Philadelphia is a great place to visit. Plenty of attractions, sightseeing tours, and more; there’s so much to see and do. A great way to save money (after you find a hotel for your big family) is to buy an attraction discount pass. The Philadelphia Pass from GO City Card or CityPASS Philadelphia (disclosure: we’re affiliates of both) are great ways to save on your next vacation. But which one is the best for your family? Both offer great discounts to local attractions.
The Philadelphia Pass
This pass offers admission with their All-Inclusive Pass to 35 top attractions and states you’ll save up to 45%. Passes are available for 1, 2, 3 or 5-days. Passes are good for consecutive calendar days. If you don’t think you’ll get in that many attractions during your visit, you can buy an Explorer Pass and pick 3, 4, 5 attractions at one low price which can save you up to 40% vs. paying at the gate. A third option is to Build Your Own Pass. This a great option if you’re going to visit for an extended time as the pass is valid for 30 days after your first attraction visit. This option will help you save 20%.
CityPASS Philadelphia
This pass offers admission to your choice of 3, 4, or 5 top 12 attractions. A CityPASS is valid for 9 consecutive days starting with the first day of use, so there’s no need to rush through each attraction. This is a good option if you have other plans for your visit that don’t include sight-seeing.
| Attraction | Philadelphia Pass |
CityPASS Philadelphia |
| Academy of Natural Science | ü? | ü |
| Adventure Aquarium | ü | ü |
| African American Museum | ü | |
| American Helicopter Museum & Education Center | ü | |
| Barnes Foundation | ü | ü |
| Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial | ü | ü |
| Betsy Ross House | ü | |
| Big Bus Philadelphia – Hop-on Hop-off Tours | ü | ü |
| Blue Cross RiverRink | ü | |
| Brandywine River Museum of Art | ü | |
| Christ Church Burial Ground | ü | |
| City Hall Tower & Observation Deck | ü | |
| Eastern State Penitentiary | ü | ü |
| Franklin Footsteps Walking Tour | ü | |
| Franklin Institute Science Museum | ü | |
| Ghost Tour of Philadelphia | ü | |
| Grim Philly Twilight Tours | ü | |
| Independence Seaport Museum | ü | |
| Independence Tour | ü | |
| Italian Market Immersion Tour | ü | |
| LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia | ü | |
| Longwood Gardens | ü | |
| Mural Arts Philadelphia Walking Tours | ü | |
| Museum of the American Revolution | ü | ü |
| Mutter Museum | ü | |
| National Constitution Center | ü | ü |
| National Liberty Museum | ü | |
| National Museum of American Jewish History | ü | |
| One Liberty Observation Deck | ü | ü |
| Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts | ü | |
| Philadelphia History Museum | ü | |
| Philadelphia Museum of Art | ü | |
| Philadelphia Zoo | ü | ü |
| Please Touch Museum | ü | |
| RiverLink Ferry | ü | |
| Rodin Museum | ü | |
| The Franklin Institute | ü | |
| The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum | ü | |
| University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology | ü | ü |
We’ve compiled the above attraction chart to help you decide which pass is best for your family.
If your goal is to see as much as possible, we recommend getting an All-Inclusive Philadelphia Pass. If you’re short on time, we recommend the Explorer Pass or CityPass. For those who have newly moved to the area, we recommend Building Your Own Pass to see the attractions at your leisure. For families with younger kids, we recommend the Philadelphia Pass as it has more child-friendly attractions. That being said, we recommend you look at both sites and explore each option to see what’s best for your family and budget.
Comparison
Here’s an example below where CityPass wins price-wise slightly over the Philadelphia pass Explorer option and largely over the Build Your Own Pass option for 5 popular attractions.
Or for about the same gate price as the above example, you could buy a 5 –day Philadelphia All-Inclusive Pass.
No matter what option you pick, when planning a trip to Philadelphia, these discount cards are a great way to save money on attractions. Plus at many locations, you’ll be able to skip the lines since you already have your tickets. If you’re traveling with another big family or if you have a large family of 10 or more, be sure to get a group travel quote from the Philadelphia Pass.
Review
| The Philadelphia Pass | CityPASS Philadelphia |
| All-Inclusive Pass
• 35+ top attractions • 1, 2, 3, or 5-Day cards. • Save up to 45% vs. paying at the gate. |
• Choose 3, 4, or 5 top attractions
• Valid for 9 consecutive days starting with the first day of use. |
| Explorer Pass
• 3, 4, 5, or 7 attractions at one low price. • Save up to 40% vs. paying at the gate. |
|
| Build Your Own Pass
• Pick your own attractions • Pass is valid for 30 days after your first attraction visit. • Save 20% vs. paying at the gate. |
When you buy online at citypass.com, you receive an email right away that will give you access to a printable ticket and a mobile ticket for each traveler—you choose which to use. That’s it—no shipping fees, no waiting for delivery. It’s convenient and fast. |
Have you used a savings pass in Philadelphia? Which one did you use? What are your tips? How many attractions do you think you could visit with a 5-Day All-Inclusive Philadelphia Pass?
