It Was Actually Sunny in Philadelphia...

Philadelphia has always been personal for our family. Our college-aged twins were born there, so it has never felt like a place we simply check off a list. We have been back many times to make more memories in their birthplace, but before this trip our last visit had been in 2012 for a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Fetal Surgery Center family reunion.

In the summer of 2024, we made Philadelphia the final destination of a road trip that also included Washington, DC, and Baltimore. There will absolutely be a future Washington article because we have been there many times, but Philadelphia was the emotional center of this particular trip. And, perhaps against all regional stereotypes, it was actually sunny in Philadelphia.

A CHOP Reunion at Philadelphia Zoo

Our first full day was the CHOP reunion at Philadelphia Zoo. Being back with families connected through the Fetal Surgery Center made the city feel even more meaningful. There is a special kind of joy in seeing children grow up, meet one another, and turn a medical beginning into a big, loud, ordinary-in-the-best-way family day at the zoo.

Philadelphia Zoo is America’s first zoo and is spread across 42 garden-filled acres. It is home to more than 1,900 animals, with large exhibits such as Big Cat Falls, PECO Primate Reserve, KidZooU, Water is Life, the McNeil Avian Center, and the Zoo360 animal-trail system. Wildlife Chats and optional experiences such as giraffe feedings, train rides, and behind-the-scenes encounters can add more to the day, depending on the schedule.

For a regular visit, I would allow at least four to five hours; it is very easy to make it a full day if your family enjoys animal chats, rides, meals, or a slow walk through all the exhibits. Our reunion naturally had its own rhythm, but the zoo was a wonderful setting for it. The enormous group photo below was taken at the 2024 reunion. It has been two years, and we still have not been able to find ourselves in it.

A CityPASS Made the Rest of the Trip Easier

We chose CityPASS tickets for this trip, and we have used them in other major cities before. They are not automatically the best deal for every traveler, but for a family that truly plans to visit several participating attractions, they can make the decision-making and ticket juggling much easier. The current CityPASS lineup includes Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California, Tampa Bay, and Toronto.

Philadelphia’s current CityPASS is flexible: choose three, four, or five attractions and use the pass over nine consecutive days from first use. The ten current choices are The Franklin Institute, Adventure Aquarium, Philadelphia Zoo, Big Bus Company and Philadelphia Trolley Works, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial, Museum of the American Revolution, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, National Constitution Center, and the Barnes Foundation. Reservations are currently required for Adventure Aquarium and the Barnes Foundation. Prices, inclusions, operating days, and participating attractions can change, so confirm the exact package before you buy.

For us, the pass worked because it matched the places we genuinely wanted to visit, not because we were trying to race through every possible attraction. That is my favorite way to use a city pass: build the trip first, then see whether the pass supports it.

Across the River to Adventure Aquarium

Later that day, we crossed into Camden, New Jersey, for Adventure Aquarium. It is just over the bridge from Philadelphia, but the waterfront views make it feel like a worthwhile little change of scene rather than simply another indoor attraction.

Adventure Aquarium is largely indoors, which made it a helpful break from a warm summer day. Its exhibits include sharks, sea turtles, hippos, penguins, stingrays, and colorful fish, with major experiences such as Shark Bridge, the Shark Realm, the Ocean Realm, and Penguin Park. The aquarium says the average self-guided visit takes two to three hours, which felt like a realistic planning range for us. Families who linger at every exhibit, add an animal encounter, or have younger children may want more time.

It was a fun contrast to the zoo: one day gave us animals across wide outdoor paths, and the next part gave us an underwater world with the Philadelphia skyline visible across the Delaware River.

Our Favorite Way to See a Big City: Hop On, Hop Off

The next day, we rode a hop-on hop-off bus tour. We try to do these in most major cities because they let us see a huge variety of attractions on our own timetable. You can jump off when something interests you, stay as long as you want, then get back on—or simply rest for a little while and look out the window. When everyone has already done a lot of walking, that flexibility matters.

