As a thank you for my memorable experience in Newcastle Upon Tyne last month, I thought I would write a little guide for anyone that may be making the trip to watch Newcastle United vs. Villa in Philadelphia this summer (23 July).
While I’ve lived throughout Pennsylvania, I have spent most of my life living and working in the shadows of this proud and historic city, so my recommendations are from my own experiences over the last 50+ years.
However, I wanted to quickly share one website – https://www.visitphilly.com/ . It’s an excellent resource which I recommend visiting as you plan your trip.
If you are not into planning in advance, and just like to figure out your plans when you arrive, I strongly recommend the Independence Visitors Center (https://www.phlvisitorcenter.com/). It’s located in the center of Philly’s best known historical attractions and is an excellent resource for activities throughout the city and the region.
If you really want to wing it, let me give a crash course on the City of Brotherly Love and a few of my own suggestions.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, a prominent Quaker from London and the son of a decreased British Admiral that lent money to King Charles II at the start of his reign. In return, the King granted Billy Penn, as he is referred to in Philly, (everyone has a nickname here) a piece of real estate about twice the size of England, which he promptly named Penns woods (Pennsylvania). Penn is said to have laid out the historic section of the city himself as a haven for England’s persecuted Quakers. The records are sparse, but evidence suggests Penn was a Millwall fan. In addition to core Quaker tenants of religious freedom and equality that were ultimately woven into the ideals of American society, locally we proudly sing “We’re from Philly, no one likes us, we don’t care” at our MLS Philadelphia Union’s matches.
Philadelphia is considered one of the most historically significant cities in North America and is best known as the location for the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Initially founded as a ship building centre, over the next 100 years, it grew to become the financial, industrial, political, cultural, and scientific hub of North America.
Unfortunately, our leadership started to wane shortly after the Constitution was signed. Nowhere towns like New York and Washington have since taken our place in the pantheon of global destinations. Today, Philadelphia is best known for food, culture, historical sites, and attitude (pronounced addie-tuud). If you visit, like Newcastle, you will hear an accent and certain words that are unique to the region. I assume this comes from relatively low turnover of the population. One branch of my family arrived in the 1730s when escaping religious persecution was all the rage in Europe. No one grows up outside of the region thinking they will move to Philly someday. However, when travelers do come, they stay. As I like to say, “No one leaves and no one forgets”.
PLACES TO VISIT / THINGS TO DO
Think of this as the list of activities that I would be willing to do with you if you visited me and wanted me to take you to places that I would enjoy and that you wouldn’t find out about after you left and be annoyed that I didn’t take you there.
1. Independence Mall / Independence National Historical Park (Old City)
Most of the icons of the American revolution are found in this area. There are maps and guides everywhere, but the staple attractions are: Independence Hall, Carpenter’s Hall, Elfreth’s Alley and, of course, the Liberty Bell. There are also numerous other national museums and historic landmarks. The entire area is walkable so, after the staples, it’s matter of personal preference and interest. At the centre of this area is the Visitors Center I reference above. (Spoiler Alert: King George II fans will be disappointed as he plays the bad guy in most scenes throughout the city).
One notable omission from staples list is the National Constitution Center. Informative, but does not house the original Constitution which is in Washington DC’s National Archives Museum. This reminds me of the “King Tut Exhibit” I saw years ago in the Philadelphia Art Museum. Let’s just say the title should have been “King Tut’s mother-in-law and massive King Tut themed gift shop”.
You will likely get full effect of Philadelphia’s late July heat and humidity along with deeper understanding of why the Constitution is so full of compromises. Pre-indoor plumbing and air conditioning, I can’t think of a better environment to encourage compromise.
2. Reading Terminal (Market East / Center City)
Back when every railroad in the country seemed to go through Philadelphia, the Reading Terminal (as in Monopoly’s “Take a ride on Reading”) was the place to be. Reminiscent of the Tynemouth Market, our indoor market was opened in 1863 and currently has over 100 vendors selling local meats, produce, and goods. Many of the stalls are run by members of the Amish community, yet another group of European Anabaptists looking for refuge in the 1700s. What is unique about the Amish is they have maintained much of the language and traditions from the late 1600s, including their dress and, believe it or not, their transportation. They are driven in vans by hired drivers to Reading Terminal but in the region about 50 miles west of Philadelphia, the Amish continue to travel by horse and buggy, educate their children in one-room schoolhouses, do not use electricity in their homes, and refer to all other Americans as “English”.
3. Mütter Museum (Rittenhouse Square/Center City)
If you have seen one iconic symbol of freedom, you’ve seen them all. Memories of a cracked bell will fade, but I can assure you that you never forget the Mütter Museum. Feel free to donate any noteworthy anatomical specimens you might have in a jar. The curators have been accepting them since the 1860s.
