How To Do Philadelphia in 24 Hours (or less)

A while ago, I did a post titled "How To Do Rochester, NY in 24 Hours (or less)." Rochester is not a place most people would "plan" to go visit, but I like the unusual, and we found that there were definitely fun things to check out (even though we originally went for a "garbage plate"). Quick trips are kinda my thing. Obviously, Philadelphia is a bit different. Tons of people flock here just for the tourism. Here are some tips for a whirlwind trip to Philadelphia.

1. Hit up a festival

There are so many, every weekend, in nearly every part of the city. Last weekend, for instance, they had their first annual Cheesesteak Festival. Over 25,000 people showed up to stuff their faces with the city's most treasured food. It was cool because you got food tickets in advance, and the vendors had cheesesteak in small sample sizes. Of course the lines for some of the most well known establishments such as Tony Luke's and Dalesandro's were SUPER long, the fact that they had pre-cut the bread and just had to stuff them when you got to the front "wit or "wit-out" (onions) made the lines move faster. Also, I had the pleasure of meeting Steph from Life According to Steph and Marla from Luck Fupus! 

stuffing my face, meeting Tony Luke,  hanging with Steph and Marla

After the Cheeseteak Festival Blue and I headed to Love Park, and I heard music and saw strings of light across the street so I wanted to check it out. We stumbled into ANOTHER (much smaller, laid-back) festival. This one was called Soultoberfest. They had live bands, German inspired beers and snacks, and games (life-size Jenga, Connect 4, boccie, and cornhole). It was perfect for winding down after the day.

2. Go to LOVE Park 

When planning this trip, I said I HAD TO go to 2 places. This was one of them. Yes, I know it's a completely tourist thing to do, but I didn't care. Be forewarned though, it was full of some really sketchy characters. And there was some weirdo who I think was making money off of people handing him their camera/phones to take the picture? And a LINE? Uh, no thank you. I asked another couple standing nearby to swap with us- we'll take theirs if they take ours, and we were in and out in 5 minutes. 

3. Go See the Magic Gardens

The other place I mentioned I NEEDED to see was The Magic Gardens. Blue though this was just a regular garden, with flora and stuff. She went ahead with it even though she though it would be like most gardens, and didn't bother looking it up online. 

4. Utilize Airbnb. 

When looking for places to stay in Philly, the hotels were upwards of $300. What now? No. I've been hearing about Airbnb for some time, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out. For $90, we got to stay in a studio apartment in Center City. The place was clean, the host was nice, and flexible with our arrival/departure, and she even left us a list of come cool coffee shops, stores, bars/restaurants in the area, along with public transportation info (not that we used it, but it was nice that she included it). Most importantly, it was exactly as the "ad" described. We searched solely for places that offered the entire space. Also, we've already booked our next stay for our Bourbon Trail adventure in KY. (If you use the link above, we both get a $20 credit!)

5. Stay in a fun (and safe) neighborhood. 
If you're not sure where that might be, ask around. I knew I wanted to be walking distance to vintage shops, coffeehouses, and divey bars/cheap eats, so when searching on Airbnb, I went first by price, then on location. I knew I did NOT want to be on the other side of the river, or by the super tourist-y (and expensive) area by the Liberty Bell and stuff. Luckily, I was able to find an apartment to stay near all the things I wanted. 

this picture has nothing to do with anything, but silly pictures are always fun

These are the things I did last weekend. Of course, you could always go the historic route and see where the Constitution was signed, or visit The Liberty Bell. Did you know the Rocky stairs are at the Philadelphia Art Museum? I've never climbed them, but if that's your thing, go for it! And the Philadelphia Zoo is definitely worth checking out. And if you're really at a loss, I'm sure Philly resident Steph could give you even more ideas :) 

Have you been to Philly? What's on your "must-see" list?