The Philadelphia art museum is fantastic and the Barnes foundation (do a guided tour) is extremely unique and worth doing. Look into the various old school Italian restaurants in Philly (it blows away ANYTHING in DC)- Victor cafe, Vetri's, Dante & Luigi's....bring cash to pay, some still don't take credit cards.

thank you all for your help and advice - sounds great!

Anonymous wrote:If you stay in the Rittenhouse Square area you'll find lots of restaurants and shops within a short walking distance. Independence Hall, Reading Terminal Market, and the art museum are nearby, as well. They may not be walkable for the grandparent with mobility issues, but they are a short cab or uber ride away.

Just adding that we have stayed at The Rittenhouse, The Ritz, and the Sofitel around Rittenhouse Square. All are comfortable and well located. If you want a splurge, the new Four Seasons is absolutely fantastic . . . but it's not quite as conveniently located as the others. It's just a matter of a few blocks, but that could make a big difference for someone who can't walk a lot.

If you stay in the Rittenhouse Square area you'll find lots of restaurants and shops within a short walking distance. Independence Hall, Reading Terminal Market, and the art museum are nearby, as well. They may not be walkable for the grandparent with mobility issues, but they are a short cab or uber ride away.

We did this last spring with grandparents (one with limited mobility) and kids exactly those ages.

We stayed near the Liberty Bell/Independence Hall, so we could walk to those places. We also visited the Penn Museum & the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For both of those, we parked onsite/nearby to minimize walking. The museums had benches, etc that my mom used when she needed a break from walking.

My kids are history nerds, so they enjoyed what we did. If we’d had more time, we might have added the Franklin Institute, US Mint, Betsy Ross House, and/or the seaport museum. Mutter Museum is cool, but not for everyone.

Reading Terminal market for a meal & shopping. Plenty of seating.

Eastern State penitentiary is amazing but probably wouldn't work for the grandparents.

There are some bus tours that might work.

Drexel University Natural Science something.

Ben Franklin institute

To be clear you can easily ealk and take public transit in center city/old city to the interesting stuff. Also there is the philly phlash bus which is like the dc connector buses for the touristic things. But if you have elderly people a five minute cab may be preferable to walking 20 min.

Philly is a great idea! All the interesting things are super walkable. You can also all take the train to get there. It may help to
Have one car to shuttle people around but philly driving can be challenging and you might as well take cabs around.

It does get very hot and humid but may will be okay.

I've been trying to come up with a location for a long weekend (maybe Memorial Day?) trip for my family (parents plus kids ages 10 and 14) to meet up with a grandparent. We need it to be driving distance between MoCo, MD and Rockland County outside NYC. The grandparent has some mobility issues, so I don't think that walking all day is going to be possible and we certainly couldn't go to a resort and go hiking. I was thinking - maybe Philadelphia? There are museums and things that would interest all, and if we get a hotel close to the main sights, it might minimize walking. I'd appreciate any ideas on - things to do with this mix (tween, teen, grandparent) and ways to make it accessible for the grandparent (who really would just like to spend time with the grandkids but has asked to do a special trip away that does not involve flying), and also hotels that you'd recommend.

And if you have an idea of somewhere else to go other than Philly, let me know too.

Thank you...