A BYOB Halloween Trolley Rolls Past Franklin's Grave
A decorated trolley loops Old City and Center City for about 90 minutes of evening stories, with your own beer or wine aboard.
City Sightseeing decorates a trolley for Halloween and runs it out of Old City on fall evenings. A guide tells the stories, the ride comes with trivia and games, and the drinks are whatever beer or wine you carry on.
The ticket covers the ride and the guide. Drinks are yours to bring. A shared trolley carries up to 43 riders, and one booking can hold up to 30 of them.
Halloween Trolley Tour "Terror Beyond the Walls"Shared Halloween trolley with a guide · about 90 minutes · BYOB, beer and wine onlywww.viator.comFranklin's Grave, Seen Through the Fence
The stop list includes a cemetery story at Benjamin Franklin's grave, in Christ Church Burial Ground at 5th and Arch Streets. The church says Franklin lies there with his wife Deborah and two of their children, in a family plot at the northwest corner, and that four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried on the same two acres.
The burial ground closes at 5:00 PM, and every departure leaves after that. What a trolley can see is the wall and the metal fence at that corner, where the church says admirers toss pennies onto the Franklin plot.
Washington Square and Eastern State's Walls
Washington Square is on the list too. The National Park Service counts a burial ground among the square's past uses, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution stands inside it, designed by G. Edwin Brumbaugh in the 1950s.
The route reaches well past Old City. City Hall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Eastern State Penitentiary all appear on the list. Every site on the list is marked as a drive-by, and Eastern State comes with no admission and no time inside. Going into the prison is a separate visit.
Expect More History Than Scares
The operator promises ghostly tales and a few secret spots where everyone steps off the trolley. Travelers describe something gentler. Of the five reviews on the listing, three say the night leaned toward city history, and one put it plainly: "Not a true ghost tour but fun nonetheless." That reviewer counted two small walking portions, while another wrote that the promised surprise stops never came.
Book it as a decorated night out with a guide and your own drinks, and treat any scares as a bonus. The operator's own advice is to dress warm for the times the group leaves the trolley.
Beer and Wine Only, Nothing in Glass
BYOB here means beer and wine, and the operator's booking notes add seltzer to that list. Hard liquor is not allowed on board, and neither is anything in a glass container. A compact cooler that rests on your lap is fine. Coolers cannot sit in the aisle on a public tour, and the operator asks riders to take their trash with them at the end.
The route has no restroom stops. The operator says restrooms at the Bourse may be open before the tour, depending on the hour.
📍 Meet in front of the Bourse Building on its 5th Street side, at 21 S 5th Street. Find the City Sightseeing agent to redeem the ticket, then line up to board.
- Arrive 15 minutes before departure, as the operator asks. Seats are first come, first served, and groups who want to sit together should come earlier.
- As of October 20, 2026, the calendar showed Thursday, Friday and Saturday departures at 6:00, 6:30, 8:00 and 8:30 PM through October 31, with a few of those slots already unavailable.
- The listing sells child tickets for ages 4 to 6 and adult tickets from 11. The operator's own page prices children 4 to 12 and adults 13 and up, so ask the operator how to book a 7 to 10 year old before you pay.
- Wheelchair users should call the operator when booking to secure one of its lift-equipped trolleys.
- This booking refunds in full up to 24 hours before departure, and the tour can be cancelled for bad weather or too few riders. Tickets sold directly by the operator are non-refundable.
- Parking is not included. The operator points drivers to the garage at 400 Ranstead Street.
Then it is a decorated trolley, your own drinks and Old City sliding past the windows.