Philly area assistance

most recent Philly thread:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/philly-trip-advice-tips.390109/

 

@zid recently visited Philly (from NY). Maybe he can share his thoughts here.

Cheers!

 

There are plenty of great beer bars in the city, but most of the brewpubs (and all of the best ones) are in the burbs and not close to each other. (Even the brewpubs in the city -- Second Story, Dock Street, I'll count Yards because they do serve food, Bar Hygge, Crime + Punishment -- are not close together.)

 

I would suggest any center city hotel of your choosing, because as noted, a lot of the great spots are not in the city.

However, I'll also suggest a hotel near Olde City (Omni, Wyndham, Best Western Plus Independence Park, or Penn's View, Holiday Inn Express Penn's Landing which are further out of the city center) as that would give you your best shot to visit Second Story, Yards, Bar Hygge, and Crime + Punishment as well as some other beer bars in the Girard/Fairmount area and 2nd Street. You could also easily cross town to Monk's, and the shopping on Market Street, or head south to South Street.

 

Yards, C+P and Bar Hygge are all relatively close together or you can uber it and it'll cost you like 5-7$ a ride. They are all on the outskirts of center city though and that's where all the shopping will be. Second story brewing is decent and you could probably shop around there and you could go to eulogy which is amazing. I wouldn't miss monks either.

 

Sorry @SmittyinNY , I can't really add anything on the topic of brewpubs and shopping for the wife. There's lots and lots of beer flowing there though. You can use Philly Tap Finder to see what's around (although a minority of places seem to prefer beermenus).

 

There are many areas where you can walk to all the bars, but best would be somewhere midtown where you can take a subway to other areas (or use Uber/taxi). As mentioned above, PTF, use the "Hoods" option to see bars in a particular area http://www.phillytapfinder.com/hoods/ . Midtown, Rittenhouse, Old City, and Fishtown are most plentiful. From Midtown, it's easy to catch a train from Suburban station to Ardmore station to visit Tired Hands (https://www.google.com/search?q=suburban+station+to+ardmore+train+schedule&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8).

The main issue is that hotels in that area is pretty expensive. See if you can find an AirBnB place that is reasonable. If you haven't used AirBnB before, be sure to read up and especially read reviews on places. Don't stay too far out, plenty of more undesirable pockets farther away from the center.

The majority of shopping is along Chestnut and Walnut, including "Shops at Liberty Place". The Gallery is not too far away on Market Street. More interesting shops are on South Street. Queen Village "hood" is the area if you're looking for bars down there (Bainbridge St Barrel House being one with usually decent selection).

Have fun!

 

Couple of good bars with a mix of different beers includes: McGillin's Olde Ale House (1/2 block south of Chestnut, past Macy's [John Wanamaker] Center City), Mac's (on Market Street, in Old City), or if you are driving, the Hulmeville Inn (off PA 513 via US 13 and I-95)

 

Philly is a dry city. Try Boston.