The Best Weekend in Philadelphia with Kids
Are you looking for ideas of things to do with kids in Philadelphia? Or a Philadelphia with kids weekend itinerary?
I had been to Philadelphia a few times, but never with kids. To be honest, it was not my number one pick of places to go back to.
Fortunately, it ended up being an affordable option because both my kids and I ended up loving the city of Philadelphia.
I am not sure why I didn’t love it as much on previous trips!
There is a week after the New Year before the kids go back to school. My husband had to work, but I talked a friend into meeting the kids and me somewhere. She is in New York City and had a 1-year-old at the time. Based on flights (and a train ride for her) we settled on Philadelphia.
I wanted somewhere easy to get around with kids. My kids were 4 and 5 during our trip to Philadelphia.
While I was willing to bring a stroller (as my 4-year-old refused to walk anywhere), I did not want to bring car seats. I did not want to rent a car.
Philadelphia is easy to get around on public transportation. I never once wished I had a car during our weekend in Philadelphia.
Keep reading to find out the best things to do in Philadelphia with kids.
The Love Sign/The Amor Sign
I knew that we were going to be walking past these signs, so I made sure to keep track of where they were so we did not miss them.
I usually track things that are near our must-go places just in case we have extra time.
I use Google Maps and pin everything I want to see.
The Mint
We arrived in the afternoon, and my kids were happy to sit and play in the hotel room. I was much more interested in getting out and exploring, so I finally convinced them to see where money was made.
You are not allowed to take photos inside the Mint.
We walked around until closing time and saw as much as we could. It is free to get in, but I wish we had more time to spend there.
The Mint is near many of the famous Philadelphia sites, which I had seen before, and I knew my kids wouldn’t be as interested in.
If you have time, it is easy to see a lot near The Mint, such as Independence Hall and the Museum of the American Revolution.
If you prefer to take a tour, there are plenty of history tours in Philadelphia. Here are a few:
* History, Highlights, and Revolution Walking Tour
* Historic District Guided Tour
* Walking Tour of Colonial Nonsense
The Liberty Bell
While we skipped most of Independence Hall, we stopped at the Liberty Bell.
The kids hadn’t learned about the Liberty Bell yet, though they were excited to see it after their dad told them he had licked the Liberty Bell (like Barney did in How I Met Your Mother).
Again, with more time, we would have to spend it in this area, but with just a limited couple of hours, I picked what Philadelphia landmarks would interest the kids the most.
If you have more time, find the best things to do at Independence Hall.
Reading Terminal Market
There is a giant food hall inside Reading Terminal with more choices than you could ever want.
We ended up with a variety, including a Greek salad, lobster mac and cheese, giant pretzels, and roast vegetables.
There are plenty of tables to sit down and eat at, or you can easily take your food to go.
Of course, after picking out all of the food, my children refused to eat anything except a pretzel.
Now that the kids are older, we love taking food tours. You can opt for a food tour of Reading Terminal Market.
More fun Philadelphia food tours include:
Breakfast near Rittenhouse Square
After waking up early, we took a walk to Rittenhouse Square and found a cafe for breakfast.
I get nervous about having a stroller in small places, but I found that no one in Philadelphia seemed to mind. I was able to store my stroller in the corner.
We don’t tend to go out for a big breakfast when we travel. I am happy with a coffee and croissant and my kids were more than happy with a chocolate croissant and milk. That morning, they were given their very first babyccinos, which they did not like as much as milk. They did like feeling fancy.
Some of the best breakfast options in Philadelphia include:
Please Touch Museum
We spent most of day 2 at the Please Touch Museum. The museum is out of the way and we had to take a bus there.
While there was a place to buy food inside the museum, I knew that I would rather not, so we stopped at Di Bruno Brothers near our hotel and picked up lunch for later.
Obviously, with a name like “Please Touch,” my kids were going to love it.
We have been to a few children’s museums and this one is worth visiting. We could easily spend the entire day at the Please Touch Museum.
It is spread out in a large building. Each exhibit is in its own space, which helped my kids to stay together.
