Maybe you're a tourist, planning a visit to Philly. Maybe you're a long-time Philadelphian, thinking maybe you'd like to fit more into your Sundays than a massive order of stuffed challah French Toast and post-brunch nap/coma until GoT. Here's some good news for all those eager beavers itching to get out there and enjoy the beautiful spring weather we finally pried from Mother Nature's stubborn hands.
The same data scientist that brought us the ultimate strategy for finding Waldo and more recently, the ultimate cross-country road trip applied the same Where's Waldo? algorithm to produce an optimized walking tour of Philadelphia's most popular tourist destinations. The tour stretches 12 miles and encompasses 25 stops in all, including things like The Zoo, The Rocky Steps, and South Street's Magic Gardens.
Without stopping, the tour would theoretically take four hours. But "don't take this tour lightly," Olson says, who created the map by inputting popular attractions in Philly according to TripAdvisor. "Plan to spend at least a few days in total enjoying the sights."
Those seasoned tourists who may notice a treasure or two missing from the tour should note Olson's disclaimer: "These walking tours by no means represent the "definitive" walking tours for the cities," he says, who also created the perfect walking tour of NYC while he was at it, "but both tours are guaranteed to give you a great taste of the cities while you're there."
The list of attractions in full, and in order:
· Fairmount Park
· Please Touch Museum
· Philadelphia Zoo
· Philadelphia Museum of Art
· Rocky Steps
· Eastern State Penitentiary
· Rodin Museum
· Barnes Foundation
· The Franklin Institute
· Mutter Museum
· Penn Museum
· University of Pennsylvania
· Rittenhouse Square
· Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul
· Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts
· Masonic Temple
· Philadelphia City Hall
· Reading Terminal Market
· National Constitution Center
· Fireman's Hall Museum
· Elfreth's Alley
· Christ Church
· National Museum of American Jewish History
· Independence National Historical Park
· Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
· Optimized walking tours of New York City and Philadelphia [Randal Olson]
· The Perfect Walking Tour of NYC, According to a Data Scientist [Curbed NYC]
· The Ultimate U.S. Road Trip, According to a Data Scientist [Curbed]