Philadelphia & the Pennsylvania Dutch Country: With Bucks County, Hershey and Valley Forge

The ninth edition of this guide to Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Dutch country has new sections on Gettysburg and Hershey, and also covers Bucks County, the Brandywine Valley, the Pennsylvania Dutch country, Valley Forge and Reading.

Pleasures and Pastimes

The Spirit of 1776
Many Americans think they know something about the birthplace of the nation: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson's drafting of the
Declaration of Independence, the sayings of Poor Richard, the signing of the Constitution. Still, these grade school facts and figures do little
to prepare you for the actual Philadelphia experience. To walk through "America's most historic square mile" -- Independence National Historical
Park -- is a tour that exercises not only the feet but the spirit. Who can fail to be moved by the words "proclaim liberty thro' all the land,"
inscribed on America's best-loved relic, the Liberty Bell? The story begins in 1753, when the Provincial Assembly, meeting at Independence Hall, notified the British Parliament of its refusal to "make laws by direction." The meeting of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 then lighted the fuse for the American Revolution. The spirit of 1776 found its fullest expression as Congress acted on Richard Henry Lee's famous Resolution for Independence. Today, Independence National Historical Park continues to embody America's noblest ideals.

Oh, Dem Golden Slippers
Buttoned-up Philadelphia explodes in a tidal wave of sequins, feathers, riotous sound, and pageantry every New Year's Day: the Mummers
Parade. For this day of sudden liberation, the City of Brotherly Love dons "dem Golden Slippers" and cakewalks up Broad Street in a parade that
outglitters Las Vegas. This little shindig, initially brought from England, had its American beginnings early in the 19th century, when gaily
costumed groups rang doorbells, seeking donations after reciting rhymes intended to explain their strange garb. Add in Philly's heritage of
minstrel shows and vaudeville, and you wind up with today's 12 nonstop hours of song, dance, and costumed splendor. If you're not in town for
this phenomenon, you can still catch its flavor at the Mummers Museum; the Mummers also stage a summer parade around July 4, during the city's Welcome America! celebration.

Philly Fare
Philadelphia has finally managed to beat those cordon bleus. For decades gourmet groupies wrote the city off as a lackluster dining center.
How things have changed! In 1994 Philly was named the best restaurant city in the nation, according to the Condé Nast Traveler's
readers' poll. The soufflé continued to rise with the opening of the Striped Bass, hailed by Esquire as Restaurant of the Year. And
the béarnaise never curdles at Le Bec-Fin, which some epicureans cite as the greatest temple of French gastronomy in America. Today the
city holds stellar Italian and Chinese restaurants as well as notable seafood and steak houses, not to mention a wide variety of ethnic
eateries. Quintessential Philly dining spots include the City Tavern -- called by John Adams "the most genteel tavern in America," Reading
Terminal Market, and Pat's King of Steaks. Pat's aficionados claim that nothing is more delicious than a cheese steak -- served with onions,
spitting fat, and drizzled with real melt-in-your-mouth provolone.

The Emerald City
Envisioned by William Penn as a "greene countrie towne," Philadelphia is famous as a city with a green thumb. It counts its trees as avidly as a miser counts gold and now claims more than 2 million -- maples, elms, oaks, beeches, and poplars -- scattered among city squares, parks, streets, and innumerable backyards. The city's main "garden" is Fairmount Park, the largest municipal park in the world. For Philly at its
flower-spangled best, check out some of the great Society Hill house gardens. Continuing evidence that Philly is "the city with the country heart" is the annual Philadelphia Flower Show -- the largest indoor horticultural event in the world -- held every March at the Pennsylvania  convention Center. Events throughout the city celebrate Flower Show Week. Around the area other gardens beckon, whether it's the Morris
Arboretum, in the city's northwest corner; manicured Longwood Gardens, in Kennett Square; or the springtime splendors of Winterthur, near
Wilmington, Delaware.

Artistically Speaking
Artistically, Philadelphia has always been fertile aesthetic territory. From the innovative, probing realism of such 19th-century masters as
Thomas Eakins and Robert Henri to famous collectors like the McIlhennys and the Arensbergs -- among the first Americans to collect Monets,
Matisses, and Duchampses -- Philadelphia has always played off the contrast between its traditionally staid origins and a lively interest in the
new. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Barnes Foundation, with a collection of 175 Renoirs alone in its Merion mansion. Out in the
Brandywine Valley, the Brandywine River Museum showcases the art of native son Andrew Wyeth and his famous family. Thanks to the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Painted Bride Art Center, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Museum of American Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the city's art scene remains as spirited as ever. The performing arts rival the fine arts, with the Avenue of the Arts development on Broad Street serving as a new focus for venues as diverse as the Academy of Music (home of the Philadelphia Orchestra), the Wilma Theater, and the Philadelphia Arts Bank, among others.

Sportsmania
Philadelphia is one of the only three cities on the East Coast with four professional sports teams -- the Phillies (baseball), the Eagles
(football), the 76ers (basketball), and the Flyers (hockey) -- teams that claim devoted fans. But there's another sport at which Philadelphians
are expert: spectating. Forget about just passing the popcorn; be prepared to throw snowballs at Santa Claus! Visiting teams say they've never
seen anything like the behavior of Philly's sports fans, whose hijinks make events at the CoreStates Center and Veterans Stadium shake, rattle,
and roll.