Frommer's Names Independence Hall One of Their "Best Places 2021"

The annual Frommer's list highlights the best places to travel to in America in the upcoming year, with entries written by some of America's greatest living writers. Independence Hall was chosen as one of the best places to visit in 2021 in an essay penned by Frommer's founder and his daughter, Arthur and Pauline Frommer.

In their essay, Arthur and Pauline Frommer commend the visitor experience at Independence Hall as much as the incredible historic building itself. In particular, praise is given to the National Park Service Rangers who guide visitors through Independence Hall and provide a narrative which places its history in context. The Frommers note that the Rangers:

"don’t pull their punches when discussing the mistakes the founders made (the acceptance of slavery foremost among them) or the tumultuous nature of the debates that rang off these walls."

By paying attention to the tumultuous and difficult meetings that took place within Independence Hall, a more complex and interesting history of the founding of America is revealed. By stripping the Founding Fathers of the reverence that is often bestowed upon them and revealing their flaws and human nature, the Founders of this country are not diminished. Rather, by showing that such enduring compromises such as The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution escaped from such a messy and harsh environment only serves to highlight the unlikely and incredible nature of their accomplishments. Perhaps most importantly, it shows that even in a difficult time filled with strife and disagreement, compromise and progress was still attainable.

The Frommers make a point that now may be a great time to relearn these valuable lessons:

"But they were united in wanting to create a United States, a country where the ideal was balance—a system with so many different actors that no one person or party could amass unfettered power. That balance, that focus on governing together rather than obsessing over who is winning or fixating on the personality of specific leaders, is something Americans need to aspire to once again. Without it we are betraying our founders -- and ourselves."

Visiting Independence Hall

Independence Hall is an integral stop along The Constitutional Walking Tour, and our tour guides share Independence Hall's history within the context of a primary overview of Independence National Historical Park that stops at more than 20 of the most historic sites in Philadelphia. Group tours and VIP tours can also be arranged by making a reservation. There are also limited tickets available for public tours over the next few months before we hope to fully resume public tours again in April of 2021.

And when the interior of Independence Hall is open to visitors once more, our Independence Hall Tickets & Visitor Guide will help make visiting this historic hall as fun and as easy as possible.