John L. is one of the best tour guides out there. He is someone who is truly passionate about…read morehistory and geography and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. If you would like to learn more about Philadelphia and surrounding areas while also getting some exercise and making new friends, I can not recommend his tours highly enough!.

John was a fantastic guide! We did the History @ Night tour, and his storytelling really made this…read moretour. As Philly natives, we knew a lot of the smaller facts. To be able to hear and see these facts in a complete story was very valuable. In addition to his immense history knowledge, John's wit and humor made this experience extraordinary! I'd highly recommend his tours to others and I will likely be returning for more.

This historic mansion sits on the edge of Fairmount Park and contains a piece of Philadelphia's…read morelong history. The site itself if maintained by caretakers who ensure both historical accuracy and that the grounds are beautifully maintained. The south lawn contains a children's orchard planted by the East Park Revitalization Alliance in partnership with the Philadelphia Orchard Project and is filled with berry bushes, fruit and nut trees, and more. The tours are well worth the time as the mansion has been carefully restored to mimic colonial times and contains a large amount of period furniture. This place is a gem!

For its reputation and that of Fairmount Park, Woodford Mansion is located in an unsettling area…read morethat is largely slum-like for want of a better description. I walked in the wrong direction initially and it was very unsettling. I finally got to Woodford and had a personal tour (I was the only one there, so we didn't wait to start on the hour). The tour guide was very knowledgable. The more he told me, however, the more concerned I became for the protection and conservation of this priceless collection. I'm not sure what security or conservation protections are in place, but I hope they're good. This is a very historic home - Ben Franklin likely visited his friend, William Coleman, who helped him found UPenn among other major projects, here. Coleman was a Quaker and happy to let Franklin take all the credit. I definitely learned a lot and it was nice seeing all the period furniture. The house is very well done.

Was expecting a tour of the historical city... got a lecture on Adams and Jefferson. It was slow -…read moreand disappointing. We had to ask questions to get the guide back on track. Finally gave the tour guide a tip just to stop the pain and went and explored on our own. Such a waste of time and money. As a travel agent I will not recommend this company.

Had such a wonderful time getting a tour with David! The weather played no factor what so ever,…read moredespite the frosty air, David took us on a great walking tour! We started out at the Independence visiting center, and walked throughout the old city! David gave us a great insight and look into way things were of our founding fathers! One of the best things of the tour was going into Christ Church and sitting in the the very bench the Gen. George Washington (1st president) sat in! This tour was fantastic, and David is very knowledgeable of his history! He answers your questions and is very patient! Would recommend this tour over and over again

Lois picked us up at our hotel in old town and started off on a historical tour of the old city…read more We had great information and comfortable walking then rode air conditioned vehicle thru some Philly neighborhoods and to the Rocky steps. She even recommended dinner places and the best Philly cheesesteak at Campo's near our hotel. Very reasonable and Well worth the price for a personalized private tour. Highly recommend Lois Linden. Thanks again- Connie and Robert

Lois was great! She grew up in Philly and is clearly passionate about the history. I've lived here…read morefor a year and was never interested in the history as it seemed boring. It wasn't boring at all!!! I took my mother thinking she would be the one to like it, but we both loved it. Lois was casual and had great stories. He knowledge was vast enough that she was able to answer all the random questions my mother and I came up with along the way. (and we had many) She was also willing to stop along the way wherever we wanted to take pictures or go in a building. My mother asked Lois if she would be willing to do a churches/places of worship tour when my dad comes to visit next time with her. In the pleasant way that is Lois she did not hesitate to say "well, of course!" This takes the stress off of me having to think of things to do that my parents will enjoy when they visit. She is so full of great stories and knowledge of Philly's history that I would love to go again to see more attractions.

What an absolute hoot! This tour is fun, the guide is funny, and I learned so much more than I ever…read morethought! I would recommend this tour to anyone, for sure. I guess he's a teacher now, so when we booked on a weekday, he was at school. Rather than blowing us off and sending us to another tour group, he quickly made a plan and met us after school. Great tour! Great time!

Such an amazing experience with Chris. He's very funny, knowledgeable, entertaining, professional,…read morepunctual and a real expert in his trade. I highly doubt you will be able to find someone of his caliber and knowledge/experience in Philadelphia. He has a Masters degree and undergrad in history. We walked away from our tour hungry for more and it felt like we traveled back in time and personally met Benjamin Franklin. Chris is also very good with kids. He was able to make historical figures come to life. Highly recommend connecting with this guy if he's available.

