Philadelphia, PA: Tourists in town
Philadelphia, PA is a beautiful city with a powerful history. In the next few days I will share with you Philadelphia through the eyes of a tourist. Over the weekend we had our cousins Baz & Stephanie in town and explored Philadelphia much the way a tourist would. Buckle up and join us for the ride!
First stop: Ride the Ducks tour
Duck tours are a great way to get a broad overview in a new city. The Boston duck tour is probably the most famous, but a few other towns host duck tours as well, including Philadelphia. Ride the Ducks begins at the Independence Visitor Center and takes you through a few of the most famous sites including Independence Hall, Society Hill, the Liberty bell, Elfreth’s Alley, and Penn’s Landing. We even saw another Duck (quack, quack) when we headed into the Delaware river!
Our driver, DJ Tony, kept us laughing and smiling through the whole tour while sharing bits and pieces of Philadelphia history with us. He also orchestrated a few “quack attacks” where we used our duck whistles to quack at pedestrians on the street. It was a really fun experience and PB and I loved giving our visitors a brief visit through the most important sights with the duck tour. We will definitely take all visitors on one!
Quack!
Second stop: Reading Terminal Market
A trip to Philadelphia is not complete without a stop into the Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia’s historic farmers market. Reading Terminal can be a bit overwhelming for a first time visitor (or 10th time visitor!), but it is a lot of fun! There are dozens of vendors there ready to sell you anything from fresh farm produce to Philadelphia cheesesteaks to falafel sandwiches. The smells compete with one another, and the patrons do too- for a seat at one of the many tables. We headed there for lunch after our fun duck tour and everyone took a good 15 minutes to decide what to have. I finally settled on a vegetarian burrito (lettuce, guacamole, salsa and cheese) and some fries from the community pile. PB thought I wouldn’t like the skinny fries so he bought two kinds. What a guy!
Everyone else had… Philly cheesesteaks! The line was long but they said it was worth it. Baz was really excited for his first official cheesesteak!
Of course, what trip to Reading Terminal Market is complete without a visit to the Flying Monkey? I bought a strawberry cupcake for Stephanie and a blueberry apple bar for myself.
I was supposed to share my bar with PB but somehow he was only able to get 1/4 of it. It was so incredibly delicious and I can’t wait to go back! Another vendor worth mentioning is Metropolitan bakery, in my opinion, the best bakery in Philadelphia! We had their multigrain boule on Friday, and I often buy their bread on visits to DiBruno’s at 18th & Chestnut.
The first day of our Philadelphia tour was off to a great start! Next stop? Love Park!
20 Responses to “Philadelphia, PA: Tourists in town”
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How fun! You guys know how to treat guests 🙂 Your burrito looks fantastic, as do the sweet treats. Hope the week is going well.
wow, i honestly never knew that philly was such an awesome city! i’ve actually been everywhere in the US EXCEPT the northeast…here’s hoping there’s a trip in my future!
Have you tried Breckenbeck’s Bakery in Chestnut Hill? I hear it’s fabulous 🙂 I’ve never been. Another place that’s really good in Chestnut Hill is McNally’s. Quaint little bar with a famous menu. I recommend it 🙂
@Tricia Kuchler, Thank you for your suggestions! I have not tried either but am adding them to the list! Thank you so much!!!!
So much fun! Duck tours are a blast. Did you know they do them in Providence too?!
@MelissaNibbles, REALLY? I had no idea! Off to google them now. I have never seen a duck tour in Prov before! Thanks for the heads up!
Looks much more fun than Pittsburgh!!!
AH! Have you ever been to Vetri? It my favorite restaurant in Philly and one of my favorites in the WORLD! 🙂
Sara
@Sara, We actually went last week. I have so much to say about the experience I haven’t had a chance to write about it yet. It was the best dinner I have had in Philadelphia since I moved here- if you count taste, presentation, ambiance, service, etc etc etc. I can’t wait to try it again!
I love the Reading Terminal Market! I only go there when I have to serve jury duty though. I’m going to make it a point to visit the market more often. Glad to see you had a great time on the Duck tour. My office is right down the street from where the bus enters the Delaware River!
I cant wait for when I live in Pennsylvania this summer! Definitely will have to check out some of these places!
Philidelphia looks awesome. My Husband went for work last year and he loved it, plan on going next summer before we leave the North East. I’ve done the Boston duck tour, so fun.
@Midgetkeeper, Little secret: The duck whistles on the Philly duck tour are free! I remember in Boston they are expensive.
If you ever want to get back at someone you don’t like, give their kid one of those duck whistles. They are so annoying (but I’m sure you’d never use it for harm).
Katherine
whataboutsummer.wordpress.com
oh, brings me back 🙂 i should get back down there for a visit soon!
Love this series of posts! PhillyGuy’s relatives were supposed to come into town last weekend, but ended up having to cancel — we were looking forward to taking them around like this! It’s such a great excuse to do all the cheesy, fun things you never bother with when you live here. I haven’t been to RTM in close to a year!
oh man, how i miss the reading terminal market! i used to get the cheapest produce there!! those were the days…
Baz and I just wanted to tell you that we had such a great time in Philly this past weekend. You and PB are excellant hosts! I’m glad you had fun touring Philly with us. We’ll be back soon!
Love you guys!
I live an hr from Philly , close to Exton , PA . I have been looking for a place to order B-day cakes or any good cakes for parties . Where do you get yours ?
@Daniela, I’m sorry I really have no idea! We haven’t got any real cakes for birthdays except from Whole Foods.