There was an Eric Carle exhibit happening at the time as well.
The museum has a carousel inside. You can purchase 1 ride or unlimited rides. We went with the unlimited so the kids could ride as many times as I knew they wanted to.
The Please Touch Museum is a must-do with small kids in Philadelphia.
Dinner at Dan Dan Rittenhouse before Candytopia
While my friend took her son back to the hotel early for bed, I planned a night out for my kids.
I waited to book until we were at dinner. Candytopia has timed entry and I wasn’t sure what time we would be there. I also wanted to make sure that my kids were having a good day and wouldn’t meltdown.
First, we had dinner at Dan Dan Rittenhouse.
I wanted to go to Chinatown as I miss good Chinese food, but it was too far for my friend who needed to go to the hotel early.
Dan Dan was on my list of possible places to eat, as it was recommended on a Facebook travel group.
We were worried about the small space with 2 strollers, but the staff was extremely helpful and stored the strollers for us.
The food was amazing, and I didn’t miss Chinatown at all. We ordered a ton of things to share as we had no idea what the kids would eat, but we managed to clear just about every plate.
More delicious dinner options in Philadelphia include:
Candytopia (Permanently Closed)
Unfortunately, Candytopia’s Philadelphia location is now closed.
It was the perfect thing to do with kids in Philly at night.
If you are looking for something to do in Philadelphia with your kids at night, here are some ideas.
Going out at night is something that we do not do often. It was a treat to be able to find something kid-appropriate at night in Philadelphia.
Rocky Steps
It was foggy when we woke up on our last full day in Philadelphia. We went out for coffee and chocolate croissants, which my kids were getting used to.
The Rocky Steps are in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There is a statue of Rocky Balboa nearby.
Rocky is part of my family’s tradition. Every Thanksgiving, there is a Turkey Trot in our city. Every morning, since I was a kid, my mother has woken us up on Thanksgiving morning by playing the Rocky theme song.
We played the music for the kids and had them run up the stairs and show off their muscles. They weren’t sure why they were doing it, but they knew it would make their grandparents smile.
Philadelphia Movies + TV Sites Walking Tour
Franklin Institute
Our main activity for our last full day was the Franklin Institute, which is a large science museum.
I wasn’t sure if my kids were going to be too young, but my oldest is a science lover, so I wanted to try.
There is plenty for all ages at the Franklin Institute.
There are workshops and shows scheduled throughout the day. We managed to attend 2 workshops and see a movie in the planetarium.
Just about everything is hands-on.
We had lunch at the Franklin Institute as my kids were not ready to leave. There is a cafeteria inside.
The kids did not want to leave, and we played at the Franklin Institute all day before we had to head back to our hotel to meet up with one of my friends who lives nearby.
If we hadn’t met my friend, I am sure we would have stayed until closing. We spent hours inside the Franklin Institute, but did not get to see it all.
Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
I have a friend who lives outside of Philadelphia. She does not have children, so I wanted to do something with her that isn’t child-based.
Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens looked interesting, and none of us had been there before. We weren’t sure what to expect.
Most of the art exhibit is outside, though some are covered.
They have a scavenger hunt, which they gave to the kids. My kids are always more interested when there is something specific to look for and a prize.
The Magic Gardens were neat to walk around, and a good activity for all ages.
I was able to park my stroller right outside (inside the museum, but in the area outside) and have the kids walk, as there are stairs and small spaces.
Dinner and Treats
We just walked in the direction of the hotel before finding a diner to eat at.
If you are wondering how we went to Philadelphia and didn’t even eat a cheesesteak, it is because my friend and I do not eat beef.
I did order a “vegetarian cheesesteak” at the diner, which was just a hoagie with vegetables and cheese.
Of course, if my husband had been there, we would have made time to stop for cheesesteaks, but it wasn’t important for us.
Our last stop was Big Gay Ice Cream, which started in New York City and now has other locations. This wasn’t a planned stop, but we were happy to have walked past. I am not a huge ice cream fan, but I do like their ice cream creations.
