Falling in Love with the City of Brotherly Love

We traveled to the City of Brotherly Love for a short weekend away and fell in love with the streets of Philadelphia. All the excitement, change, and some difficult times in Philly—there is one consistency: everyone loves Philly. We try to make at least one drive a year to enjoy the ambiance, culture, and vibe.

This year we stayed overnight and visited the Philadelphia Zoo and Adventure Aquarium across the water in Camden, New Jersey. The drive from the Bronx is relatively quick so even a one-day adventure would have been feasible, but we decided to soak up as much of the city as possible—especially the food—so we stayed overnight.

There are various routes to get to Philly from New York City and we used our new favorite app, Waze, to find the fastest route. Waze uses real-time traffic data crowdsourced from other drivers. If you can get past the ad and alert overload, you definitely reap the benefits of finding the quickest route to your destination.

We arrived at the Adventure Aquarium with tickets in hand to take advantage of the summer discount. Check their website before heading out to see if you qualify for any rotating offers. Plan to be at the aquarium for at least three hours to enjoy the highlights—we took our time strolling through most of the exhibitions. Our top three Adventure Aquarium favorites:

Sharks

Hands down the most popular stop. We even touched bamboo sharks at the Touch-A-Shark exhibit. The Shark Tunnel let us get nose-to-nose with Sand Tiger, Sandbar, and Nurse sharks, and the #mysharkselfie spots added interactive fun.

Pop-Up Exhibit at the KidZone

The kids spent most of their time popping up into the tanks from below and discovering creatures from an “inside the aquarium” view.

Penguin Island

No visit is complete without African penguins. While they waddled and splashed, we read about their endangered status and how commercial fishing harms their fragile ecosystem.

The aquarium closes at 5 p.m., just in time for a Philly cheesesteak. We don’t usually eat red meat, but we always make the exception for the real deal. This time we went to Sonny’s—pricier than some, but worth it.

After Sonny’s we walked over to Spruce Street Harbor Park, a beautifully orchestrated mix of play spaces for both children and adults. At night it’s bustling yet relaxed: kids build with giant blocks or play giant chess while adults lounge in hammocks and sample beer from approved vendors floating on the barges.

The next morning we headed to Green Eggs Cafe for breakfast. Expect a wait (about 30 minutes) and come armed with snacks or games. Once seated, the kids happily devoured pancakes until they argued over the final bites.

Our last stop was the Philadelphia Zoo, the oldest in the country. The zoo pairs animal encounters with a strong conservation message—reminding visitors how daily choices impact wildlife. Besides interactive play spaces, they spotlight ways to help protect ecosystems.

Amur Tigers

We found the tigers at Big Cat Falls. Amur tigers are endangered due to habitat loss and poaching. Watching them run through overhead tunnels left everyone awestruck.

Animal Grooming at the Children’s Zoo

The kids learned how to gently groom barnyard animals with brushes provided by staff—absolute highlight.

Polar Bear

One of my favorites was visiting the polar bear enclosure. Seeing them swim reminded us of the fragility of wildlife, especially as climate change melts their arctic homes. Polar bears are listed as vulnerable, and their future depends on what we do today.

Our drive back to New York City was short, traffic-free, and quiet—both munchkins were fast asleep before we hit the highway. We’re already plotting our next return to Philly to explore even more of what the city has to offer.