August 25, 2012 ---- Nathan and I had just moved to Lancaster, PA a couple of weeks earlier, and we were ready to hit the road to the closest big city in PA --- Philadelphia.
Ideally, it should take about an hour and a half to drive to Philly from Lancaster, but it took us over two hours because the traffic was bad and because of the low speed-limit on the highway through Amish country. However, I enjoyed the ride and saw a lot of interesting ways of life in PA.
Independence Visitor Center
As we got in the city, Nathan decided to park at the Independence Visitor Center for our convenience. It was very expensive to park there--like $16 for 2 hours of parking! However, the max 24 hr parking is $18, so you won't go over that limit.
The Independence Visitor Center is the best visitor center I have ever been to. It's huge and has a lot of services, both from the national park and the private tour companies. There were also some people dressed up like in the colonial period standing around, and you can tip them and take a photo with them. The exhibits in the visitor center also looked nice, but we didn't really spend time walking through it.
I just went straight to the Independence National Historical Park's help desk and asked for the Independence Hall tour, and we were lucky that there were still some spots available at 4:30 p.m., so we got the free tour tickets and went for lunch.
Liberty Bell Center
After lunch we walked to the Liberty Bell Center, which is located right across the street from the visitor center. At the front of the Liberty Bell Center was an exhibit about slavery and the President's House. It's nice to spend some time there before getting in line to see the bell.
The line to the Liberty Bell was really long but steadily moved into the building. Once we passed the security check, there were some exhibits about the bell being used in many social movements that are worth spending time to learn about the social history of the bell. At the very end of the hall is the Liberty Bell itself. A lot of people will try to get a good shot with the bell, so you have to be patient and wait for your turn.
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is located right behind the Liberty Bell Center. You can get inside of the building only through the National Park's free tour for which you have to either reserve a ticket early online or just take a chance and get the tour ticket at the visitor center on the day you arrive. Nathan and I were lucky to get the tickets at the visitor center, and we went right in at 4:30 p.m.
The tour starts every 15 minutes, and there is always a long line waiting outside of the building. If you are there early, you still can get in line to start the tour earlier because the park ranger will allow more people in if there are spaces available, and there always are!
Our tour lasted about half an hour, and the park ranger was very funny and made the tour more enjoyable for me even though I normally find political history to be extremely boring. There were two separate rooms in the main house, one is the court and the other one is where they wrote and signed the Constitution. There are many important events took place in this room.
After the tour, if you have time, you should visit the west wing of the Independence Hall because there is an interesting exhibit. They present the original 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence and many others documents.
Independence Hall West Wing Exhibit Case
National Constitutional Center
National Constitutional Center is located right behind the visitor center. We didn't really go in the museum because I wasn't interested in any kind of political history. The ticket is $14.50 per person, and it opens from 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Franklin Square
Franklin Square is located right behind the National Constitutional Center. It's a small, family-friendly park. To me the most interesting thing here is the fountain that was built in 1838. There is a lot of fun stuff for kids like a miniature golf course and a classic carousel.
Overall our first trip in Philadelphia was nice. The weather wasn't great at all, but there are many things we could do inside. Next time I hope to visit China Town and the waterfront area. :)