What is the best walking tour of Philadelphia?

Getting the Most from a Philly Bus Tour

• Best way to tour Philadelphia with an 8-year-old? My 8-year-old son and I will be spending a long weekend in Philadelphia visiting friends later this month. One day of our visit we'll be on our own while our friends are in school and at work. I thought we might enjoy one of the http://www.phillytour.com/index.php to get an overview of the city. I wonder if anyone has advice about the best way to enjoy this? Places to get off? A great place to have lunch along the way? I think he's a little old for the "Please Touch" museum, and we'll be spending the next day at the Franklin Institute. He is a smart kid interested in everything. He loves adventurous food--last time we were in Philly, he ordered an enormous crab from the tank for his dinner in Chinatown, and ate the whole thing. We may have a vegan friend along with us, so a restaurant with good vegan options within easy walking distance of one of the stops would be great to know about.

• Answer:

  I always love to take people to the http://www.philadelphiasmagicgardens.org/ - a house and lot that have been completely covered in colorful tiles and mirrors and found objects. It's a short walk south of Center City. Disclaimer that the artist does incorporate tasteful nudity into his artwork, so consider your sensibilities and your son's maturity. There's also the http://www.ansp.org/ (near the Franklin Institute) if he's into dinosaurs. And I haven't been here before, but maybe the http://www.phillyseaport.org/, a museum about boats and the sea that includes tours of two historic ships? As far as places to go with your vegan friend, http://vedgerestaurant.com/ is vegan and fancy and amazing and would be my #1 suggestion except that it might be a little too grown-up-tastes for a kid? But if your friend is not from Philly or hasn't been to Vedge before, this place will blow their mind. It's on the eastern side of Center City and not far from the Magic Gardens. http://hipcityveg.com/ skews more toward the fast-food end of the spectrum but is still delicious and is completely vegan. It's on the western side of Center City, close to the Mutter Museum. There are also so many ethnic restaurants and gastropubs with vegan options that it's hard to decide what to recommend. If you post again once your agenda is firmed up - or if you have specific ideas of things you might like to eat - I'm sure several of us can offer more suggestions!