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One day in Philadelphia is only going to be enough to whet your appetite. Depending on the weather you may only be able to be outside for limited amounts of time. You will need to look at my tips and adjust them to your lifestyle and taste.

I am going to assume that you arrived last night and spent the night in the city. I hope you spent it at the Hilton Garden Inn or the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown because that would fit in so nicely with my plan.

First, to maximize your one day in Philly, I am going to suggest that you choose a Friday, I will explain why later. The reason I like the two hotels I mentioned is that they are both very close to the Reading Terminal Market where I am going to suggest you have breakfast. If you are like me you will grab a coffee and a fresh baked pastry and walk around shopping while you eat. If you prefer a sit down breakfast there are several very good choices in the market.

City Hall has an elevator that takes you to the top of the building, right underneath William Penns feet. The views are amazing. We just walked in at 1pm and were able to ride it up but to guarantee that ride it is safest to call the town hall and book it. Do this right after breakfast.

If you are up for a good brisk walk after your breakfast head down to the Independence Park Visitor Center. Try to get there early because if you do, you can get on one of the House tours, the Visitor Center opens at 8:30am . There are two tours daily one at 11am and one at 2pm and only 10 people are allowed per tour. What you will visit are the Todd House and the Bishop White House. The Todd house is of particular interest since Dolly Madison was Dolly Todd in her first marriage to lawyer John Todd. This is their house.

Independence Hall is also visited on a timed ticket. If you wait for the day you want to visit and get them from the Visitor Center they are free. However, if you want to guarantee your time and tickets you can pay $1.50 each and order them on-line. It is so worth it. Let assume you have 9:30am tickets to Independence Hall. Walk over and get in the line after you sign up for the House Tour.

If you are not alone, while you are waiting for your tour to begin go in and visit the Philosophical Hall. This is a very interesting building with some very unusual displays and well worth taking a few minutes to breeze through. Former members include Thomas Edison and Madam Curie.

After your tour go to the Todd House and wait for your guide to come and show you around. If

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