Yes, this trip to Philadelphia was totally random. I truly just opened up Google flights and typed in my settings for the one weekend my friend and I could do a quick trip, and hit search. I looked for the cheapest flight on the east coast to a city we’ve both never been to. Philadelphia was $97 roundtrip on Delta. I booked it.
I knew that Philadelphia was kind of a cute city with great walkability, some awesome history and good food. Thanks to being a Sharon Says So fan, I’m now actually interested in American history. I never knew much about it or cared to learn more. But Sharon Says So truly changed that for me. And before I knew it I was eager to see the room where the Constitution was written in. So I knew the second I saw Philadelphia on the map that it would be a good spot to go for a quick 48 hour weekend trip.
48 Hour Itinerary To Philadelphia
Day One
We arrived super early on Saturday so we would have the whole day. We checked into our hotel, Kimpton Palomar, and then headed out for lunch. The city is insanely walkable so we just headed outside and walked to Reading Terminal. This is an epic food hall with a grocery store inside. It was amazing. So many places to choose from, every kind of cuisine you can imagine and more.
I landed on really wanting a good sandwich after seeing all the deli meat sliced ever so perfectly in the case at Hatville Deli. We pulled up to a barstool and ordered some epic sandwiches. I had the Italian style roast pork sandwich which was super delicious. But everyone around us was eating the pastrami sandwich. I love a pastrami sandwich, but they are A LOT. I would’ve shared this for sure though. Served up with a pickle and chips, it was the perfect start to the day.
After inhaling our sandwiches, we grabbed some donuts at Biehlers which had a long long line, but it moved super fast. Still can’t get over that the donuts were only $1.50 a pop. They were so good. We grabbed a few donuts, a coffee and then walked over to Love Park. This is where you see that famous Love sign, but warning you, it is not as big as all the photos make it seem. it’s small. It was a bit of a disappointment. But we had a good giggle while eating our donuts and watching people take photos.
We walked around the city a bit, taking in all the pretty architecture, Benjamin Franklin statues, and the stunning City Hall.
Then headed to Rittenhouse Square where there was a weekend farmer’s market happening. Saw people walking all over the neighborhood with the most stunning flower arrangements, and we found the vendor at Rittenhouse Square. Gorgeous bouquet for only $15, such a great deal. Then we had an early dinner at Parc. a french bistro on Rittenhouse Square. The food was fine, this spot to me was overhyped but may have just ordered wrong.
Day Two
This was our big day of museum and constitution fun. Grabbed a coffee and walked about a mile to Independence Hall. Washington Square is a cute little park to stop into as well. We headed to Independence Hall to see the building and take the short 20-minute tour. Then walked over to the Liberty bell. This park also has Benjamin Franklin’s grave and the Museum of the American Revolution one block down. You can truly spend a few hours here.
Then we walked up to Franklin Fountain for a scoop of ice cream. Expensive, but good. Then walked up to Elfreth’s Alley Museum which is the oldest inhabited road in America. It was a cute little street of houses and you can even go through one of them that’s been restored. A few blocks down from here is also Betsy Ross’ house who was the seamstress to our first American flag.
For lunch, we did El Vez complete with margaritas, guacamole and really great tacos. For dessert, more ice cream. We were on a kick! Van Leewan’s recently opened a shop here and it’s a personal favorite. Had to get a scoop.
After a quick nap, we headed to Fishtown to check out this young and hip neighborhood. Lots of restaurants and bars. Pizzeria Beddia was highly recommended and it was insanely delicious. One of the best pizzas I have ever had. We then walked over to Garage to play some Skee Ball before heading to bed after all the food.
Day Three
For our final day, we fueled up with bagels from Philly Bagels. Just a local spot I think to where we were staying. Then headed west to the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There’s also the Rodin Museum here and pretty grounds to just walk and explore. Initially I had planned to visit Pat’s and Geeno’s for a Philly cheesesteak and see which one was best, but it required a good 15 minute Uber ride. So we opted to grab one at Carmen’s in Reading Terminal instead. A lot of locals said Pat’s and Geno’s is just a big tourist trap and that Carmen’s or Joe’s are better. To finish off lunch, we got more donuts at Biehler’s….
Before heading home we grabbed a pre-flight snack at Dizengoff. This was a super cute little hummus spot. Just hummus, pita and a cucumber chopped salad. It was perfection. I also got their lemonada which is a frozen mint and lime lemonade. It was insanely delicious. You can also get it spiked if you like!
Restaurants To Try In Philadelphia
There were SO many restaurants I wanted to check out in Philly. There seems to be a ton of cuisine options, classic Jewish Delis, great bagels and everything in between. This is the full list of restaurant recommendations I got. I starred all the ones we went to and any notes on ones I got.
- El Vez*
- Talula’s Garden (great for brunch – weekends only)
- Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop
- Kalaya Thai
- Marrakesh
- Murphs Bar (cash only)
- Zahav (need reservations well in advance)
- Suraya (need reservations well in advance)
- Barbuzzo
- Pizzeria Beddia*
- Jim’s Cheesesteaks (more recommended than Geno’s and Pats)
- K’Far
- Schlesinger’s Deli
- Metropolitan Bakery
- Parc*
- Reading Terminal*
- Dizengoff*
- Biehler’s Donuts
- Weckerly’s Ice Cream
- Van Leewan’s
- Franklin Fountain Ice Cream
Where To Stay In Philadelphia
When booking our trip, we wanted to be within walking distance of a lot of the touristy stuff we wanted to do. Rittenhouse Square is a cute area that allowed us to be within walking distance to all the things except Fishtown. Kimpton Palomar was where we stayed for the weekend and while they did host us, we had initially booked this on our own regardless. I love a Kimpton and they always feel like a boutique hotel but with all the great amenities. They had coffee in the morning in the lobby, and then happy hour every evening with wine and popcorn for guests. It was also dog friendly and we saw a LOT of cute dogs in the hotel. Which is always a plus.