Transportation and Luggage
We flew into Philadelphia airport and took a train into the city. It was easy enough, though I was pushing a stroller and rolling a suitcase.
While I packed light, it was January and we needed to bring winter wear. I limited it to 1 medium suitcase and a carry-on bag. The carry-on could be stored under the stroller and doubled as my everyday bag.
I just brought our Uppababy Cruz, which was our regular stroller.
While we had a double stroller, I figured it would be hard enough for me to push the Cruz everywhere. We didn’t attach a board for my daughter to stand on, but she was able to stand on the bar at the bottom of the stroller without a problem. It was a lot easier than pushing a double stroller and she could get on and off as needed.
Thankfully I brought the stroller. We did a lot of walking. While Philadelphia has many trains and buses, I prefer to walk if I can. Philadelphia is stroller-friendly, which is helpful with small kids.
Our Hotel
When I travel alone with my children, I prefer to stay in nicer hotels in a preferred part of the city. I knew we wouldn’t be taking cabs so everything needed to be walkable or close to public transportation.
My favorite website for booking hotels is Hotwire. I can enter the number of stars that I want (4 or 5 when I am alone), and the part of the city that we want to stay in.
My favorite thing about Hotwire is that I do not have to make the final decision! They choose the hotel and it is discounted.
I do research and am usually able to figure out exactly what hotel I am being offered before I decide to book it. My friend wanted to make sure that there were pack-n-plays available for her son so I figured out what hotel it was and called them to make sure that they had what we needed.
I chose to stay near Rittenhouse Square, and we ended up at Sofitel.
Besides having a pack-and-play, my friend had a refrigerator delivered to her room as there wasn’t one there. Sofitel also gave our children drinks and snacks.
The only issue with Hotwire is its lack of a cancellation option for Hot Rate rooms. Do not use Hotwire if there is a chance that you need to cancel or change your reservation.
Philadelphia Airport
I woke the kids up before the sun, got them loaded on the stroller, and pushed the stroller and our suitcase a few blocks to the train.
The train was late, and unfortunately, that was just the beginning of our bad luck for the day.
We finally got to the airport, still with plenty of time, and checked our bag.
The kids were whiny as I had woken them up, and they were acting like I had made them walk to the airport carrying their things.
I bought a giant pretzel, as my son insisted on one, and sat down across from our gate.
That is when I got a text that our flight was canceled.
I won’t go through the headache of finding another flight, getting our bag, and rechecking in-but we now had an entire day to spend at Philadelphia Airport.
Thank goodness, they have a play area. It is not large, but it is cute, and my kids could happily spend hours there.
Of course, the kids and I were ready to say goodbye to Philadelphia, but at least there was a nice place to spend our extra time.
Traveling with Friends
I love traveling with friends, and it is something that I did a lot of before having kids. The friend who went on this trip with us is a friend that I met while traveling and we have been to a few states and countries together. I was traveling with her when I met my husband.
We have a similar traveling style, but of course, everything changes with kids.
We did not do everything together on this trip. My kids are older and can do more. Her child still naps.
For the most part, we met up after breakfast and went to the museums together. She always left early, but we would meet up again for dinner.
The reason that we met up after breakfast was that she was up earlier than us and would take her baby for a walk and pick up a coffee. We needed to sit down and eat, and it was easier for her to go back to the hotel where she could put her child down.
Not only is it fun to be with a friend on vacation, but it is fun for the kids too. They loved having someone else to play with.
Also, having another adult there makes it easier. One of us could run to the bathroom alone or entertain the other’s child for a minute.
Plus, I got to visit with a friend I do not get to see often, and I had adult conversations during a kid-centered trip.
It didn’t matter to us that Philadelphia was closer to one of us. We did not need to meet in the middle. We picked a place that would be fun for all of our children and us. Both of our kids and we recommend Philadelphia.
Books about Philadelphia for Kids
Larry Gets Lost in Philadelphia
My Little Golden Book About Philadelphia
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