Philadelphia or New York

Different scales

New York is a much larger city. Philadelphia’s historic core is compact by comparison. The Liberty Bell Center at 526 Market Street, Independence Hall across Chestnut Street, the Independence Visitor Center at 6th and Market and the Old City streets to the east are all within walking distance of each other. Beyond the mall, the city adds the Art Museum steps, Reading Terminal Market and Eastern State Penitentiary. The how many days page sets out what one, two or three days in Philadelphia cover.

What Philadelphia offers a first visit

Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the Constitution signed in 1787, both in Independence Hall, which UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1979. The Liberty Bell is free, with no ticket, and the NPS lists a visit at 15 to 55 minutes plus the wait. Independence Hall runs guided tours with a free timed ticket. For visitors interested in the founding of the United States, these sites are in Philadelphia and nowhere else. The one-day plan shows how they fit together.

Travelling between the two

Trains and buses run between New York and Philadelphia; schedules and fares are set by the operators and change, so they are not given here. On arrival in Philadelphia, the nearest SEPTA station to the bell is 5th Street/Independence Hall on the L. The getting there page covers the last stretch.

The day trip from New York

A guided day trip is the other way to add Philadelphia to a New York stay. According to its listing, the tour lasts 15 hours and begins at 5:00 a.m. in the Times Square area, with a bilingual guide in English and Spanish. Its Philadelphia part is a 20-minute Liberty Bell visit, a 10-minute pass-by of Independence Hall and 25 minutes at the Rocky statue; the rest of the day is Washington, D.C. The listing notes that the itinerary is subject to traffic conditions. Rhoda, from the US, described a wonderful day and a friendly, helpful guide; Barbara, from Italy, called it a fantastic day.

Limits of a day trip

Twenty minutes at the Liberty Bell is a glimpse rather than a visit to the park. The listing does not say whether the time is spent inside the Liberty Bell Center or at its windows, and the entrance line may not fit in 20 minutes. Independence Hall is listed as a pass-by, and a visit inside is not listed. The listing also states that the tour is not suitable for wheelchair users, that under-18s must be accompanied by an adult, and that under-8s need their own child seat under New York law. A visitor who wants time inside the Liberty Bell Center, an Independence Hall tour or a walk through Old City can plan a separate day in Philadelphia instead. The day trip page covers it in full.

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