4. Eastern State Penitentiary (Fairmount)
It’s not quite the Heron Pit but it’s grim. The early Quakers were progressive in countless ways. Incarceration was not one of them. However, there is nothing quite like a beer garden in the center of a decaying historic prison.
5. Art museums (Parkway / Fairmount)
If you are into artwork, we have several surprisingly good art museums: Rodin Museum (Auguste Rodin), Barnes Foundation (Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso, Matisse and Van Gogh) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Thomas Eakins and surrealist Marcel DuChamp). If you are not into art, but you still want to run up the steps of the Philly Art Museum like Rocky did in 1976, everyone in will understand. The Rocky statue is also outside nearby for a quick photo.
6. A nice walk
Philly has several beautiful squares in addition to Fairmount Park, the country’s largest urban park. If you are in Old City (historical area) take a breather in Washington Square. Maybe grab something at Talula’s Daily and cool off in the shade. Near Mütter Museum is Rittenhouse Square. America’s first Zoo is in Fairmount Park which begins along the Schuylkill River just behind the Philadelphia Art Museum. My favorite is the Wissahickon Valley Park, a beautiful five-mile trail located in the city limits, a short walk from Chestnut Hill, an upscale historic neighborhood with shopping and restaurants.
7. A Cheese Steak Shop (Everywhere)
If you don’t make decent cheese steak and hoagie (submarine sandwich) in Philly, you are out of business. That said, here are a few standouts that I recommend:
Dalessandro’s Steaks and Hoagies (Roxborough)
John’s Roast Pork (South Philly)
Sonny’s Famous Steaks (Old City)
Tony and Nick’s (South Philly)
I have left out the two most famous cheese steak locations in the city – Pat’s and Geno’s. They are cattycorner from one another in South Philly but I just can’t bring myself to recommend them unless it’s 4am and you are taking a cab. They are dirty, the service is poor, and the steaks aren’t nearly as good as the other places I’m suggesting. I would also steer clear of Cheese Whiz. It’s the “cheese” in a Philly cheese steak unless you ask for provolone. Go with provolone and onions. Trust me.
8. South Philly’s Italian Market
It’s a gritty outdoor and more ethnic version of the Reading Terminal that was also made famous by Rocky’s training run.
9. Please Touch Museum (Younger) and The Franklin Institute (Older) (Parkway)
Two great places if you are bringing kids. We probably need a name refresh one of them, but the exhibits are always educational and engaging. Parents usually end up having as much fun as the kids.
10. Day trip to a nearby town
If you are bold enough to rent a car and drive on the opposite side of the road – beware! Pennsylvania roads are notoriously narrow, winding, and poorly maintained. If that doesn’t deter you, we have numerous small towns within an hour’s drive of the city that are well worth the trip and will give you a more complete view of the region. One town, Media, is accessible by mass transit but the following will require a car (or Uber): Newtown / Lambertville, Doylestown, Phoenixville, West Chester, Kennett Square / Longwood Gardens, Princeton, Haddonfield, and Moorestown.
If you enjoy gardens, Longwood is truly a world class 1,000-acre horticultural experience. Paring this with a stroll through nearby Kennett Square will be well worth the trip.
Use your phone for directions because we are terrible at giving them. Most directions from locals will refer to landmarks that have been torn down for decades, streets that have been renamed, or the original location of someplace that moved to a new location years ago. We also have a horrible habit of referring to places by the name of the last restaurant or business that was in that location.
PLACES TO EAT
The list is almost endless, so I will just share a few places that represent the City.
Fine dining – Verti Cucina and Talulah’s Garden. Make reservations. You will be impressed. Guaranteed.
Typical Philly Taverns – McGillin’s Olde Ale House (founded in 1860, a poor man’s The Old George), The Black sheep, Monk’s Café (worldclass Belgian beer selection), and Cavanaugh’s Headhouse Square (the unofficial tavern for watching Newcastle United matches), Tattooed Mom, Standard Tap, Oscar’s Tavern, Graffiti Bar (great Asian food from next door) and Good Dog.
Grab bag of random favorites – Vedge (best vegetarian), Korshak Bagels (best bagels), The Continental Mid-town (best martinis), Zahav (best Middle eastern), Pizzeria Beddia (best pizza), Bob and Barbara’s (anything goes), Dirty Frank’s (the quintessential dive bar), and Moshulu (best and maybe the world’s only dining on a docked tall ship).
If you stray too far off the beaten path, there are many smaller restaurants that do not accept cards because of the high cost of processing the payments. Be sure to look for signs or ask when you sit down to avoid washing dishes all evening or awkwardly waiting while someone from you table roams the streets looking for a mac machine.
