Press Release

PHILLY LIKE A LOCAL: PASSION THAT GOES BEYOND THE FOOTBALL FIELD
Feelin’ The Love In Philly

PHILADELPHIA, December 1, 2006

Places To Pucker Up
Philadelphia’s tiny, historic streets were made for starry-eyed, hand-in-hand strolls, but the city’s easy-access nooks and crannies are the places to pucker up. The region’s best spots for PDA: Love Park, near sculptor Robert Indiana’s bright red Love statue; between the Tudor boathouses along historic Boathouse Row; upon the magical Whispering Benches of West Fairmount Park; in the quiet of The Curtis Center, facing Maxfield Parrish’s Tiffany glass mural Dream Garden; in the lush orchid greenhouse of Longwood Gardens; in the shadow of the dozen or so covered bridges in Bucks County; and at the tippy-top of City Hall, where free tours are offered daily. 

Love Park

Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC

Culture Crush
Think you’re the first couple to be moved by a French sculptor’s portrayal of two lovers’ embrace? Think again. As if that thoughtful hunk (known as The Thinker to those in the art world) at the entrance of the Rodin Museum weren’t enough to get a couple in the mood, the famous Eternal Springtime sculpture, similar to the famed “The Kiss,” should do the trick. At the reservations-only Barnes Foundation, an unequaled permanent exhibition of Picassos, Renoirs, Matisses, Monets and Seurats is sure to inspire a little lovin’, as is the Medieval Cloister in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If science is more your thing, find a quiet corner among the “Siamese twins” and other medical oddities at the Mütter Museum (no judgments) or engage in a little PG-rated action inside the thump, thump, thumping The Giant Heart at The Franklin Institute Science Museum.

Tables for Two
Getting lost in each other’s gaze (cheesy fun for sure) is a cinch if you know where to make a reservation. The old-school favorite: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, a famously cozy bistro with an extra intimate upstairs Tank Bar (a not-so-secret cove for private affairs). Best of all, the mark up here on wine is just $10 per bottle. The ultimate first-date spot is Dmitri’s, a bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB), no-reservations spot that’s so popular, everybody waits across the street at the New Wave Café. (Don’t worry: The host will come get you.) Nearby, gourmet lovers are loving the nouveau fare at three couple-run bistros: petite Gayle, daring Ansill and sparkling Southwark (ask for a tall table by the handsome bar). Two fave downstairs-upstairs options include the more affordable, almost secret Le Bar Lyonnais, the below-ground bistro inside famed Mobil five-star Le Bec-Fin. Up in the clouds is the newly made-over XIX, the luxe, 19th-floor lounge and restaurant in the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, where grand strands of giant pearls hang over the dining room, clubby leather lounge chairs fill the dimly lit bar and the menu includes wok-fried lobster and a decadent oyster bar. The ultimate in hands-on intimate dining awaits at University City’s popular Dahlak, where you can share spongy injera bread and spicy Ethiopian fare that you eat with your fingers. If it’s culinary edge in a country setting you seek, ask for a mezzanine table at Nectar, the hottest new French/Asian-inspired restaurant along the posh Main Line.

Naked Chocolate For Two
Nothing says “I love you” like rich chocolate—and nothing is more romantic than sharing sweets at one of Philadelphia’s many dessert-only spots. Bella Vista’s aptly named Dessert serves up divine fruit tarts, cookies and cakes, along with French press pots of coffee. The chocolate scents emanating from the sweet Pink Rose Pastry Shop are impossible to resist. And, any couple who passes through Rittenhouse Square without stopping in for professionally enrobed chocolates or truffles at Miel Patisserie, ought to turn around and go back immediately. Then again, they may be heading for either location of the city-sleek gelaterias Capogiro Gelato Artisans, where couples have been known to linger over seasonal gelati, including deep plum, dulce de leche and Madagascar bourbon vanilla. The city’s newest sweet spots include Naked Chocolate Café, a cotton candy-pink and caramel brown pastry shop offering classic (buttercreams) to (green-tea infused truffles) treats, along hot and cold drinking chocolates, including frozen hot chocolate. Old City’s The Franklin Fountain is a throwback to the days of egg creams with two straws and classic hot fudge sundaes made with homemade ice cream. In Northern Liberties, Brown Betty Dessert Boutique bakes earth-shattering cupcakes of buttery pound cake slathered in frosting. A chocolate-coated jewel on the pretty, tree-lined streets of West Chester is Eclat Chocolate, a totally haute confections shop where owner Christopher Curtin is, quite officially, a master chocolatier, which means his 73% dark chocolate granache is amazingly divine, and his caramels get spiked with top-shelf Calvados brandy.

…And Off To Bed—Or Not
Area hotels specialize in making romance right. For those with simple needs, a night in one of The Westin Philadelphia’s plush, featherbed-lined Heavenly Beds™ will do the trick. For those going all-out: How about champagne and chocolate from the Loews Philadelphia Hotel; fresh flowers, French bubbly and an in-room massage for two at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia; or a premium deluxe room with fireplace and jacuzzi at Old City’s independently owned Penn’s View Hotel? The Rittenhouse 1715, A Boutique Hotel is a recently redone, marvelously appointed former mansion outfitted with triple-sheeted Frette linens, and their romantic packages include champagne, flowers and personalized cakes. If it’s an escape to the countryside sweethearts seek, book a room for two at a tranquil bed and breakfast: In Valley Forge, sleep in a 300-year-old setting as historic as the nearby park at The Great Valley House of Valley Forge. Or, how about spending time at Harlan Log House (a real log homestead) set in bucolic Chester County?

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:

Caroline Bean, GPTMC
(215) 599-7433, caroline@gptmc.com

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