Cool places to check out @ GULC, Penn, Columbia, NYU, and Harvard

[voce]

On Friday, I leave for a 10-day whirlwind tour of the east coast. My spouse and I will travel from DC to Cambridge and back, stopping along the way to visit some of my top choices for law school (GULC, Penn, Columbia, NYU, and Harvard). We'll also stop by Yale, on the off-chance that they'll let me in.

We're staying with friends in most of the cities, and they're excited about showing us their favorite digs. However, I'm interested to hear about any must-see places that are on campus or really near the campuses of these schools (e.g., great coffee shops, good libraries to study in, beautiful parks, etc.). If you went to school at any of these places, have already visited these schools, or otherwise know these schools, I'd love to hear from you with suggestions.

Thank you!

[krbr]

Congrats on the list of awesome schools you've been admitted to.  This is for Penn:

On Campus -- There are a handful of nice little shops, bars and restaurants on Sansom Street, just across from the Law School's main entrance, that you might like.  Check out the White Dog restaurant.  To get to know the main campus, stroll along Locust Walk, the main pedestrian artery.  At the bottom of Locust Walk (near 34th, a few blocks from the Law School) is College Green, surrounded by College Hall, the main Library (Van Pelt), and some other buildings.  One of the buildings -- the nice-looking red-hued one -- is the Fine Arts Library, which was one of my two favorite libraries to study in when I was in UG there.  A scene from the Tom Hanks movie "Philadelphia" was filmed there.  Farther down, at 30th and Spruce, is the football stadium and, up 30th toward Walnut, is the Palestra (the greatest place in the world to watch college basketball).  Not much in the way of parks in West Philly -- Penn is basically it for greenery.  Not much in the way of coffee shops on campus, either, unless you count Starbucks and Cosi.  Much of the retail space and most of the UG bars are along or close nearby the 40th Street corridor between Chestnut and Spruce.  The best hoagies in the entire city are a little off campus, on 43rd and Locust, at Koch's Deli (try the P-COM).  For good hoagies a little closer, try Lee's on Walnut just past 40th.

Off Campus (just random ideas here) -- Rittenhouse Square is a great park area on Walnut Street and 18th.  Fairmount Park is big and beautiful and features some great art museums (the Philly Museum of Art [home of the Rocky Steps] and the Rodin Museum) if you're into that.  If you can get down to South Philly, try Pat's or Geno's (you gotta have a cheesesteak when you're in Philly).  I like Pat's better.  A lot of the nightlife is in Old City, around 2nd and 3rd between Market and Walnut.  Some interesting nighttime sights are also to be had on South Street.

That's about all the suggestions I can make without knowing your specific interests.  I'm sure your friends will show you some good spots.  Hope you enjoy your visit.

[Dolcejn]

Quick note for Harvard And congrats from me as well!

Obviously Harvard Square is the place to start.  You have to go to Bartlett's Burgers on Mass Ave. and order the Bill Clinton or the George Bush or any one of the number of burgers.  Then there's a sandwich shop, Cardullo's (right at the apex of JFK, Mass Ave., Brattle, etc.), where you should order the Bambino!   (These places are all across the street from Harvard Yard, in diff. directions, so you might want a map!).  Then there's L.A. Burdick's on Brattle Street, which sells the most expensive, fabulously rich hot chocolate (white, milk, or dark) you will ever taste.  Jasmine Sola (right across the street from Burdick's) is good for a little shopping! 

These places are all within five minutes walking distance of the yard!  And for food, try the Border Cafe.  Mexican/Cajun, I think.

In Harvard yard, make sure to stand check out Widener Library.  You can't miss it - it's the huge library in the middle of the yard! :p And go into Memorial Church and look at the war memorial.  Beautiful.
 

[Your Mom]

On GULC:  Try to go out in the Capitol Hill or Adam's Morgan areas, tons of restaurants and bars.  I went to Georgetown undergrad, so I can recommend plenty in that area, but not as much in the law center area.  Enjoy your trip!  I'll be taking 4 separate trips in April, so many schools to see, so little time!

[prospect]

@ Columbia - have a slab of pizza at Coronet - Columbus & 110th, I think...

[voce]

Thanks to all who have posted! I really appreciate the ideas and am looking forward to the trip even more, now that I can go "armed" with some good suggestions.

And, many thanks for the congratulations...I'm blown away to have this many choices and suspect it will be a difficult decision to make. I feel really lucky to be able to visit most of the campuses and hope that clarifies things.

Cheerio!

[manserunt]

Quick note for Harvard And congrats from me as well!

Obviously Harvard Square is the place to start.  You have to go to Bartlett's Burgers on Mass Ave. and order the Bill Clinton or the George Bush or any one of the number of burgers.  Then there's a sandwich shop, Cardullo's (right at the apex of JFK, Mass Ave., Brattle, etc.), where you should order the Bambino!   (These places are all across the street from Harvard Yard, in diff. directions, so you might want a map!).  Then there's L.A. Burdick's on Brattle Street, which sells the most expensive, fabulously rich hot chocolate (white, milk, or dark) you will ever taste.  Jasmine Sola (right across the street from Burdick's) is good for a little shopping! 

These places are all within five minutes walking distance of the yard!  And for food, try the Border Cafe.  Mexican/Cajun, I think.

In Harvard yard, make sure to stand check out Widener Library.  You can't miss it - it's the huge library in the middle of the yard! :p And go into Memorial Church and look at the war memorial.  Beautiful.
 

Agreed on all of the above, also check out Pho Pasteur for yummy Vietnamese noodles!  I believe it's on JFK Street in the same little mall as Ben & Jerry's...