Philadelphia w/children - what to do & where to eat?
 

We'll be in Philadelphia at the end of this month for a wedding w/our children (ages 4 and 5). We have one dinner open and a couple of lunches. I know dh wants to go to Geno's or Pats for a cheesesteak (let me know if you prefer one over the other) but our plans are up in the air for our other lunch, dinner and plans on how to spend our time during the day. I have been to Philadelphia once before so have a rough idea of what there is, but would love suggestions on things the kids might enjoy as well. They are fairly well traveled and we go out a lot so they know their "restaurant manners" - I'd rather do things unique to the area rather than just kids stuff we can do anywhere. Any suggestions?

Oh, we'll be staying at the Embassy Suites downtown (I heard it may be a bit run down but it was chosen for us due to location & proximity to wedding at Franklin Institute). Let me know if you have any thoughts on the hotel or things nearby it.

I just took my 5 year old nephew to Philly in June. We drove about 15 minutes back into NJ and went to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden (right over the Ben Franklin Bridge). Unbelievable. Just for the hippos and sharks alone! Easy to spend 4 hours there. Also, went to the Philly Zoo. Small and manageable. New 'cat' exhibit is great. Both of these places have websites.

I will try to think of other things to do as well, but I would definitely plan on a trip to Reading Terminal Market late one morning and then you can have lunch there. There are lots of stalls with good things to eat. It's just a really cool, authentic indoor market that is fun to walk around. I think there is a web site if you google it.

The National Constitution Center is open, and they have an interesting 15 or 20 minute movie that I think your kids might enjoy. It's done in the round. If it is a nice day, just walking around that whole historical area can be fun.

The Constitution Center might not be that interesting to 4- and 5-year-olds. Something more accessible would be Once Upon a Nation -- storytellers in period costume are stationed throughout Independence Park talking about historical figures and events.

http://www.gophila.com/C/Your_Philad...tion/1012.html

There's also the Franklin Institute itself:
http://www2.fi.edu/

And the zoo:
http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/

If you're on the other end of town and just feel like sitting with a coffee while your children blow off a some steam, there's a beautiful little playground -- Three Bears Park -- tucked away between 2nd and 3rd on Delancey Street.

A fun place for lunch is Jones, which is a grownup restaurant that happens to have really good macaroni and cheese:
http://www.jones-restaurant.com/

If your kids are into dinosaurs, there's a pretty good dino exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences. And let's not forget the "Please Touch" Museum, specifically designed for young children.

The Once Upon a Nation Tours are fun, but they only run through Labor Day. The Lights of Liberty tour starts at dusk and runs through October. http://tinyurl.com/jfltr
They have a kid-friendly version that I think Whoopie Goldberg narrates.

'Please Touch' Museum. It is right near the Franklin Institute. Very good children's museum.

The Art Museum has a section with a temple, Japanese garden, armor, etc. My kids loved going there for an hour or so when they were that age. I would bring them straight to a section I thought would interest them and just spend an hour or so wandering around. The museum used to be free, or maybe pay what you wish, on Sunday mornings.

I think the Constitution Museum would be too "old" for them. Seeing the Liberty Bell, with the huge crack, might be interesting, if the line isn't too long.

There is a fun pizza place, called Bertucci's or something like that, which has decent pasta and pizza. They used to give the kids a ball of dough to play with while waiting.

We found the nicer restaurants to be not so child-friendly, or maybe they just don't get many children. So, we'd usually opt for more casual meals while in Philly with the kids.