NYC International Student’s 2-Day Philly Trip | Day 1: City Walk

As someone who just checked off Philadelphia (and basically became a "human GPS" for the city), I’m sharing my Day 1 itinerary first—focused on "special forces-style exploration + travel hacks". Total must-save for U.S. international students! 📝 🚌 Transportation: Bus Took Peter Pan Bus Line from New York to Philadelphia (10:00 AM – 12:20 PM). Affordable and on-time—perfect for budget-friendly student trips! 🏨 Accommodation: Club Quarters Hotel Rittenhouse Square Super clean hotel with a great location: a 10-minute walk to City Hall, and surrounded by restaurants and a CVS (so convenient for snacks or last-minute needs 🛒). We couldn’t check in right away when we arrived, but the front desk held our luggage for free—total lifesaver! After checking in, we headed straight to our first stop: 🍔 Reading Terminal Market: A Bite of Philly This market has a 132-year history—it’s a mix of a farmers’ market and food hall. We went for the famous cheesesteak at Uncle Gus‘ Steaks. It tasted good, but so salty… Pro tip: Split it with at least one person and pair it with an iced Coke to cut the saltiness 🥤. 🏛️ Philadelphia City Hall The Baroque-style architecture is chef’s kiss for photos! The William Penn statue towers above the building—fun fact: City Hall was once the tallest structure in Philly. You need a reservation to tour the inside, but I’m lazy, so I just took photos of the dome’s details from the outside (still stunning 🌟). 💔 LOVE Park The legendary LOVE sculpture is way smaller than I imagined! Getting a good photo means shooting from below and avoiding crowds. My advice: Stop by if you’re in the area, but don’t go out of your way for it. (Pro move: Sit by the fountain next to the park—feeling the breeze is way more relaxing than fighting for a photo 🪑🌿.) ⛪ Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul I pushed open the door and was blown away by the 1864 Gothic dome! It’s the largest Catholic cathedral in Pennsylvania. Pope Francis even held a papal mass here in 2015 (super cool for history/architecture fans ⛪). 🧠 The Mütter Museum Bought a student ticket for $15 on-site. I went mainly to see Einstein’s brain slices, but the museum is full of diseased human organs, skeletons, and deformed fetus specimens… I had to force myself to keep looking (total "tactical step back" moment 😱). Warning: If you’re squeamish, skip this! (I got there at 4:30 PM and bolted out after 20 minutes.) P.S. The "brain jar" necklace in the gift shop is next-level creepy—definitely a "hellish souvenir" 🆘. 🎓 University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) The Benjamin Franklin statue was packed with graduates taking photos in their caps and gowns (congrats to them! 🎉). As a long-time 2 Broke Girls fan, I had to snap pics of Wharton School and "Chestnut Street" (aka in the show) 🥺. We also visited Lin Huiyin’s former residence—it’s now a used bookstore called House of Our Own Books. Sadly, the Penn Museum was closed on Monday, so we’ll have to check that out another time. 💡 Day 1 Recap Philly’s attractions are pretty clustered—this Day 1 route is perfect if you want to hit historic landmarks and try some quirky experiences in one go. I’ll share the second half of the trip tomorrow—follow me for more U.S. travel guides from a student’s perspective! #StudyInUSA #InternationalStudentLife #NYU #PhiladelphiaTravel #NYULife #2DayPhillyTrip #MuseumAdventures #UPennCheckIn #ReadingTerminalMarket