Looking to check out a new scene, hear great music, absorb some brotherly love, or just enjoy a real cheese steak? Hop on the Megabus or Bolt Bus from Penn Station in NYC, and you can be at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia within 2 hours.

New York is so full of things to do that Columbia students often neglect to take advantage of the amazing cities nearby. While Philadelphia is most famous as the home of the Liberty Bell and the Philly cheese steak, the city has much more to offer. Music venues in Philly (check out The Electric Factory and the TLA) often have shows that aren’t quite big enough to get to Madison Square and aren’t sold out by the time you’re able to buy tickets. WXPN radio station often organizes concerts, including free shows every Friday at noon (past performers include Citizen Cope and Los Lonely Boys). On the fine arts front, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has incredible collections and will be hosting Picasso and Renoir exhibits this spring.

If you are in for a more hang-out-and-explore-the-city experience, a cheese steak is a must. Philadelphians are polarized by the intense rivalry between Pat’s and Gino’s, but be sure to try Jim’s Steaks in the heart of the South Street bustle. And while you’re there, explore the many artsy shops (Eye’s Gallery has amazing art and is right next door to Jim’s), tattoo parlors, sex shops and clothing boutiques that exemplify South Street. Also, make sure to check out the incredible spicy fries at Alyan’s Middle Eastern Restaurant (right across the street from Jim’s).

Rittenhouse Square is gorgeous in the spring and is full of young people, street performers, and artists all year round. The park is in the heart of the commercial district (18th and Walnut) so visitors can sit down at some of Philly’s best restaurants, hit the shops, or pick up a water ice (another Philadelphia oddity) or a delicious coffee at La Colombe, all within a block of the park.

For nightlife, Old City is a great place to start. By the river, this ever-improving neighborhood is fast becoming Philly’s hottest club scene. Good restaurants, bars, and live music abound, and you can always just see a movie and then wander across the street to the site of the Constitutional Convention.

The entire downtown area is easily accessible by public transit (the system is called SEPTA), but walking is the preferred mode of transportation – you are guaranteed to discover something new and weird on the side streets. So get yourself a ticket and go experience all the wonderful, funky aspects of Philly that locals have come to know and love.

For more info:
Megabus: www.megabus.com
Bolt Bus: www.boltbus.com
WXPN “Free at Noon” concerts: http://xpn.org/concerts-events/free-at-noon
Philadelphia Museum of Art: http://www.philamuseum.org/

At times, the buildings of New York City seem to enclose us in a man-made forest, teeming with people. Urban Escapes NYC helps its customers kick this claustrophobia.

“If it sounds like fun,” says Maia Josebachvili, Urban Escapes founder and president, “we’ll try it.”

When Josebachvili first moved into the city after graduating from Dartmouth College, she worked as a derivatives trader on Wall Street for two years. Always a lover of the outdoors, Josebachvili tried to get out of the city as much as she could. She organized weekend getaways for herself and her friends: a trip to go skydiving one week, a hike in the Hudson Highlands the next. Her friends started inviting their friends, and soon her casual weekend trips turned into a business venture. She quit her job, started a website, and has since been catering to the young New York population, providing inexpensive guided adventures in the surrounding region and beyond.

Since its conception in 2007, Urban Escapes NYC has sent over 3,000 young New Yorkers on exciting trips from as close as an hour away to as far as New Zealand and Fiji. Many of the trips include tours of wineries or breweries after a hike or rock climbing adventure. The organization’s objective is to get young New Yorkers “out of the bubble,” and trips are organized every weekend of the year.

The peppy guides in their twenties and thirties are a close group of friends and enjoy spending time together on their trips and in the city. The guides love to go out and have fun with anyone who wants to join them. James Mitchell, a guide for Urban Escapes NYC, says his favorite trip so far was white water rafting on the Lehigh River. The rapids reached up to class four! Mitchell made it clear that what he considers the strongest aspect of Urban Escapes’ trips are the friends that he has made along the way. They even encourage travel groups to spend time together after they return.

To escape the bubble or just to get out and experience the outdoors, try out an Urban Escapes adventure this January or February. Options include winter hikes and snow tubing or indoor rock climbing and a brewery tour. All of the trips leave from 96th and Broadway and provide transportation. Prices range from $60 to $100. Let’s show Urban Escapes what Columbia’s made of. Rawr.

Here’s a link to the website: http://www.urbanescapesnyc.com/index.php