FUN FOOD
Once you’ve had a cheese steak and/or a hoagie, you will realize that Philadelphians eat a lot of soft pretzels, potato chips (crisps) and ice cream.
We also like a Philly specific dessert called Italian ice or wooder ice. In Philly, water is pronounced “wooder”. If you happen across a bag of Martin’s kettle cooked chips at Reading Terminal, you won’t be disappointed. I personally like Auntie Anne’s pretzels, which I think you can now buy at most airports on the planet, but most people eat the generic cold soft pretzels that are hawked everywhere by street vendors.
We also have a Philly version of haggis, called scrapple. It’s made from what’s left of a pig after the hotdogs. Yep. Not a typo. After the hotdogs. It’s ground up with corn meal, pressed into sold grey blocks that are then cut into thick slices and grilled or fried. Like haggis, a pound of scrapple serves about 100 people. If it’s on the breakfast menu, give it a shot.
BEER
For generations, the beer of Philadelphia was Schmidt’s. The remnants of the Schmidt’s brewery are now part of trendy neighborhood and brew pub. In fact, we have brew pubs making their own beers and selling each other’s beers throughout the city.
However, we also have a local beer, Yuengling Lager, brewed about 100 miles up the Schuylkill River, that is standard in most bars throughout the city. It’s marketed as America’s oldest brewery and has become strangely popular across the country. Yuengling makes an excellent porter but it’s rare.
Unfortunately, Lager gives me a headache so I’m always on the lookout for beer from Yards Brewing Co., my personal favorite Philly brewery.
LINGO
There are dozens of words that are unique to Philadelphia. “Jawn” is my favorite. It’s a wild card word that can replace any noun (person, place, or thing) you can’t immediately recall. “Grab me that Jawn”. “Did you see that Jawn?”. Great word. When referring to one or several people, we use the word “Yous” which is the nonexistent plural form of “You”. Most of the time we say “Yous guys” even if we are talking to a group of women.
The ATMs in Philly are always referred to as mac machines. If someone needs to “tap mac”, that means they need to go to an ATM to withdraw cash. The term mac dates to the early 80s Money Access Centers which were the first ATMs in the region.
Another Philly classic is “goin’ down the shore”. This is the only way we refer visiting the beaches in Southern New Jersey (a/k/a the “Jersey Shore”).
OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS
Philadelphian’s love Wawa, our local convenience store chain. It’s best to not to joke about how silly the name sounds as you won’t get so much as a smile. I have a sneaky suspicion that more people go to a Wawa on Sunday mornings that all the region’s churches combined.
We have an excellent brand of coffee, La Colombe, that is roasted in Philly. If you like good coffee, you will enjoy a roast from La Colombe.
We love our teams. You will see Sixers, Flyers, Eagles, Phillies, and Union gear throughout the city. We are a one team per sport town, but with five major sports it’s just not the same as an entire city in black and white.
Philadelphians aren’t rude or mean. We are misunderstood. It’s a blue collar, no BS town. We like direct communication but we do enjoy the occasional double and or even triple negative. “I ain’t got no time for no shenanigans” I must have heard a variation of this 100 times and never cease to be impressed by a triple negative that ultimately expresses what was intended.
TRANSPORTATION
Like Newcastle, we have a modest subway and light rail system that offers public transportation through much of the city and the surrounding region. We also have buses, taxis, and an abundance of Ubers.
The most popular attractions are served by a special tourist friendly bus loop called PHLASH that travels to most of the places that I recommended.
PLACES TO AVOID
As a rule, I always tell visitors to stay in the rectangular area that spans Schuylkill River to the West, Delaware River to the East, Spring Garden Street to the North and South Street to the South.
It’s a big city with all the accompanying risks and rewards but, on average, this area is understood to be safer, cleaner, and more tourist friendly than other areas of the city. However, there are exceptions to this general rule.
Again, if you were visiting me, I would say go directly to the exception areas, enjoy what you intend to see, and then return to the area I’m recommending above. These exceptions include the stadiums during events and, during the day, the Italian market, Fairmount Park, Chestnut Hill, and the Wissahickon Valley.
There are other pockets of exceptional areas throughout the entire city, but they are pockets, and without a guide or familiarity with the area, I suggest exploring the pockets on a subsequent trip.
LAST THOUGHT
If you are making the trip and have any specific questions, please ask me in the comments section and I will do my best to respond.
HTL
(ED: Frank visited Newcastle Upon Tyne and St James’ Park for the first time in May and wrote two excellent articles, one in anticipation of his trip (Read HERE), then one following his visit where he watched both the Brighton and Leicester matches (Read HERE), both are highly recommended reads.)
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