I'll be there for a week. Looking for fun stuff to do and see, as well as good places to eat and drink. Particular emphasis may be placed on history and beer.

And... go!

Liberty Bell, didn't really have a whole lot of time. But went and saw it plus a few of the other things they have around that area.

Sorry I don't have more info,I was there on a business trip and it was a quick I'm going to leave early from work to see a few things before I fly back.

Yeah, Liberty Bell/Independence Hall and the Mutter are on my list.

Definitely go to Reading Terminal Market. Maybe even a couple of times because the choice of food is so incredible.

Jim's steaks on South Street. Geno's and Pat's are good to eat at too. A Jim's cheesesteak with a Yuengling beer is a meal that just holds a special place in my heart.

Chickie's and Pete's has great food. The crab fries are awesome. They also have a tower of beer you can have brought to your table.

Independence Hall has free tours. You have to pick up a ticket though at the Constitution Center (I think) which is on the other side of the Liberty Bell building.

If you want a cheesesteak with onions, you say you want "a whiz, with".

Or "American, wit" or "Provolone, wit". You gotta be fast ordering with those folks too and have your money ready. Most of them have signs with instructions so it isn't tough.

You only say a "wiz with" when you want a steak with wiz on it (I personaly like the provolone, not the wiz). One thing to remember is never call it a CHEESE steak... they are only "steak with"...

Best sushi in America at Morimoto's. Skip the Omakase and get a giant sushi sample platter instead if you go. This was the most expensive meal of my life so far, but I did get the Omakase and would in the future aim for just the sushi.

Nik, just "how" expensive are we talking... cuz I love me some sushi.

http://www.morimotorestaurant.com/dinner.pdf

Chef's combination: $30, $50, $75 and up. I would highly recommend it. Not sure the amount of pieces you get at each price point.

I did the $120 pp tasting menu before drinks for me and the wife. It was very good.

[This message has been edited by VikingNik (edited 5/27/2009 12:56p).]

Hell, I spend that at my local sushi joint.

PROVOLONE WITH>>>>>WIZ WITH. The "wiz" is disgusting and ruins the sandwich.

I recommend Pats.

Hey this might help you prepare a bit too. You can see the tower of beer I was talking about at the 1:04 mark and a little bit of Reading Terminal Market at 1:27. The 2:00 mark shows a thought out contemplation between Pat's and Geno's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_DeGdBgsNc

The thing I liked about Jim's the most was the grilled onions. The steak was also hard to close because of all the meat. Geno's and Pat's were just a little skimpy. They all taste awesome though so you really can't go wrong.

If you have time, take the horsedrawn tour of the historical area. The guide will tell you about different buildings/houses, etc. downtown. Seemed like it took about 30 minutes and was very enjoyable.

for beer, i highly recommend a bar called eulogy. they are a belgian style bar/pub/restaurant. something like 27 beers on tap and over 300 total. good stuff, too. try their frites (french fries).

we were there for memorial day weekend. had a good time, and were surprised by how friendly the people were.

a good place to see is the eastern state penitentiary. very cool, and kind of creepy. it's an old prison built in the 1830s that was abondoned in the early 70's and is now a big museum. right across the street is a nice place to get a beer and some grub called Jack's firehouse. it's in an, you guessed it, an old firehouse. my wife and i stopped and split a sandwich for a snack. they have fresh cut fries, and the crabcake sandwich was excellent.

avoid Ralph's like the plague. what a dirty trick that place was. no bueno.

we had a great pizza at a place called marra's. it was pretty cheap too. an 18" cheese pizza is $11.

after ward, go to john's waterice. it's kind of like a cross between a snowcone and sorbet. either way, they are super cheap, and a nice way to cool down after a walk.

for getting around the main part of the city, i recommend the "phlash" it's a trolley type bus that runs east to west and hits most of the tourist spots. an all-day pass is just $5.

one thing i liked as well was that all the taxis take all the different credit cards, since i don't like to carry around a lot of cash.

also, i recommend reserving your tix for independence hall online. they are just $1.50 a piece.

if you want to see the US mint, leave your camera at the hotel, since they have no lockers for you to put your stuff, and they don't allow them in the building.

We went during Spring Break for 2 days. We did a double decker tour bus and it was fun and interesting. We caught everything in one day. Eastern Penitenary is awesome and creepy. Chickie's and Pete's is a must. Awesome crab fries!!! We also ate/drank at McGillin's Old Ale House. They had good cheap food and a variety of local beers. They have a beer sampler where you get to sample all the local breweries. Here is their website. http://www.mcgillins.com/home.htm

I second McGillans for history and beer. Drinkers in either old city or center city are both good dive bars. Amada is good tapas, osteria or vetri for good Italian. I live in Philly now so hit me up with questions.

I spent two months in Philly with the FDIC in the early 90's, closing a bank. It was located across the street from the Reading Terminal; lots of lunches eaten there. Great food.

McGillins was close by and was our daily happy hour destination. I clicked on the link and saw the photo of the place now. I don't know what they did, but it looked nothing like that when we were there. As I recall, the street where it was located was essentially an alley, and the entrance seemed as if you were entering through a back entrance. I read the history and it said that the management changed in '93, which was around the time I was there; maybe the new folks put a new facade on the building to dress it up.

Spent lots of time on South Street. Great Italian food in Philly. There was a place in South Philly that was an opera hang out. The wait staff were aspiring singers. Every so often, someone would ring a bell and everyone would get quiet and someone would step onto a small stage and belt out a tune. Not just opera but show tunes as well. Great Italian food too.

The entrance of McGillans is still located in the alley. They have an upstairs dance area that they probably didn't have in the 90's. I think the Italian place your talking about is Frank's. Great food with singing waiters