Three Friends, This Friday in Philly, What to do?

So I'm in the process of making some last minute plans. Good friend of mine is moving to Alaska on Sunday and is with me in NY for the weekend. Our other best friend lives and D.C. and we want to get together, but none of us have time to go all the way to the other's city for the whole weekend.

We're currently hatching a plan to meet in Philadelphia (big city, roughly halfway between each of us) for Friday night only. We know nothing about the place. To anyone that does: If you had one night in Philly with two best friends, where would you stay and where would you go?

Run up the Museum of Art steps, do it.

If you want cheesesteaks - skip both Pat's and Geno's, and head for Jim's (3rd and South Streets). There is more around there anyways, and the cheesesteaks are better there.

Someone is bound to be playing the Trocadero Friday night, have no idea who but it should be a decent time, and the venue is pretty famous. There is a Malaysian restaurant right near the Troc called Penang - if you like Asian food, you gotta go. Caveats: Penang is cash only, and they are one of Philly's many BYOs (licensed only to serve the booze diners bring with them).

Old City is where most of the nightlife is. Old City is defined as bounded by the Delaware River to the east, 6th Street to the west, Market St to the north, and South Street to the south.

Most of the hotels in Center City charge $20+ a day for parking - so if I'm driving up, I tend to stay at one of the airport hotels. I would suggest not to drive there, but take the train/Megabus/Chinatown bus. If you take the bus, it will drop you at 10th and Arch, pretty much right in the middle of everything.

Yea, picking a meeting place in old city would probably be the easiest and most effective. Lots of interesting places within easy walking distance. Most of the tourist places will be closed by then, so you're talking about a night of eating, drinking and just looking at things. Anywhere from Rittenhouse Square to the water front will work fine.

If you made time to visit the Simeone museum, it's worth it

( if Jay Leno says go, well then GO ! )

szeis4cookie pretty much has it spot on. I've lived in the Philly area my whole life. I lived, worked and/or went to school in the heart of the city for 15+ years. I'm a country boy now, living in the far suburbs.

Anyhow, I guess it depends on what you guys are into or are looking for. South Street is the traditional party street, with a lot of bars and such. As has been said, Jim's has the best cheesesteaks in the city. I used to live at 10th and South, so I went there with regularity. Delaware Avenue has lots of nightclubs, gentlemens clubs and other nightlife. Most of it in Old City, though I'd say you can go further north/south on Delaware Avenue and still find lots of nightlife.

Art Museum steps are cool to run up, but the museum is sort of far from the areas mentioned above. It's about 2.5 miles away, so it's either a long walk or a taxi ride. Art Museum area is nice, but not as much nightlife. If you guys are sports fans, the Phillies are in town this weekend. The games are always a lot of fun.

As for where to stay. Well, since I lived there, I've never actually used hotels much. But most of the major chain hotels are nice. Just shop around for the best price.

Chebbie_SB wrote: If you made time to visit the Simeone museum, it's worth it ( if Jay Leno says go, well then GO ! )

Absolutely go see the Simeone.

http://simeonemuseum.org/

There are any number of awesome places to eat and drink good beer, most notably Monk's Cafe in north Philly, Triumph Brewing in Old City, and the South Philly Tap Room in (duh) south Philly. There are a billion music venues, chances are one has a band you'll like. The Reading Terminal Market is cool if you're a foodie. But Old City or South Street is your best bet if you just want to get a little tuned up and have a good time.

And speaking of the art museum, if you're there in your own car, you can drive out onto the steps and take some awesome night pictures with the parkway and center city in the background.

Get out of Philly as quickly as you can?

How many males, how many females?

You should pick a large meeting place that's easy for the three of you to get to, like Citizen's Bank Ballpark. To make it easier to find each other, you should all wear something similar that stands out from a distance, like Met's jerseys...

Woody wrote: You should pick a large meeting place that's easy for the three of you to get to, like Citizen's Bank Ballpark. To make it easier to find each other, you should all wear something similar that stands out from a distance, like Met's jerseys...

Woody's Guide to Getting Murdered in South Philadelphia.

It'd be a quicker death if you wore Yankees jerseys...

3-way? Circle Jerk? Somebody had to say it. Oh, and don't get stabbed.

I say avoid South Street if at all possible. I think the best areas to go for a good meal and some great drinks are Old City and Fairmount. Northern Liberties was fine until the crazy shooting there recently.

Favorite Bars in Old City would be: Eulogy - for a bazillion fancy beer bottles, similar to Monk's Plough and the Stars - Irish bar, turns into more of a dancing place late night though Lucy's - Embodies the cheap dive bar atmosphere, a lot of fun, but can be crowded and loud

Favorite Bars in Fairmount: Belgian Cafe - great beer selection, owned by same people as Monk's Urban Saloon - straight up party bar, dancing and such London Grill or Bishops Collar - Nice sitdown bars, decent beers and nice relaxed atmosphere Brigid's - Tiny, tiny place, good beer selection and really intimate, you can basically take over the entire bar area with 10 people, so it's really hit or miss, if you choose this, and people try to get you to play a game called samsonite, then it's probably my friends and I

Cheesesteaks are fun and all, but honestly, don't bother, it's normally a huge let down, if you want to do something interesting, try the Philly Taco. It's a Jim's Steak with a slice of Lorenzo's pizza wrapped around it.

If you're a history fan, there's always Independence Hall. You remember, the place where a much better America was initiated. Or Tunn Tavern, the Liberty Bell, and Valley Forge isn't too far away...

From the nerd who used to spend every July 4th at Mount Vernon reflecting on what those folks did/sacrificed to create this wonderful country we enjoy.

pinchvalve wrote: Get out of Philly as quickly as you can?

This and

poopshovel wrote: Oh, and don't get stabbed.

this.

flountown wrote: Favorite Bars in Old City would be: Eulogy -

Start here. Mussels. Many ales. Wander old town with a buzz and bar hop.

It seems if you are trying to do a bit of catching up before heading out to get a little crazy, than you should follow one of the following paths dependent upon the location you pick. I have done both of these tracts on a given night and I guarantee fun...also, Philly is perfectly safe in these two areas, don't listen to the nay sayers...

Eulogy -> Plough -> Lucy's or Mad River(definitely recommend Lucy's for more fun though)

Belgian Cafe -> Bishop's Collar or London Grill -> Urban Saloon