This post is sponsored by Visit Philadelphia. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.
As you may know, I’ve been doing quite a bit of travel lately with my fellow blogger girls. However, I thought it was high time for a family weekend getaway and this time we decided to head to beautiful Philadelphia, PA. As much as I love traveling with my girls, nothing will ever beat vacation with my family! For this getaway, we decided to take the train up to Philly for the weekend. It was so much fun planning this trip, much of which is all thanks to Visit Philadelphia for helping me come up with the perfect itinerary. If you ever plan a trip out to Philly, I one hundred percent recommend using this amazing resource to plan out your trip! We had been to Philly before, but we were able to do so much more this time by planning everything out and finding things to do that we normally wouldn’t have known about. Especially since it was such a short trip, I’m so glad I planned out each day ahead of time.
Day 1
The first day was mostly just a travel day. Since we decided to take the train, it ended up being super quick and painless though. Once we arrived in Philly, we checked into the beautiful Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel. This hotel was so perfect for our stay. The room was big enough for the whole family and was perfectly located right in the middle of everything we wanted to see while we were there. Perfect spot for any tourist to stay!
From there, we went out and grabbed some dinner at El Merkury. Honestly, the restaurants there were probably one of my favorite parts and we started off strong at this place! The food was amazing and served a lot of Central American inspired dishes. The pièce de résistance though had to be the churros!! Oh my goodness, they were so amazing and it wasn’t just a churro! It was a churro served in ice cream!! Absolutely delicious.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we stopped by the Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest. Usually during the winter, they have this huge ice skating rink and winter festival. However, over the years they’ve turned it into a summer festival as well and transformed it into a roller rink for the warm weather! Not only that, but they had a ton of vendors, carnival games and a whole arcade center. The kids absolutely schooled me on the roller rink, too. You would’ve thought these kids skated every day of their lives! No idea where they learned that from, but they were such naturals!
It was the perfect way to kickstart our weekend.
Day 2
The next day we crammed in as much fun as we could. We started by heading off to Independence Hall to the Independence National Historical Park. We got to see the Liberty Bell, the President’s House, the site where they signed the Declaration of Independence and all the historical exhibits. We are such huge history buffs in my family, so getting to see all the amazing history that’s there was so breathtaking. They do such an incredible job at preserving everything to where it actually feels like you’re being transported back in time. It’s incredible.
We then grabbed some food at Wilder and, oh my goodness, this place had the most delicious espresso martini I think I’ve ever had! Again, just so delicious and had an incredible atmosphere. I feel like it would be the perfect place to bring a group of girls to for brunch.
Afterwards, we headed to the Franklin Institute to see Harry Potter: The Exhibition. This was so magical and definitely a must see for any Harry Potter fans out there. This exhibit was mostly focused on the incredible artistry and craftsmanship that went into the different costumes, props, environments and sets, etc. It was so interesting to get such an immersive and in depth look at the making of the incredible franchise.
We then hopped over to Franklin Square, which was once one of William Penn’s original five squares and is now a beautiful family park with all kinds of amazing things to do for the whole family. We got to relax for a while and enjoy the gorgeous fountain and incredible landscapes. The entire grounds looked like it came from a painting! Of course we didn’t stay sitting for long though and got right back to playing some mini golf and riding the most picturesque carousel I’ve ever seen.
We definitely built up an appetite after all that, so we then went over to Kalaya Thai Kitchen. If you ever get the chance to go there, you have to get their crab fried rice! Oh my goodness, it was so good you guys and not that spicy. This place definitely had an affinity for spice and most of their dishes were pretty intense when it came to heat level. So, be sure to request mild spice if you’re like me and don’t do spice very well.
With our bellies nice and full we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap for me and my husband and a night swim for the kids in the hotel’s indoor pool. It was the perfect way to end the day!
Day 3
The next day we woke up, said goodbye to beautiful Philly and headed back home. This trip was so special to me. Getting to take a moment and prioritize quality time with my family means the world to me. We can all get so busy, but now that school is out, I’m so glad we get to spend more time all together. Again, huge thank you to Visit Philadelphia for helping me plan our trip and making everything so easy! For real though you guys, if you ever travel to Philly, please use this resource! It is so incredibly helpful for planning everything out and making sure you get the most out of your trip, whether it’s a weekend getaway like ours or a longer stay. I absolutely love sharing these travels with you guys and I hope this can help for any of your future travel plans.
Reader Interactions