Any ideas for a 8 day itinerary to Philadelphia?

I would recommend only spending a few days in Philly, and using the remaining 5 days to travel around elsewhere in Pennsylvania or NJ. In Philly, you should definitely do the museums and historical sites, Reading Terminal Market (a huge indoor marketplace with every kind of food imaginable - check it out for lunch and get the best cannolis you'll ever have at Termini Bros. Bakery), South Street (great atmosphere with lots of funky shops and restaurants - Lovash is a great Indian restaurant there), the Italian Market, and Chinatown.

Once you've done Philly, there is a lot you can do in Pennsylvania and Southern NJ. Lancaster, PA is very nice - it's Amish country. It's about an hour and a half away. If you are interested in the Civil War, Gettysburg is 2 1/2 hours away. The King of Prussia Mall, about 1/2 and hour away, is huge and has a lot of good shopping. You can also head South into NJ and go to Atlantic City, 1 hour away, and the various beaches at the Jersey Shore.

Definitly agree with the answer above, I'm sorry to hear you have to spend 8 days in philly. If you must be in philly You can go to the liberty bell, the U.S. mint (where they print money). There is also a bunch of museums. One thing I can suggest is visiting edgar allen poes house, somewhat interesting and it might make you forget for 30 minutes that your in philly. Terrible dirty city, be careful....

Your itinerary is a sprint packed, yet potential, as long as you settle for which you're in elementary terms going to confirm the highlights of places as complete of activity as Venice and Rome. What i locate a sprint stressful is your selection of transport. once you are going to circulate to and holiday between those 3 places in elementary terms, you should be attentive to that: a million: A vehicle is a criminal accountability in Rome, except you're a close-by and fully conversant with the geography and, we ought to assert, enthusiastic utilizing form of the region. 2: A vehicle is impractical in Florence: you will no longer get permission to go into the historic centre (the place each and all the foremost attractions and handy lodges are) as you're no longer a resident. 3: A vehicle in Venice is, effectively, an costly irrelevance. some distance, lots greater ideal to apply the practice between the cities, and public transport in Rome and Venice. Florence is sufficiently small to stroll. Italian trains are speedy (speedier than you should force, centre to centre), much less costly and regular.

Believe me, being in Philadelphia for 8 days and then going on to Houston will be awful. Limit your time in both cities as they both aren't very nice. Sorry to burst your bubble.