Philadelphia’s current Big Bus Blue Route runs a roughly 90-minute full circuit and currently serves the Independence Visitor Center, Betsy Ross House, United States Mint and Ben Franklin’s Grave, National Constitution Center, Chinatown and Fashion District, Reading Terminal Market, City Hall and LOVE Park, Cathedral Basilica, Barnes Foundation, Rodin Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, the Perelman Building, the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Franklin Institute, Mütter Museum area, Rittenhouse Square, Academy of Music, Pine Street, South Street and Head House Square, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Penn’s Landing, and Old City near Christ Church. There is also a Fairmount Park loop that connects the Rocky Steps with Please Touch Museum and Philadelphia Zoo on days when that service is operating. Routes, stops, and schedules are always worth checking right before a visit.

This is not a tour I would use to claim that I had fully experienced Philadelphia in one day. It is a wonderfully practical way to understand the city’s geography, connect far-apart attractions, and let every person in the family choose a few things that matter to them.

Eastern State Penitentiary and a Cell Everyone Recognized

One of our stops was Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. The massive, crumbling prison opened in 1829 as the world’s first true penitentiary, designed around the idea that prisoners would reflect and reform in isolation. Its radial layout, vaulted cells, and ambitious early systems for heat and running water made it internationally famous, although its strict model and conditions were deeply troubled.

Today, the historic site connects that architecture and prison history to bigger conversations about incarceration and justice. It held nearly 85,000 people during its 142 years in operation, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone. Capone spent eight months there in 1929, and his recreated cell is one of the most recognizable stops. Even the teenagers knew the name, which made Brian’s excitement about seeing where Capone was held especially fun. With his law-enforcement background, this was absolutely a Brian stop.

Give Eastern State at least two hours, and longer if you want to take in the audio tour, mini tours, exhibits, and art installations at an unhurried pace. It is visually dramatic, but it is not just a creepy old building. The history and the questions it raises deserve time.

Rocky Steps, Movie Locations, and Brian’s Philadelphia Moment

Another bus stop brought us to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We did not go inside on this visit, but Brian had to reenact the famous Rocky steps scene. Let’s just say he had the enthusiasm of Rocky Balboa, even if he did not exactly have Rocky’s training montage or boxing record. There was also a pop-up Rocky store near the base of the steps, because apparently the universe wanted to encourage him.

Back on the bus, Brian kept spotting more movie connections. He was thrilled to see the buildings used for the Duke brothers and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange in Trading Places. This is one of the things I enjoy about touring a city with him: a regular building is never just a regular building if it appeared in a movie, a police story, or some other piece of pop-culture history.

Closing the Night with Founding Phantoms

We closed out the night with Ghost City Tours Philadelphia’s Founding Phantoms Ghost Tour. Finding a ghost tour has become one of our regular travel traditions whenever a city offers one. We enjoy the fun, the local stories, and the fact that a guide gives you a personal escort through a place you might otherwise only see in daylight. We wrote more about why special-interest tours like ghost tours can become a trip highlight in our article, Beyond General Admission.

Our 2024 experience was a walking tour through historic Philadelphia after dark. The current Founding Phantoms offering is a 90-minute, approximately one-mile adults-only tour for ages 16 and up, meeting at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square. Ghost City says the route explores haunted colonial Philadelphia, with featured locations including Independence Hall; stops are subject to change, so treat a current itinerary as a guide rather than a guarantee. The company now also offers an all-ages Ghosts of Philadelphia tour for families who want a gentler version of the experience.

Seeing Independence Hall at night was the perfect ending. Philadelphia can give you a reunion, a zoo, an aquarium, a complicated historic prison, a running-up-the-steps moment, movie trivia, and a ghost story in just a couple of days. For us, it also gave our family another chapter in a city that will always mean more than a pin on a map.