One of the world's most dynamic destinations, where big city excitement meets hometown charm. Famous as the birthplace of "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," Philadelphia offers more than cobblestoned streets and historic landmarks. The city of neighborhoods is chock-full of cultural, culinary, artisitc and ethnic treasures.

Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania, the second largest city on the East Coast and the fifth largest city in America. With 1.5 million residents, it is the hub of a metropolitan area containing nearly 6.8 million people. Philadelphia's downtown district, commonly called Center City, is a thriving commercial area with award-winning office towers, internationally acclaimed research and education facilities, and a highly educated workforce.

Philadelphia was founded in 1681 by William Penn, an English Quaker. King Charles II granted him a parcel of land that included 1,280 acres between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. For Penn, this was the beginning of a new colony based on religious freedom.

His vision of Philadelphia as a "Holy Experiment" was well planned and meticulously engineered. With dreams of "green countrie towne", he asked Capt. Thomas Holmes to design the city in a grid pattern with wide streets and several green public spaces. The anchors in his design still exist -- Washington, Franklin, Rittenhouse and Logan squares; City Hall stands on the site of Centre Square at Broad and Market streets. While much of "olde" Philadelphia still is visible, the area has merged with more contemporary buildings and skyscrapers, creating promising neighborhoods steeped in history and bursting with individuality.

Philadelphia's history from 1774 to 1800 is linked to the American Revolution and the birth of a young nation. As the Colonies grew, Philadelphia became the cradle of the nation's burgeoning quest for freedom. The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters' Hall in 1774. At the State House, later renamed Independence Hall, patriots declared their independence in 1776. Then in 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held at Independence Hall on May 25-Sept. 17. A short time later, Philadelphia served as the fledgling nation's birth is preserved at Independence National Historical Park, "America's most historic square mile.

Independence National Historic Park, often called "the birthplace of our nation." The park is home to both the Liberty Bell, an international symbol of freedom, and Independence Hall, inside whose walls both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were created. The park has recently welcomed a new Gateway Visitor's Center, the Liberty Bell Complex and the National Constitution Center.

Philadelphia is a place of "Knowledge Industry" that has 80 colleges and universities. Through the warehouses, factories, and mills that gave Philadelphia its 19th-century designation as "the Workshop of the World," are largely gone, the region's strong standing in the marketplace remains. Rapidly growing like biotechnology/pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, education, insurance, legal and business services, manufacturing, tourism and health care have replaced the production industries of the 1800's, and the Pennsylvania Railroad now shares the distribution load with international export companies and the information superhighway.

Philly Cheesesteak, hoagies and soft pretzels are well famous food that can be found all over. There are many connoisseurs swear that the best of the best are found on South Street. Many outdoor cafes are found on Rittenhouse Square, or the bistros set amid cobblestoned streets in Old City.

Center City, the local name for the downtown area, is bordered by the Delaware River to the east, Schuylkill (skool-kill) River to the west, Vine Street to the north, and South Street to the south. The city's 1,280 acres are a curious blend of sights, sounds and tastes.

South Street, the "hippest street in Philadelphia, " is famous for its eclectic shops, diverse restaurants and energetic nightlife, and for the best people watching in the city.

The largest and oldest jewelry district is Jewelers' Row, which has more than 300 jewelry-related businesses. Unique treasures and expert advice await serious and first-time collectors along Antique Row. New and established boutiques, restaurants, bars and coffee shops spice up residential blocks from Washington Square West.

Along Market Street East, both of the historic Strawbridge and Clothier and Lit Brothers buildings pay tribute to the retail giants of the past alongside The Gallery at Market East, the largest downtown shopping center and a symbol of the modern shopping experience.

The Friendship Gate at the corner of 10th and Arch streets welcomes visitors to Chinatown, the home of fine art, culture and the best in Asian cuisine for more than a century.

For 86 years after City Hall's completion in 1901, there was a gentlemen's agreement against any Philadelphia building rising above the hat of the William Penn statue, which stands 548 feet above ground. Finally in 1987, One Liberty Place broke through the invisible ceiling, making way for a new skyline for the city.

