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30th St Station
Whether you're catching a train or not, be sure to pop your head into the romantic, neoclassical 30th St Station while you're in the 'hood. Flooded with sunlight during the afternoon, it's positively ethereal.
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Adventure Aquarium
Just across the Delaware River in otherwise missable Camden, NJ, is the excellent Adventure Aquarium, featuring globally themed creature exhibits like the West African River Experience, Penguin Island, a coral station of colorful Caribbean fish, a shark tank and an archway where you can pass under schools of fish. To get there, just hop on the RiverLink Ferry (www.riverlinkferry.org) which runs hourly from Penn's Landing.
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African American Museum in Philadelphia
Between Chinatown and Independence Park is the African American Museum in Philadelphia, housed in a foreboding concrete building but containing excellent collections on African American history and culture.
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Barnes Foundation Gallery
The Barnes Foundation Gallery houses an exceptionally fine collection of impressionist, post-impressionist and early French modern paintings, including works by Cézanne, Degas, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Renoir and Van Gogh.
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Betsy Ross House
Near Elfreth's Alley, the Betsy Ross House is where it is believed that Betsy Griscom Ross (1752−1836), upholsterer and seamstress, may have sewn the first US flag.
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Chinese Friendship Gate
A decorative arch built in 1984 as a joint project between Philadelphia and its Chinese sister city, Tianjin, the multicolored, four-story gate is Chinatown's most conspicuous landmark. The fourth-largest Chinatown in the USA, Philly's version has existed since the 1860s. Chinese immigrants who built America's transcontinental railroads started out west and worked their way here.
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City Hall
The majestic City Hall, completed in 1901, stands 548 feet tall in Penn Square. It's the world's tallest masonry construction without a steel frame, and it's topped by a 27-ton bronze statue of William Penn. Just below that is an observation deck, where you can get a bird's eye view of the city.
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Clay Studio
The cool Clay Studio exhibits staid as well as oddball works in ceramic; it's been in Old City since 1974 and is partially responsible for the development of the area's burgeoning gallery scene.
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Cliveden of the National Trust
An odd mix of blight and preserved grandeur, the Germantown historic district - a good 20-minute drive or ride north on the SEPTA 23 from central downtown Philly - has a handful of tiny museums and notable homes worth checking out. Cliveden of the National Trust was the summer home of wealthy Benjamin Chew, built in 1760 and used as a de facto stronghold during the Battle of Germantown during the Revolutionary War in 1777.
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Elfreth's Alley
The tiny, cobblestone Elfreth's Alley is believed to be the oldest continuously occupied street in the USA. Its 32 well-preserved brick row houses are still inhabited with real live Philadelphians, so be considerate as you stroll along.
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Elfreth's Alley Museum
Be sure to stop into Elfreth's Alley Museum which was built in 1755 by blacksmith and alley namesake Jeremiah Elfreth; it's been restored and furnished to its 1790 appearance.
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Fairmount Park
The snaking Schuylkill River bisects this 9,200-acre greenspace − bigger than New York's Central Park and, in fact, the largest city park in the country. From the earliest days of spring every corner is thrumming with activity − ball games, runners, picnickers, you name it. The enthusiasm is catchy and you'll certainly want to join them. Runners will love the tree-lined, riverside trails, which range from 2 miles to 10 miles in length.
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Franklin Institute Science Museum
The Franklin Institute Science Museum is where hands-on science displays were pioneered; a highlight is the Ben Franklin exhibit. Downstairs in Fels Planetarium, laser rock shows feature the standard Pink Floyd-type sounds. The Mandell Futures Center highlights computers, health issues and environmental problems.
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Independence Hall
The 'birthplace of American government,' where delegates from the 13 colonies met to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. An excellent example of Georgian architecture, it sports understated lines that reveal Philadelphia's Quaker heritage. Behind Independence Hall is the spiffy Independence Square, where the Declaration of Independence was first read in public.
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Independence National Historic Park
This L-shaped park, along with Old City, has been dubbed 'America's most historic square mile.' Once the backbone of the United States government, it has become the backbone of Philadelphia's tourist trade. Stroll around and you'll see storied buildings in which the seeds for the Revolutionary War were planted and the US government came into bloom.
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Independence Seaport Museum
Along the Penn's Landing riverfront area is the Independence Seaport Museum, which highlights Philadelphia's role as an immigration hub; its shipyard closed in 1995 after 200 years. Check out the submarine.
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Institute of Contemporary Art
ON the campus of U Penn, the heralded Institute of Contemporary Art is an excellent place to catch fresh shows by folks making a big splash at the cutting-edge of the art world.
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Italian Market
The country's largest outdoor market, it's where butchers and artisans hawk produce and cheese, homemade pastas, incredible pastries and freshly slaughtered fish and meats, from lamb to pheasant. A great time to experience it in all its glory is in mid-May, for the annual Sorrento Cheese Ninth Street Italian Market Festival (www.9thstreetitalian marketfestival.com).
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Liberty Bell Center
Liberty Bell Center is Philadelphia's top tourist attraction. The 2080lb bronze bell, made in London's East End by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1751, was commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Charter of Privileges (Pennsylvania's constitution enacted in 1701 by William Penn). The bell's inscription, from Leviticus 25:10, reads: 'Proclaim liberty through all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof.'
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Mummers Museum
The Mummers Museum is fully devoted to celebrating the tradition of disguise and masquerade. It has an integral role in the famed Mummers Parade, which takes place here in Philadelphia every New Year's Day.
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National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center, right next to the visitor center, makes the United States Constitution sexy and interesting for a general audience through theater-in-the-round reenactments. There are exhibits including interactive voting booths and Signer's Hall, which contains lifelike bronze statues of the signers in action.
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National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery, in the old Second Bank of the US building has many paintings by Charles Willson Peale, America's top portraitist at the time of the American Revolution.
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Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania has many fine museums. One of the most interesting is the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, a prestigious Philadelphia academy that has a museum with works by American painters, including Charles Willson Peale and Thomas Eakins. The museum lives in an oddball Victorian building designed by Frank Furness.
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Philadelphia Museum of Art
Modelled after the Champs Elysées in Paris, the parkway is a centre of museums and other landmarks, of which the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a highlight. It's one of the nation's largest and most important museums, with excellent collections of Asian art, Renaissance masterpieces, post-impressionist works and modern pieces by Picasso, Duchamp and Matisse.
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Philadelphia Zoo
Within Fairmount Park's borders is the Philadelphia Zoo, the country's oldest, which has tigers, pumas, polar bears - you name it - in naturalistic habitats.
