Franklin Institute
Battleship (across the river in NJ)
Penn Museum
Drexel natural history museum
Seaport museum (submarine)
Tour the mint (see coins made)
Independence Hall (may need reservations)

Why no EZ Pass? Seems odd.

Anonymous wrote:Get the EZ Pass. Such a simple thing that makes a huge difference in time saved and overall ease of travel.

Agree with this but in the case of Philly - consider the train instead - you seem a little turned off by potential traffic

As far as hotels, you said at least 3 stars - the four seasons is nice and walking distance to lots

Agree on Redding Terminal for fun food. Maybe a Phillies game? We stayed at Aloft and had a good experience.

Franklin Institute is a must for kids that age. So pencil that in for one day and they could definitely spend the entire day there.

Stay at any chain hotel where you can get a good rate. We've stayed at the Sheraton by the LOVE statue and the Doubletree by the Academy of Music (seeing a show there). Both fine. Rittenhouse Square is a great location if you can find a decently priced hotel there.

1 day for Independence Hall (rangers give brief tours, might have to sign up in advance), Liberty Bell, and something else historic (we did the Revolutionary War Museum, not great but there was a scavenger hunt that they enjoyed).

Reading Terminal for at least one meal. My kids like the giant pancakes. They don't eat cheesesteaks (blasphemy!) so we skip the trip to Geno's/Pat's and all that tourist nonsense.