This was a wonderful day in the sun for The Strawberry Festival here at The Strawberry Mansion…read moreHouse in beautiful Fairmount Park. There was so much to do and see. We were entertained by the lovely Vessna Scheff. She sang originals and pop favorites with her beautifully unique flair. Check her out here https://www.vessnascheff.com/. The children played with the Kids yes they had young goats to pet. LOL...A creative artist offered free face painting for the children and they loved it. There were a lot of donated treats made of strawberries and strawberry combinations. Most of all there were lots of free strawberries to eat there or take home with you. There are a lot of things to see here in this part of the park. The grounds are lovely and the flowers are beautiful, the Mansion is magnificent! During the festival there was a free tour of The Strawberry Mansion House. The narration of history was very interesting and delivered with a colorful flair by the wonderful Ty. He spoke of so many Philadelphia 1st's, truly fascinating. I hope this festival continues to grow as I will make sure to be time next year.

What an exceptional house and tour. The tour guide was wonderful. He was so educated on the house…read moreand Philadelphia history. The house and content were gorgeous. Price is low. The Fairmount park is beautiful. Tour are hourly starting at 10am Thursday to Sunday. $5 for seniors. There are gardens to see in the spring. Highly recommended visiting.

Every once in a while you drive past a place so many times that it almost becomes part of the…read morescenery. That was the Turkey Hill Experience for me. I'd driven past it countless times over the last few years but either didn't have enough time to stop or couldn't convince anyone else to stop with me. During my Lancaster Adventure Day, though, all of that changed. I purchased a Single Scoop ticket online ahead of time for $16.75 and reserved the very first time slot of the day at 10am. I figured a late-summer Thursday morning would be the sweet spot, and it turned out to be a great decision. It was busy enough that the place felt lively but not so crowded that I had to wait for every exhibit. Parking was plentiful, and I somehow managed to snag a spot right in front of the GIANT cow out front. Honestly, my day was already off to a fantastic start! The only hiccup of the visit came during check-in. Even though I'd already purchased my ticket online, I still had to wait in the same line as everyone buying gift shop items, purchasing admission and asking questions. Since there were only a two employees working both the registers and admissions, the line moved a little slower than I expected. If I could change one thing, it would be creating a separate express check-in line for folks who already have tickets. Once I finally made it inside, though, everything became easy peasy! The exhibits are completely self-guided, so you can wander at your own pace learning how Turkey Hill makes its ice cream and iced tea while playing with interactive displays along the way. One of my favorite parts was creating my own virtual ice cream flavor, complete with custom packaging. I also wanted to film my own Turkey Hill commercial, but those stations stayed busy the entire time I was there, so that'll have to wait until another visit. Naturally, I made a beeline for the tea sampling station. As someone who appreciates sugar-free options, I was thrilled to find both Zero Sugar Sweet Tea and Zero Sugar Fruit Punch available to sample. Both were fantastic! Then it was time for the part we'd all been waiting for...unlimited ice cream samples. One thing I really appreciated is that they weren't tiny little "blink and it's gone" samples. You picked two flavors, and they served actual scoops in a bowl. For an attraction centered around ice cream, that felt exactly right. My only tiny complaint? Wooden popsicle sticks instead of spoons. They definitely got the job done, but they made eating melting ice cream a little more awkward than it needed to be. Still...free and unlimited ice cream? I'm not about to complain too loudly! I spent about an hour wandering through the exhibits, playing with the interactive displays and enjoying the air conditioning on a hot August morning before making one final stop in the gift shop. Prices there were about what you'd expect for a tourist attraction, but there were plenty of fun souvenirs if you're looking to bring a little Turkey Hill home with you. Overall, I'd absolutely recommend visiting the Turkey Hill Experience at least once. I don't know that it's somewhere I'd return over and over again, but it was a fun, interactive way to spend an hour learning something new, eating entirely acceptable quantities of free ice cream and escaping the August heat. That sounds like a pretty successful adventure day to me!

Turkey Hill Experience was a fun stop for our family! We visited with three kids, and everyone…read morefound something to enjoy. The interactive exhibits were engaging, and the kids loved learning how ice cream is made and creating their own virtual flavors. The highlight was definitely sampling the different ice cream flavors and making our own ice cream creations.

