2 Days in Philadelphia: Top Sites to See
Every summer we go back to Philadelphia to visit family. My husband grew up outside the city, so we’ve been visiting there ever since I met him. Now that our kids are getting older, we decided it was time to show them the sites of the city. Listed below are the top sites to see in Philadelphia in 2 days:
*I recommend the Frommer’s guidebook ‘Philadelphia Day by Day’. It’s an itinerary based guidebook and give all the highlights of the city.
Independence Hall
Take a guided tour of where the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. I reserved tickets in advance on the National Parks website. Tickets must be picked up at least an hour in advance of the tour time. You can go the visitor center the day of and try to get tickets without a reservation. I recommend reserving in advance so you can pick the time you want. Tours are 20-30 minutes long.
Liberty Bell
View the bell that rang in the tower of Independence Hall and learn the history behind it. The Liberty Bell is housed in glass building across from Independence Hall. Admission is free.
Love Park
Located in Center City, Philadelphia, Love Park is known for its iconic Love sculpture designed by Robert Indiana. This park is the perfect place for photo ops. Full of fountains and seating, it’s also a great place to relax and let the kids run around.
One Liberty Observation Deck
Being one of the tallest buildings in Philly, we spent quite a bit of time here taking in the views. Tables were scattered throughout the observation deck with board games set up to play – like SORRY & CandyLand. Our kids enjoyed spending some time playing games. We purchased tickets online with timed entry.
*As of September 2020, One Liberty suspended operations indefinitely due to a decrease in visitors due to COVID-19. Check back as this was a nice place to visit.*
Reading Terminal
Not to be missed…Reading Terminal is a HUGE market selling meats, cheeses, seafood, spices, donuts, fresh cut flowers, restaurants and more all under one roof. As one of the oldest and largest markets, you could spend hours here exploring & of course, eating!
Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Although we didn’t have enough time to visit the museums galleries of art, we did come to climb the steps and recreate the famous scene where Rocky was filmed (side note…seeing that my husband is originally from Philadelphia and I am from Chicago, we had to walk in to the Rocky theme at our wedding). Once at the top, we took in the views of the city.
At the bottom of the stairs to the right, is the statue of Rocky Balboa from the movies. Getting a picture with the Rocky statue is must do – but be prepared to wait in line!
Society Hill
As the oldest residential neighborhood in Philadelphia (and the most expensive!), Society Hill has most of the original 18-19th century buildings in the United States. The architecture, cobblestone streets and brick sidewalks take you back in time and give this area so much charm.
Although we saw many things on our trip, there’s so many more sites to see in Philadelphia. I know we will be back, maybe next time!