Today, Comcast Center, a new tallest building, is among six buildings shadowing Mr. Penn, all of which stand west of Broad Street in the Business District. Diverse industries -- including law, finance, technology, government, education, engineering, hospitality and health care -- employ more than 300,000 people in Center City. Streets busy with business dealings by day are transformed into lively after-hours hot spots as restaurants and sidewalk coffee bars light up the night.

A concentration of shopping and dining can be found around Rittenhouse Square, one of the city's most popular parks and most prestigious addresses. Rittenhouse Row is Philadelphia's center for glamour. The Walnut Street area has some of the country's finest restaurants, premier shopping, pampering salons and top hotels, all easily accessible in Center City.

Center City is just the beginning of the Philadelphia experience. Ethnic elements and excursions become more plentiful and diverse in the outlying neighborhoods and countryside. Neighborhoods in North and South Philadelphia provide a look at Old World heritages. South Philadelphia's Italian Market, dating back more than 125 years, offers aromas and ingredients from the old country to shops and restaurants run by generations of the original families. In the heart of Philadelphia's vibrant Hispanic community, El Centro deOro brings music, shopping and dining together from Latino cultures around the world. Across the Schuylkill River, international influences converge in University City. Home to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, this prolific community of education, culture, medicine and technology coexists with historic neighborhoods steeped in structures of architectural significance.

History may be Philadelphia's claim to fame, but Philadelphia has much more, including world-class art collections and resident orchestra, ballet, opera and theater companies.

Theaters and performances venues fill every part of town, especially on the Avenue of the Arts -- the city's premier arts district encompassing North and South Broad Street. From the Academy of Music to the new Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the avenue offers an abundance of music, dance and theater.

The Ben Franklin Parkway, a grand boulevard with European influences, features an impressive row of museums with works by Van Gogh, Rodin and Wyeth. The parkway itself is perhaps the only street in the world lined with sculptures by all three generations of Calders: Alexander Milne Calder's William Penn statue atop City Hall, Alexander Stirling Calder's Swann Fountain at Logan Square, and Alexander "Sandy" Calder's Ghost at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The arts meet the sciences in the host of innovative collections in The Franklin Institute Science Museum and The Academy of Natural Sciences.

From Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia to historic Clark Park in West Philadelphia, this city is full of green spaces. The largest of them all is Fairmount Park, extending from the Ben Franklin Parkway to the city's northwest boundary. It offers countless biking and jogging trails, fishing spots, golf courses, and cross-country skiing havens.

With 8,900 acres of winding creeks, green meadows and 100 miles of rustic trails, Philadelphia's Fairmount Park in the largest landscaped urban park in the world. Early American mansions, historic landmarks, outdoor scultpures, open-air theaters and the Philadelphia Zoo, America's first, are just minutes from Center City. The most active stretch of the park can be found behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art along Boathouse Row, where the Victorian homes of the "Schuylkill Navy" rest peacefully between scullers on the river and runners, bladers and bikers on Kelly Drive.

Fairmount Park weaves through Philadelphia's Historic Northwest into urban villages that once existed as the city's first suburbs. The stately homes and tree-lined streets of Chestnut Hill outline one of the city's inest residential and retail districts. Heading south down cobllestoned Germantown Avenue, Mount Airy's artistic heritage and Germantown's rich past chronicle Philadelphia's history, including the American Revolution and Underground Railroad. Nestled along the banks of the Schuylkill River, Manayunk's Main Street contrasts the 19th-century mill town with contemporary shopping, dining and recreational experiences.

Located in the heart of Center City, convenient to shopping, entertainment and cultural districts, the Pennsylvania Convention Center is the foundation of the finest convention complex in the nation. The 1.3 million-square-foot center combines magnificent architecture, natural light, powerful technology and carefully conceived space to create a magnificent state-of-the-art facility for conventions, trade shows and special events.

Built in 1993, the Pennsylvania Convention Center covers six downtown city blocks, including the historical Reading Train Terminal, the century-old Reading Terminal Farmers' Market and the last surviving single-span train shed in the country. Below the complex, Market East Station connects the Center with Amtrak's 30th Street Station and Philadelphia International Airport via regional rail service.

Philadelphia has some great sports in football, baseball, hockey and basketball. Recently, the Eagle plays football in the Lincoln Financial Field while the Phillies plays baseball in the Citizen Bank Ballpark.

There are some Philadelphia web sites you would like to visit by clicking the Philly Links.