United States

Philadelphia

The city of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, about 90 minutes from New York by train.

You can see the Old City sights without a car. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, the Museum of the American Revolution and Elfreth's Alley are all in the same old part of the city. The SEPTA Airport Line leaves the airport about every 30 minutes from 5:07 a.m. to 12:07 a.m. It reaches 30th Street in about 23 minutes.

Independence Hall has a free open house from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. with no ticket. The timed tours after that need a ticket. Tickets are free with a $1 fee each, and you can reserve up to 30 days ahead on Recreation.gov. More next-day tickets come out at 5 p.m. the day before. The Liberty Bell Center is free, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and needs no ticket.

Stay in Old City to walk to both. Center City is near Reading Terminal Market and Jefferson Station. The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes and the Franklin Institute. The Barnes is $30 for an adult and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Eastern State Penitentiary is $21 for an adult online and $2 more at the door.