What to do with an 8 hour connection wait at PHL?
 

I got award flights for my daughter and boyfriend this July, GLA to PBI via PHL. (I know, I know, I'm far too generous.)

After a couple of schedule changes from US, they will now have nearly 8 hours to wait at PHL. So a couple of questions for the more experienced trans-atlantic flyers out there:

Will US immigration / security at PHL let them leave the airport and return later?

Is it easy to get from PHL to the city?

Any recommendations for what they could do in the city to while away a few hours?

Many thanks

M

Yes they will be able to leave the airport and head into the city and this is indeed what they should do. If they have checked bags they should ensure they put them on the connection belt before leaving the airport though.

Access to the city is pretty quick, easy and inexpensive on the train (around $5 one way IIRC). Once in the city there is loads to do. If they are interested in American history then Philly is great and if they are into Rocky films they can climb the famous Rocky steps (having never seen a rocky film I wouldn't know anything about this). It all depends on what they are interested in but they won't go bored.

Thanks Jetstreamer

Wirelessly posted (probably driving while typing: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 176x220))

the train cost me 5.50 usd yesterday and took approximately 30 min to suburban station or 30th st station. from there, the whole downtown is at your fingertips. i went to the liberty bell and natural history museum this past weekend. there is a big king tut exhibit in town for a few more months as well. if you pm me your addree, i can send you the summer 2007 philadelphia official visitors guide magazine i picked up at the airport.

Thanks Mrp - I've sent a PM

M

Got to try out Pat's Cheesesteaks whilst down there ;)

Not in the city itself, it is more what we'd call inner city but the stuff is good ^ Ordering isn't for the faint hearted though!

Now that I've left it long enough to collect a couple of suggestions ;) I'm moving this to its correct place...

Pat's is hideous. Avoid at all costs.
How old is your daughter?

Again, take the train into town. Suburban Station is probably your best bet. There are some nice museums (Please Touch Museum for Kids, Franklin Institute is a Science Museum). If she is older, I highly recommend the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The new consistitution center is nice with many exhibits and historical documents pertaining to the Constitution.

Nice places for lunch include Bleu on Rittenhouse Square. There is outdoor seating and it's less pretentious than it's neighbor, Rouge.

Airport transit PHL 4PM to 8:45 PM : in the city ?
 

I will be connecting on my way back to Paris ( mid nov) in PHL, landing at 3:47PM from EWR and connecting at 8:45PM to CDG.

Reading from this post, I assume I can get on the train, then stay maybe 2-2hrs 1/2 ? Say, 5PM in the city, and get back to airport at 7PM - In which case, what would you advise me to visit during this very short time ? we are French and have never been to PHL ( I have seen Liberty bell but that was like 12 years ago and don't remember much of it ...).And those two hours , even short, will always be better than an airport lounge !

Thanks for any tip,

FRanceUSA

Most tourist places will probably be closed or closing about the time you get there. Also if you will be arriving on a weekday ie Mo-Fr this is the busy rush hour time in Phila and the trains will be crowded, the streets will be crowded and the sidewalks will be crowded and everything will be extra crowded in Nov and Dec. Honestly I wish I had some nicer ideas for you.

MisterNice

Thanks ... actually we quite like the idea of the city beeing crowded - we'll enjoy walking or shopping around for two hours in an unknown city. Which area would you suggest we go to for those two hours if we just want to hang around (not have coffee or eat drink; just walk and window shop and see people ! ) ? We really don't mind the crowd, on the contrary, it is exotic for us French to see Americans around ;-)

Well, you could take the R1 (train) to Suburban Station and use that as your launching point to:

-Reading Terminal Market , although you will be getting there quite close to closing time
-walk through City Hall
-Macy's department store (which is now just a shell of the once wonderful Wanamakers)
-maybe even Philly's Chinatown section

It will definitely be busy between 5-7 pm, although with only two hours you might be limited to just a couple on that (admittedly) sparse list.

If you like to shop, then take the train from the airport to suburban station, take the 17th or 18th street exits (can be confusing - but look for signs) and walk a few blocks south to Walnut Street. On Walnut street between Broad (14th) and 18th streets is a lot of high-end shopping. The area around 18th and Walnut is also home to a large French population, so there are several great cafes as well. If you are a coffee lover, I recommend La Colombe at 19th and Walnut.

Thanks for your tips !

France Usa

How is it that Pat's is hideous? Explain please?