A very fun way to spend a few hours. The walking tour was entertaining, and the exhibits afterwards were well put together. Not to mention all the excellent opportunities to take reference photos for any artists out there.
Had a great time. Very educational, and a little bit creepy. I wish they were open later and allowed overnight stays in what may be one of the most haunted buildings on the east coast.
One of the highlights of our family trip to Philadelphia. The audio tour describe the fascinating history of this once state of the art prison. HIghly recommend this place for all ages.
I've been there for the Terror behind the walls night before Halloween, and it has been a terrorific and funny experience... I'll definitely be back next year...
It was most certainly heartfelt, overwhelming and provided a different point of view from the "other side"
Weren't going to come but glad we did, it is really great set up with the audio guide leading you through and then just being able to wander and catch other stories. Highly recommend
Impressive looking place with a lot of history. Well worth a visit.
One of my favorite experiences of all time. Listen to the audio tour! I never would have if a friend hadn t suggested it. It makes all the difference. Narrator = Steve Buscemi. Enough said.
We had a great time touring this penitentiary. Lots of information and a great learning experience. Some areas are in disrepair due to age but still very interesting. I'd go again
Great place to spend a few hours. Hard to get photos and if you're into ghost hunting it's hard to get any peace to get a feel for the place. Very touristy but definitely interesting.
Really great exhibits about the old penitentiary that connect historical topics to contemporary issues like race and sexuality in prisons
Great historical place with an excellent audio guided tours. Make sure you dress appropriately during spring and fall season, it can be cold inside.
Simply Awesome!! We love that the audio tour was narrated by Steve Buscemi!!
Follow the real Al Capone's Cell #easternstatepennitentiary #iczzcreamPhilly @ Eastern State Penitentiary
I think it's an knowledgeable place and we don't miss the chance to see very artist interpretation. Also it's the best place for children's rt to make them aware. The place was really eye-catching and make our mood awesome.
A must see during Halloween for the Terror Behind the Walls. They're always improving it and it's good for a few scares or a few laughs at how scared others are.
Took the VIP tour here for Terror Behind the Walls haunted house. Had an amazing time and well worth the expense! You get to skip the line (which was extremely long) any have a behind scene tour of the jail. Opted in to be touched or taken from the tour and they did not disappoint. Was taken three times! Put into a dentist chair once while a demented dentist terrorized me. Taken into a contamination area and grabbed a few times while walking through exhibits. The behind the scenes history tour we took prior to the haunted house was amazing and highly recommended! Spent time at the Speakeasy afterwards and enjoyed a drink. The souvenir shop is very small and was extremely congested. So much so, I turned around and left because of it. They have food vendors at the end that are meh and overpriced. I don t recommend them. Wish I lived closer so I could do this every year!
Cool place to check out during your Philly visit. Make sure to check out Al Capone's cell
This old and panoptic prison in Philadelphia is today an attraction for dark tourism.
We took my Daughter for her Birthday and had so much fun! I would deff recommend this place for anyone that loves to be scared or just loves scary stuff! Terror behind the walls was awsome but the end museum space they have for the prison is amazing can t wait to do there day time tour
I learned so much about the prison system,, both past and present going here. It was so interesting to see how that prison changed the American system forever.
Excellent place to visit! Staff is very friendly and helpful! The prices are really not bad to get in. Kids under 6 are free which is very fair. The kids also get to participate in a scavenger hunt and get to earn a prize at the end. All the staff members were very knowledgeable. It is a huge place tons of information so make sure you have enough time to go through it. I took my kids 4 and 6 and they loved it. It was a lot of walking and it is cold so make sure you have jacket if you go in the winter. Really is an Interesting place a lot of fun to visit!
Quite possibly one of the coolest places I've ever visited. So much history even though surrounded with so much sadness. You could literally feel the coldness of this place in your bones.
Also you can have amazing photo opportunities in here and spend a entire day roaming through this place.
It's my 2nd time visiting ESP and every time I visit Philly I'll come back here.
The grounds themselves are somewhat derelict, although they've done a good job trying to make the visited areas better. The whole tour took me a little over an hour. I've also been for the haunted night near halloween which wasn't that exciting. I found the tour more interesting than the evening visit since all you can do at night is go on the pre-determiend route
We went here for Halloween even it was amazing this place is haunted I witnessed as shadow figure on one of the photos which I took. Place is legendary especially with Al Capone doing his time there and getting the baseball games in the courtyard. Very Erie place perfect for ghost tours or just history buffs. Going inside is like taking a trip back in time. Check out our philly trip on YouTube under Erick and Ourbacks
Fascinating. Take 2-3 hours to thoroughly explore this place, and definitely do the guided tour if you can and also explore the different exhibitions by yourself
Pretty neat place. Lots of great history. I hope to come back during the fall and try to do some haunted tours. Tour guides were very nice and knowledgeable. Kids running around were little brats but who am I to judge. I ll definitely be back. Glad they saved this place.
This was my first self guided tour and I really enjoyed that you could go at your own pace in addition to choosing the abbreviated tour (about 35 min total) or walk the entire 10 acres (about 2 hours).
There's a lot to see: Al Capone's cell, restored wards and beautiful artist installations.
I wouldn't consider this place kid friendly; not because it's dangerous or anything, but there isn't much to keep little ones entertained for an extended period of time and there is a lot of walking.
Overall, consider putting this on your "Things to Do" list when visiting Philly.
Great facility. I loved the tour and found it fascinating. I really enjoyed it and liked how the tour is self guided, that was really a great touch.
I wish they would just post the audio so you could use your own headphones instead of having to use there headphones. They seem very clean but just wearing headphones that others have worn is just a little odd to me.
Really great place to check out, the audio tour is well worth it ( if you can't make the daily 2pm tour)
Great place, and if you time it right you can be the only ones there. Guided tour with the audio was great and if you book online you get two bucks of each admission. Also look online e for a promo code and got an additional 5 bucks off per ticket making it 9 dollars each!
Really interesting place to visit, and a great audio tour is included in the ticket. The exhibition also explores the current state of the US prison system, which was quite thought evoking.
Worth. It is a different experience. One of the first penitentiaries in the country.
One of the historical site in Philadelphia. Lots of dark stories behind it.
Family friendly & also eerie at the same time.
I really recommend this place if you ever visiting Philadelphia
Very cool to walk the halls of the previous inmates and even enter their cells. The tour is on a recording device, so it allows you to go at your own pace. This prison is a maze, so you ll be here for an hour or so!
Self guided audio tour with many exhibits and air conditioned areas. Very cool and creepy!
easternstate.org