📝 A Recap of My One-Day Philadelphia Itinerary

Context: Round trip from New York to Philadelphia Philadelphia Museum of Art closes at 8:45 PM on Fridays Morning I bought a bus ticket on Flixbus and arrived in Philadelphia around 10 AM. 👉 Liberty Bell Takes about 20 minutes to visit. This iconic bell is a must-see, and admission is free—perfect for a quick stop to soak up some history 🗽. 👉 Independence Hall You need to book a tour in advance (search for it on Google Maps and click "Tickets"). The tour costs $1 per person, with staff leading guided visits in groups every 20 minutes. The ticket says to arrive 30 minutes early for security checks, but from my experience: if you’re late, you can wait and see if you can join the next group—no need to panic! ⏳ These two attractions are right next to each other, so you can decide whether to visit Liberty Bell or Independence Hall first based on your tour reservation time. 👉 Philadelphia City Hall & Love Park These two spots are also close together, and combined they take about 20 minutes. City Hall’s grand architecture is great for photos, and Love Park (with its famous "LOVE" sculpture) is super cute for a quick snap ✨. Afternoon 👉 University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Campus The campus is really big—take your time to wander! The old, castle-like buildings and lush greenery make it feel like a scenic spot on its own 🎓. 👉 Penn Museum Allows about 1.5 hours to explore, and tickets are required. It’s packed with artifacts from China, Egypt, and more—definitely worth the visit if you’re into history or archaeology 🧱. 👉 Lin Huiyin’s Former Residence Takes around 20 minutes. This was where Lin Huiyin lived when she studied at UPenn; since 1971, it has been a used bookstore called "House of Our Own" (search for this name on maps!). The store is crammed with books—even the aisles are only wide enough for one person to pass through 📚. Evening 👉 Philadelphia Museum of Art The highlight of my trip! I chose to come on a Friday because after 5 PM, the museum offers a "Pay As You Wish" policy (you can pay whatever you want), and it closes at 8:45 PM—this let me fit more spots into my daytime schedule. P.S. The first Sunday of every month is also "Pay As You Wish," but the museum closes at 5 PM then. We ended up getting delayed at UPenn, so we only entered the museum at 7 PM. We had to focus on the key areas, so we stuck to the second floor. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers 🌻 is in Gallery 261, and works by Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, and other masters are all in the European Painting section on the left side of the second floor. To fully explore the entire museum, you’d probably need at least 3-4 hours! Then we took the 9:30 PM bus back to New York—perfect timing to wrap up the day! 🚌 👉 About Food Haha, you should check out posts from friends who live in Philadelphia for better recommendations! All I know is that cheesesteak is a local specialty. I grabbed one at a random spot in Reading Terminal Market (near City Hall), but it was just so-so—so I won’t recommend that specific place 😅. #Philadelphia #PhiladelphiaTravel #PhiladelphiaSightseeing #PhiladelphiaCheckIn