PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 14) -- Tours designed specifically for the 15,000 media representatives attending the 2000 Republican National Convention were announced today by Philadelphia 2000, the Host Committee for the convention, and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). The media tours, created to showcase the region, will depart from Comcast-Spectacor’s First Union Center, from July 18 through July 30.

More than 30 tours blend the region’s strengths – a vibrant, walkable city, a countryside close by, and great storytellers – with the media’s need for rich story content and flexible timing. Input from the press and media experts determined tour length (a maximum of 90 minutes, door to door) and timing (two weeks prior to the convention, rather than once the convention started). Ninety-minute group trolley tours cover Center City, Philadelphia, and self-guided tours take in surrounding counties, as well as New Jersey and Delaware. Written tour itineraries, complete with maps, text, vantage points, contact numbers, story angles and locations for further exploration outside Center City, Philadelphia, are available online from Philadelphia 2000, at www.philadelphia2000.org.

Following is a run-down of the four different tour types: Guided Trolley Tours, Self-Guided Tours, Thirty-Minute Walks and Personalized Tours.

• Best of Philadelphia. This one-hour "best of" tour provides the lay of the land, primary landmarks, stand-up locations and vantage points of one of America’s great cities.

• Ethnic Markets: The World Between Two Rivers. This cultural tour provides food for thought while introducing you to the people of the neighborhoods reflecting three centuries of diversity.

• Filmed in Philadelphia. Drive through dozens of street "scenes," while watching the silver screen version of Philadelphia on-board.

• City of Homes: Philadelphia’s Neighborhoods. A look at where Philadelphians live – from row homes to stately mansions -- taking in distinct personalities, landmarks, attractions and restaurants

Self-Guided Tours

Guides available upon request for any of the following self-guided tours:

• Party Politics in Philadelphia

• Revolutions and Reinventions: Philadelphia in Four Centuries

• George Washington and the American Revolution

• The Road to Emancipation
• The Quaker City: Religious Freedom in Philadelphia

• Literature and Mass Media in Philadelphia

• Science and Technology in Franklin’s Wake

• Germantown: Microcosm of a Country

• Vanguard of the Arts: Opera To Hip Hop and Academy to Gallery

• Off the Beaten Path

Thirty-Minute Walks

These are short, self guided walks are convenient to most of the delegate and media hotels. They include:

• Art Along the Parkway
• Center City Cocktail Tour
• Stroll Through History in Wilmington
• Fine Art, Fine Ale…Find it all around the Convention Center
• A Walk in the Park: Philadelphia’s French Quarter
• Go West: Discover University City
• Trace the Inner Line of Defense at Valley Forge
• Take a Brief Holiday in Haddonfield
• Rittenhouse to Fitler Square: A Victorian Ramble
• Secret Parks and Gardens
• Saunter Through Stylish New Hope

Personalized Tours

Customized visits to some of the most sought after sights in the area, all with a personal guide:

• Hard hat tour of Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
• Behind-the-scenes visits (the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, Reading Terminal Market, Tasty Baking Company
• Themed tours (Society Hill house tour, Foundation for Architecture walking tours)
• Audiences with Chefs
• Escorted trips to neighboring counties (Brandywine Valley, Bucks County, Chester County, Valley Forge National Historical Park)

FOR MORE INFORMATION: