Rocky Steps & Philadelphia Museum of Art

The steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art became famous when Sylvester Stallone sprinted up them in the 1976 film Rocky, and 50 years later, people are still running up the 72 stone steps and raising their fists at the top. It's a cliche, it's touristy, and it's genuinely fun — especially with kids.

The steps face southeast, looking down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (modeled after the Champs-Elysees) toward City Hall. The view from the top is spectacular and the sense of accomplishment after climbing is real, even if you're 4 years old. The Rocky statue — a bronze sculpture of Stallone in boxing stance — sits at the base of the steps on the right side.

There's usually a short line to take photos with it.

The Museum of Art itself is one of the great art museums in the world, with 240,000 works spanning 2,000 years. For families, the highlights include: the arms and armor gallery (real medieval armor, swords, and weapons), the period rooms (fully reconstructed rooms from different eras and cultures, including a Japanese tea house and a medieval stone cloister), and the Impressionist galleries (Monet, Renoir, Cezanne — recognizable even to kids who don't care about art).

The economics work in families' favor: kids under 12 are free. Pay-what-you-wish is available on first Sundays and Friday evenings. And the steps and statue outside are always free. A family can do the full Rocky experience — steps, statue, view — in 30 minutes for $0, or extend into a museum visit for modest cost.