Is it possible to do a day trip to Philadelphia from New York City or Washington D.C.? Will 12 hours be enough to see this huge city? These are questions you might be asking yourself when you're planning your New York/Washington trip and want to find an excursion for a day. The answer to the questions depends on exactly how much you want to see, and if you want to see everything or just the major sights.

Philadelphia is located in the middle of the two cities. From Washington, it takes 1 hour and 40 minutes (100 minutes), and from New York, it takes 1 hour and 5 minutes (65 minutes) with the Acela train service. I took the slightly slower regional services (Keystone Service & Northeast Regional) from New York. You will lose 20 minutes of travel time, but you can potentially save more than half of the ticket price.

Try to buy tickets for a train that will get you into Philadelphia at around 08:30 am, and then return at around 08:30 pm (20:30) to maximize the day. You will leave New York at around 07:00 am and be back just after 09:30 pm (21:30).

When you arrive in Philadelphia you will arrive at William H. Gray III 30th Street, the Amtrak Station in the city. It is located just outside of the city center. It is within walking distance of Downtown, but there's also a metro station just across the street.

When you have arrived in Philadelphia I would recommend that you directly walk to the Subway and take the Market–Frankford Line to 5th St Independence Hall Station (5 stops). There's no reservation needed to see the Liberty Bell, but for Independence Hall, you will have to make a reservation online at least a week in advance. Book a time that is between 09:00 and 10:00 if possible. That will give you time to adjust to slight delays in the train schedule.

The queue for Liberty Bell works on a comes-first, served-first basis. The queue can get quite long in the afternoons, however, when it opens at 09:00 in the morning the queue is usually not that long. I had to queue for five minutes at peak of the summer season. If your time slot for Independence Hall is closer to 10:00 you should explore Independence National Historical Park and visit Liberty Bell before you go to Independence Hall. If it's closer to 09:00 you could explore a little bit, but wait with Liberty Bell until your tour is finished.

When you're finished with Independence Hall and Liberty Bell you've done the two most important sights in Philadelphia already. If there are only two sights to see it would be those two, and it's my strong recommendation to do them as early as possible to avoid the crowds.

Before you leave this area you should also make a quick visit to Benjamin Franklin's Grave at Christ Church Burial Ground. The grave is visible from the outside of the cemetery on the North-Western corner. I never went inside the cemetery (as it was still closed). I still felt that I could get a good view of Franklin's grave.

Nearby is also National Constitution Center. Unfortunately, on a trip like this where we only have twelve hours to explore the city, this is something I would recommend skipping and saving for another time.

After you've visited Benjamin Franklin's Grave you're already at the edge of Old Town. So just continue East to explore. Basically, you can spend as much time as you feel that you have time for here. I spent around one and a half hours exploring Old Town.

I have to say though that I was a little bit disappointed with Philadelphia Old Town. It is nothing like the Old Towns you see in Europe for example. There are a lot of gaps in the architecture. Empty lots beside historic buildings.

The main things to see in the Old Town are Betsy Ross House, Elfreth's Alley, and Christ Church. If you want to you can easily walk through it in 30 minutes and then be on to the next chapter. There are a lot of museums in this area. I didn't visit any of them, but if you get bored looking at buildings quickly you would have time to visit one of them within these twelve hours. Museum of the American Revolution looked very interesting for example.

The time should now be around noon. It's time to move towards Downtown, and maybe get something to eat.

This is an area where you might have to do some prioritizing after your own taste. You should go to the City Hall and Dilworth Park at one point. But other than that you can either skip so that you can spend more time in the Old Town or go directly to the next part of the trip.

I walked so that I could see the closest attractions. I went for a quick visit to Chinatown, then down to Walnut Street Theatre, and then I continued to walk Walnut Street all the way to Rittenhouse Square. I then walked around these neighborhoods for a while with a focus on Chestnut Street and Market Street, until I ended up at the City Hall.

If you continue further South you have South Street which is a major entertainment street and area. The area between City Hall and South Street is filled with old buildings in contrast to the more modern look of Downtown. From Google Maps this area looks better than the actual Historic Old Town. It might be hard to fit in on a day trip though. I would certainly explore this area more if I come back to Philadelphia for a few days.

The time should now be somewhere around 03:00 pm (15:00). Walk from City Hall to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, also known as The Rocky Steps. Walk along Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It's a rather boring walk, to be honest. You could take a taxi or Uber if you want to and would like to save time.

There are however a few sights along the way. Love Park is one of the first places you will encounter. You will also pass the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Logan Square, The Franklin Institute, the Barnes Foundation, and The Rodin Museum on the way. On a day trip like this, you won't have time to go inside though.

I never went inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art either. The main sight here is the steps outside, famous from the Rocky movies. From the top of the stairs, you also get great views of the city and skyline.

After you're done with the Rocky Steps, continue to the nearby Eastern State Penitentiary and an audio-guided tour of one of the most famous prisons in America. If you're not interested in this, you can swap it for one of the museums previously mentioned in the paragraph above on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The time should now be around 06:00 pm (18:00). Time to walk back into Downtown. Maybe do some shopping and eat dinner before heading back to Amtrak Station and New York City.

The schedule for this trip is quite packed and it is a possibility that you won't be able to fit everything in it, depending on how quickly you move and how much time you spend at every sight. If there is something you have to scratch, either on the spot or already when planning the trip. I would skip Eastern State Penitentiary and possibly the Rocky Steps. Not because they are not interesting, Eastern State Penitentiary was one of the highlights for me, but because they are located slightly offside from the rest of the sights and they are swallowing a lot of time from the schedule.

Rocky Steps are one of the main sights of Philadelphia and from which you have some gorgeous views of Downtown. However, the walk there is quite long and the route is rather boring with not that much to see for most of the stretch. To walk to City Hall takes 30 minutes and you will walk for 2.2 km (1.4 mi). On a map, it might look close to the Amtrak Station, but the distance is 1.9 km (1.2 mi) and you'll have to walk for 25 minutes (along a path that is not the most pleasant and safe). The nearest metro station is 1.7 km (1.1 mi) away which is Spring Garden Station. You could of course take an Uber or Taxi back and forth. You're on vacation and the price won't matter in the long run.

I was able to fit them both into my itinerary. But if I had to scratch anything and save for the next time, it would be those two.

As you can see: It is entirely possible to do a day trip to spend 12 hours in Philadelphia and see a lot. You will, however, have to prioritize and there are many sights that you will have to leave out. The only two that should be set in stone are Independence Hall and Liberty Bell. The rest can be swapped if you find something else to be more interesting.

If you can, it is probably best to stay for two or three nights. But as with the day trip itself, it's all about prioritizing. And if you can't fit in a longer stay I find a day trip to be perfect for Philadelphia.