is crappy. If you have and are good with bicycles, that is by far the best way to get around the city - but use a lock or three. I would also suggest getting a copy of the 2009 NFT (not for tourist book) from borders or B&N, its a life saver at just $15 - you might even be able to get the 2008 edition for just a few dollars on discount. From downtown parking, by bike, everything is really close. Walking is not so bad, but you are going to be doing a lot of it and yes you will need a personal protection device.