36 Hours in Philly

A Quick Trip to Philly

I grew up in New Jersey, just about two hours north of Philadelphia and yet, I’d only visited once on a school field trip. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and I remember climbing inside the cool, oversized “heart” at the Franklin Museum. It’s hard to believe that I hadn’t spent any more time here after that – probably because that other “large” city on the east side of New Jersey was always vying for my attention.

I am finally rectifying this situation and recently spent some time in Philly for a taste of how this city has grown and changed. I was only there for one night, but definitely plan to return and experience more of its Brotherly charms.

I had some IHG Rewards points (Intercontinental Hotels Group) burning a hole in my pocket so it was the perfect time to use them. The cool thing is that these points can not only be used for a hotel stay, but also tours, activities, and other fun things in town!

So I reserved a room at the Holiday Inn Express – Midtown and booked two of my favorite kind of tours — bicycle and food —  to give me a fast and fun overview of the fifth largest city in the U.S.

Here’s what I saw:

Bike Tour with Philly Bike Tours

Food Tour with Chew Philly Food Tours 

For more photos and info about my time in Philly, click over to the IHG Rewards site.

Disclosure: This was part of a campaign and I was hosted by IHG on my tours and compensated for this article, but as always, all writing and opinions are my own.