A lot of times people ask me: How do you manage to travel multiple times a year? To a point where some of my family members back home thought that I don’t work. As you may know, I do have a 9-5 full time job but I try to be smart about how to use my PTO, holidays and long weekends.

In this article I will share with you how I spent a one day trip in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and how it is possible to be an effective traveler and see many places in a short amount of time.

Prior to this trip I was in Raleigh, NC for work, I took Friday off and technically had Thursday night and all day Friday to explore (The weekend was dedicated to a family wedding). Here is what I did and what you can do if you are planning on visiting Philadelphia.

Visit Philadelphia City Hall

The seat of government for the city of Philadelphia which was constructed in 1871.

Visit the Bellevue

This is one of the most beautiful hotels with a 360 degree view of downtown Philadelphia.

Visit Independence Hall

There are some free tours that you can join to walk you through the history about city hall and liberty bell. I did not have enough time to do so because the line at the bell was way too long. I however had time to snap some photos before renting a bike.

Go on a bike ride to Ben Franklin Bridge

I rented my bike from Independence Hall are and biked my way to Ben Franklin’s bridge.

Take a nap on a hommock in Spruce Street Harbor Park

On my bike around Spruce Street Harbor Park I found a nice little park with a lot of hammocks in place where people would lay down and relax.

Enjoy lunch on at Moshulu 

I also found this amaaaazing Ship/restaurant named “Moshulu” that I ighly recomend. The photos speak a thousand words http://www.moshulu.com/

I ended up my one day of exploring with some tasty fresh oysters.

There are certainly way more places to see in Philadelphia but that is all I was able to cover during my one day visit. I was very satisfied and I would certainly visit this city again.