We spent two great weeks in Philadelphia. This was one of our top cities on the tour. We could have easily spent another week or two here. Although this city is known for it’s American historical sites—and there are a lot of those if that’s what you’re looking for—there is so much more to see and experience than just early American history. There are a lot of cute neighborhoods and so much good food. We barely scratched the surface of what there is to eat here. There were so many vegetarian and vegan options, which we were not expecting. We will be back to Philadelphia for sure!
eat
› Vedge – One of the best plant based restaurants we’ve ever been to. Everything was delicious and presented in really creative ways to celebrate vegetables. We would almost describe it as upscale, plant-based, comfort food. The rutabaga fondue was incredible. A must if you’re ever in the area.
› Charlie was a sinner. – Another great plant based restaurant but more of a bar feel. The mocktails were quite good as well.
› Reading Terminal Market – This historic indoor market has something for everyone. We tried out and loved the following merchants:
› LUHV – The plant based Rueben at this Vegan Deli was amazing! We still think about and crave it from time to time.
› Metropolitan Bakery – A local chain with excellent French pastries!
› Fox and Son Fancy Corn Dogs – As the name suggests, they have all types of Fancy Corn Dogs, including a plant based option. It really hit the spot.
› HipCityVeg – This local chain is essentially plant based fast food. Really good (and slightly expensive) plant based fast food though! A great vegan option for the obligatory Philly Cheesesteak.
› Philly Pretzel Factory – I mean, you can’t go to Philly and not get the pretzels! This pretzel spot features what is essentially a sheet of pretzels. So good!
see
› Philadelphia City Hall – A beautiful, historic building in the center of Philadelphia. It was November when we were here, so it was decorated for the holidays and surrounded by Holiday Market vendors. We didn’t do any of the tours or go up to the observation deck, but it was still nice to walk around outside and enjoy the architecture. We also stumbled across the light show that they project on the side of the hall during the winter, which was nice.
› Love Park – This park contains one of the famous LOVE sculptures, and while were were there, also had a large Holiday Market that was fun to peruse.
do
› Independence Visitor Center – This is a good place to start a trip to Philly because they have a lot of information about all there is to do and see, and they also distribute the free tickets to Independence Hall.
› Independence Hall – A must do while in Philadelphia! The tour was very informative, plus we got to feel like we were in National Treasure the whole time. Although, we didn’t sneak away with Benjamin Franklin’s glasses.
› Liberty Bell – We didn’t actually go in to see the Liberty Bell because the line was ridiculous and it sort of seemed a little overrated to us, but we did spend a little time looking at it and the crowds from a small window on the side of the building where we could see a portion of it.
› National Museum of American Jewish History – This was a lovely, yet also poignant, museum which focused specifically on the history of Jews in America with tributes to many famous American Jews. It is across the street from the Independence National Historical Park and certainly worth a visit.
souvenir shops
› Open House – Lots of stickers and patches as well as many other fun souvenirs and gifts.
› Independence Visitor Center – They had a nice gift shop.
day trips
› We took a day trip back to New York to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends, but it made us realize how close it was to New York. We definitely plan to take a day trip or long weekend from New York back to Philly in the future.
stay
› DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City – It was a nice hotel with very kind staff. We enjoyed the breakfast and the hot cookies!
getting around
› We didn’t take any public transit while in Philadelphia, so we can’t speak to that. It is a very walkable city, but car sharing was relatively inexpensive and readily available as well.
if we go back...
› V-Street – A sister restaurant to Vedge that focusses on plant based “street food.”
› Barnes Foundation – If only we had had more time. Their collection looks wonderful.
› Rodin Museum – The name says it all.
› Philadelphia Museum of Art – We didn’t get to the famous “Rocky Steps” this time. Next time for sure.
