8 Best Sights in Penn's Landing, Philadelphia

This high-tech, hands-on science education center is the home of "Shark Realm," a 550,000-gallon tank stretching two stories high and thick with sharks, stingrays, and sawfish. The daring can "swim with the sharks" by snorkeling along the tank's perimeter under the careful supervision of aquarium staff. In the "Hippo Haven" hippopotamuses cohabit with birds, crocodiles, and porcupines. There are also daily "animal experiences," penguin feedings, live animal talks, and "4-D" theater presentations, in which the 3-D on-screen action is choreographed to motion in the theater's seats. To get here, drive or take the ferry from Penn's Landing.

Located adjacent to the Adventure Aquarium on the Camden waterfront, this delightful 4-acre garden is an interactive horticultural playground with theme exhibits. You can smell, hear, touch, and even taste some of the elements in the Dinosaur, Cityscapes, Picnic, and Storybook exhibits, as well as in the gardens and the Butterfly House. Other attractions include Amaze, Carousel, Train Ride, Tree House, and more. To get here, drive or take the ferry from Penn's Landing.

Philadelphia's maritime museum houses many nautical artifacts, figureheads, and ship models, as well as interactive exhibits that convey just what the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers have meant to the city's fortunes over the years. You can climb in the gray, cold, wooden bunks used in steerage; unload cargo from giant container ships with a miniature crane; or even try your hand at designing your own boat. Enter the museum by passing under the three-story replica of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and be sure to check out the Ship Model Shack, where members of the Philadelphia Ship Model Society Society put together scale-model ships in front of visitors' eyes. Admission to the museum includes the USS Becunia and USS Olympia.

The first in a planned series of pocket parks along the Delaware River, this green space offers dramatic views of the adjacent Ben Franklin Bridge and allows you to get up-close views of the river itself. Designed by the same firm behind New York's popular High Line, the two-level promenade features lush plantings, including some three dozen trees and many perennials, as well as amphitheater-style seating near the river's edge and plenty of benches and green lawns for relaxing and free yoga classes (BYO mat) daily during the summer months.

You can tour this 307-foot-long "guppy class" submarine, which was commissioned in 1944 and conducted search-and-destroy missions in the South Pacific. The guides—some of whom are World War II vets—tell amazing stories of what life was like for a crew of 88 men, at sea for months at a time, in these claustrophobic quarters. Then you can step through the narrow walkways, climb the ladders, and glimpse the torpedoes in their firing chambers. Children love it, and it's fascinating for adults, too. Tickets must be purchased at the Independence Seaport Museum and include admission to the museum and the USS Olympia.

Commodore George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila in the Spanish-American War is the only remaining ship from that war. Dewey entered Manila Harbor after midnight on May 1, 1898. At 5:40 am he told his captain, "You may fire when ready, Gridley," and the battle began. By 12:30 the Americans had destroyed the entire Spanish fleet. The Olympia was the last ship of the "New Navy" of the 1880s and 1890s, the beginning of the era of steel ships. You can tour the entire restored ship, including the officers' staterooms, galley, gun batteries, and pilothouse, while "behind the scenes" tours are offered the first Saturday of the month from April through November. Tickets must be purchased at the Independence Seaport Museum and include admission to the USS Becuna and the museum.