Rittenhouse Square is a very simple but really beautiful little open space in the middle of the action. Fairmount Park is a whole system that takes up something like a tenth of the geographic area of the city. Under the circumstances I’d definitely say you should do some part of Kelly Drive. It doesn’t look like much will be going on at Penn’s Landing, so you can miss that. Water Works is interesting, though, but should be in the next category.
You’ve got the Magic Gardens, which some people go nutty for. I think it’s kind of cool but I like the little bits and pieces you see throughout the city better than the actual “gallery.” Worth seeing, though.
There’s also Mural Art tours, which are cool because you get to choose the focus. The love letter one is fun, but maybe you’d want to do one of the walking tours instead. I recommend one of these.
The Eastern State Penitentiary has a cool tour which I suspect might be up your alley; I leave it up to you to decide whether it’s right for the occasion. Likewise the Mutter Museum.
Depending on when this is happening, the Barnes is famous for a reason. It opens/reopens May 12. There’s also a good Van Gogh exhibit at the Museum of Art. Admittedly I haven’t been to many art museums to make a good comparison, but I’ve never been disappointed or bored by Philly’s in a dozen or so trips. The Franklin Institute is really cool but it does skew a little toward kid stuff.
Narrow it down for me. Interesting how? My favorite stuff to eat is in Chinatown, but there are some really swanky joints, dives, fantastic burger pub types, at least two spectacular Mexican places… As far as I’m concerned food is a major selling point but I don’t think giving you thirty names will help you.
At some point, though, wander into a Capogiro and just do what you feel.
There is the whole historical angle, you know, which I won’t even get into. But like the Liberty Bell is there. So there’s that.
You definitely need to go to Reading Terminal Market and walk around a little bit. That is super datey but gets back to food. There’s a Poe House if that’s your style. Since it’s a weekend, you can walk through the Italian Market on 9th. That’s food again.