WHAT A BLAST. We came here for my birthday kind of ironically because online we saw reels saying it…read morewas the "weirdest museum ever," and thought it would be kind of funny/maybe even creepy. Little did we know it was actually FASCINATING; it was so fun to admire every last piece in the museum. The tram guide was great, the pre-recorded audio is helpful and interesting, and the collection is so varied and extensive that you can't help but love it. The pipe organs - fabulous. The walkable "toy box" collection was great after the tram. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone - it was soooo fun.

What a fun thing to do! We didn't know what to expect and want to say we all really enjoyed the…read moreexperience! Admission was reasonable and enjoyed the self-guided part while waiting for the next tram departure time. There was everything you could imagine - except one thing! A TELEX MACHINE (which I used to operate). When I asked the staff if they had one none of them even knew what I was talking about (early 20's)! We took the tram tour and really enjoyed it. The tram moved at a nice pace so you could really take in everything. So much to see - everywhere. It was a really fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day! But I urge you to visit rain or shine!

I went for an event not a tour. It's sad when you at one point in life lived so close to such an…read morehistorical gem and had no idea this beauty existed. But maturity can drive a lot if change. I've always been a history buff but now I look for more things that peak my interest locally. On a search for 'mansions in Philadelphia' this mansion as many others in the area have interesting events. This event was unusual, view a movie in the Parlor. I didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed myself. As for the portion of the house I could see, it was impressive. A house with lots good sized of rooms. Each room displayed pre and civil war era decor, As per the time heavy, dark and opulent. I found the staff inviting and edifying. I will ensure I visit again for other events and possibly the book club.

I saw a very reasonably priced tour for 4 people on Groupon and purchased it for myself and…read morefriends. While certainly a mansion, the home was much smaller than I was expecting. Our tour included 10 rooms: parlor, dining area, kitchen, library, mother's day room, mother's bed room, husband's bedroom, husband's bathroom, children's room, and billiards room. I've toured other family homes including the Ford Family estate in Grosse Pointe, MI (60 rooms) so I think I had different expectations.That's my own fault though for not researching more about the home. Note: you are unable to take photos inside the house, although this seems to be common practice when touring family homes. The house itself was an interesting piece of history and our tour guide was incredibly informed. Great quality, 5 stars. The reason the overall score is so low is because of my experience with the Executive Director. Very poor, 0 stars. I second Celic's comments of interacting with someone rude. My friends and I were waiting for her to process my Groupon payment, so I asked a couple of questions about the family while we waited at the bottom of the stairs. When Joan was in the middle of explaining, the director (who was in another room) snapped at me and said, "If you'd actually give Joan a chance to explain, she'll get to what you're wondering about. So hold your questions until the end." It is like she mistook asking a question as an insult to the quality of the tour instead of interest and excitement in what Joan was talking about. In case you're reading this- a more gracious way to handle this would be: 1) Explaining before the tour begins to hold questions until the end. 2) A reminder to come from THE TOUR GUIDE using language such as "That's a great question. And we're going to talk about that more when we enter the children's room. So let me know if you have any more unanswered questions about the family at that time." They have some interesting events that happen throughout the year - and I'm contemplating attending - but frankly the thought of having a possible negative interaction (again) with the director might be enough to keep me from spending more money here.

I came here as part of a 52 Firsts event, and it ended up being such a peaceful afternoon. This is…read moreone of those places that feels like you've stumbled onto a hidden piece of Philadelphia. It was raining when we visited, and somehow that made it even prettier. The whole property has this quiet, historic charm to it. There's a little creek running through the grounds, a cute stone bridge, and beautiful trees all around. It honestly felt like stepping out of the city for a while. I could absolutely see myself living in an area like this. It is a little tricky to find. You drive down a long driveway, and it's easy to wonder if you're going the right way, but keep going because it's worth it. The historic buildings are very well maintained, and the volunteers were friendly and happy to answer questions. One thing I learned was that the kitchen in one of the houses is one of the largest surviving colonial kitchens in the area, and they still use it for historic cooking demonstrations. I thought that was a really cool detail. This isn't a huge attraction where you'll spend an entire day, but that's part of its charm. It's small, quiet, and full of history without feeling crowded or rushed. Overall, it's a lovely little hidden gem. If you're already in the area or enjoy local history, it's absolutely worth stopping by.

If you love history and nature, this is your spot! Inside Wissahickon Valley Park along the trail…read moreis a 17th century paper mill village with well-preserved structures. Take time to read the signs outside each house to learn its history!