12 REASONS TO MAKE A PHILLY VISIT THIS FALL

PHILADELPHIA, March 20, 2008 – One new museum, four scenic drives and seven annual events give visitors a dozen reasons to visit Philadelphia this fall. The opening of the Please Touch Museum in its new Fairmount Park location is a great reason for families to make a trip.  For couples who need a push to start planning, a picturesque drive through each of the city’s distinct and lush countryside regions should be the perfect lure. And, of course, everyone can spice up a stay at one of the many autumnal events that locals look forward to year after year. It’s easy to make it a weekend with the Philly Overnight® Hotel Package, available all year at www.gophila.com.  Here are reasons to start planning:

A New Museum For Kids:

This fall, taking kids to the Please Touch Museum, the nation’s premier children’s museum that first opened in 1976 and has been loved by a generation, will be a completely reinvented experience when it opens the doors to its new home in Fairmount Park. The location in Memorial Hall—a National Historic Landmark built in 1876 for the Centennial Exhibition celebrating the country’s 100^th birthday—will boast three times more space for exhibitions and programs. Just outside the museum, kids and adults will also delight in riding the meticulously restored 1924 Dentzel Carousel, built in Philadelphia for a now-defunct amusement park 10 blocks from Memorial Hall. www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

Road Trips To Remember:

Autumn’s colors beckon visitors to the roads of the Philadelphia region for relaxed days of dining, shopping and outdoor exploration. With Center City as the starting point, visitors can hop in the car and spend days exploring each of the city’s distinct and lush countryside regions:

• Bucks County: One of America’s most noted drives for leaf-peeping, Route 32 clings to the Delaware River along the eastern border of Bucks County while paving the way for stops at antique shops, art galleries, historic sites and upscale restaurants. (215) 639-0300, www.buckscountycvb.org
• Chester County: It’s hard to beat the vistas of horse and wine country when they’re ensconced in the brilliant yellows, oranges and reds of fall. But in Chester County, it gets even better than that. With its generous helping of lively towns and pre-19^th-century wood and stone structures added to the visual beauty, Chester County has all the makings of an idyllic fall drive and overnight stay. (800) 228-9933, www.brandywinevalley.com
• Delaware County: Drivers follow a popular bicycling route westward through leafy suburban neighborhoods and picturesque seats of higher learning to the gently sloping countryside that Brandywine School painter Andrew Wyeth employs as his artistic muse. After tasting from some of Pennsylvania’s sweetest grape-growing vines, it’s eastward to dine and doze in charming Media. (610) 565-3679, www.brandywinecvb.org
• Montgomery County: Montgomery County is home to a cornucopia of well-preserved and decoratively foliated historic mansions and farmsteads, inns and battlefields that can proudly claim “Washington slept here” and an intricate pattern of scenic roads just made for a Sunday drive. (610) 834-1550, www.valleyforge.org

Annual Events Not To Miss:

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