What are the good sights to see in Philadelphia?

I want to visit Philadelphia and I don't want to do the tourist-downtown thing.?

• I want to visit Philadelphia. I'm artsy and from Chicago, so I don't want to do the tourist-downtown thing. I'm looking for suggestions on safe places to go to meet friendly locals, see historic sights, and get a real feel for the city (all done with public transportation). Thanks in advance!

• Answer:

  Well other than downtown and South Philly/ Northern Liberties there really isn't anywhere to really other than residential areas. There are tons of dive bars, the Piazza...where a ton of indie/hipster/artsy types hang out. Just check em out online. There's tons of private galleries all over, and on the first Friday of the month, they're all free. The art Museum and the Ben Franklin Parkway leading to it is lined with old architecture. All around independence hall around 5th and market is the historic district. Rittenhouse park on Weekends is an awesome place to meet tons of awesome people. Seriously though Philadelphia can be a ton of fun but its mostly a city of neighborhoods. If you make some cool friends, you'll have a great time. It only takes like 1 hr. to walk across downtown, its really that small. ^These are the good parts of Philadelphia you'll enjoy getting an authentic feel for. Alot of the areas in Philadelphia such as North, west and lower Ne philly (where i live) are places where caution is a must.