Must-see attractions in Philadelphia

  • Fleisher Art Memorial

    South Philadelphia

    A wide variety of classes and workshops are held at this art school, founded in 1898. Parts of the building are worth a look as it includes the Romanesque…

  • Pennsylvania Convention Center

    Chinatown & Center City East

    Opened in 1993 and expanded in 2011, this massive convention center hosts a busy program of events from the mayor's masked ball and annual horticultural…

  • Bartram's Garden

    Philadelphia

    North America's oldest botanic garden dates back to 1728 when it was founded by Quaker farmer John Bartram. The lovely 45-acre National Historic Landmark,…

  • Comcast Center

    Philadelphia

    This glass-clad 58-story tower is one of the tallest 'green' buildings in the US. It's 140ft-tall atrium lobby is the location of Humanity in Motion, a…

  • Anne & Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Building

    Philadelphia

    U Penn's magnificent library, completed in 1891, is one of the finest examples of the work of Frank Furness – hence it is also known as the Furness…

  • Isaiah Zagar House

    South Philadelphia

    Isaiah Zagar is the artist responsible for scores of mosaic murals made from found objects, discarded bottles, bits of broken ceramic and mirror, that…

  • Physick House

    Philadelphia

    Home to the 'Father of American Surgery,' Philip Syng Physick, this stately house has been well preserved. Physick is credited with inventing the stomach…

  • Woodlands

    Philadelphia

    This National Historic Landmark is a 54-acre cemetery that was once the country seat of William Hamilton, who hailed from a family of wealthy colonial…

  • Mummers Museum

    South Philadelphia

    Learn to tell your Fancy Brigades from your String Bands at this fun museum devoted to the unique tradition of Philadelphia Mummery. Reflecting the many…

  • Washington Square

    Philadelphia

    On the northwest edge of Society Hill, this attractive tree-planted square dates back to William Penn's original city plan. In the center is the Tomb of…

  • Athenaeum of Philadelphia

    Philadelphia

    Free exhibitions are held at this special collections library, occupying a National Historic Landmark brownstone building designed in 1845. Curiously,…

  • Clark Park

    Philadelphia

    Established in 1895, this 9-acre park is named after the former landowner Clarence H Clark, who was the first president of the First National Bank of…

  • Institute of Contemporary Art

    Philadelphia

    Worth a stop if you're in the area, this place usually hosts two exhibits at a time, from retrospectives to themed group shows. An impressive Virgil Marti…

  • Elfreth's Alley

    Philadelphia

    This picturesque, cobblestone lane has been occupied since the 1720s, making it America's oldest residential street. The 32 well-preserved Federal and…

  • Blanche P Levy Park

    Philadelphia

    This green space, ringed by mainly Gothic Revival structures, is dotted with public art including a 1899 bronze of Benjamin Franklin by John Boyle; Split…

  • Franklin Court

    Philadelphia

    This peaceful courtyard, which can be accessed from both Market and Chestnut St, is where Benjamin Franklin's home once stood. The house was demolished in…

  • Race St Pier

    Philadelphia

    In 2011, as part of the masterplan for transforming the central Delaware River waterfront, old municipal pier 11 was converted into this park with…

  • Grumblethorpe

    Philadelphia

    Built in 1744, this colonial stone home exemplifies Germantown's residential architecture of the time. It was constructed for the prominent Wister family…

  • Pride and Progress

    Chinatown & Center City East

    This 2003 mural by Ann Northrup, filling the west wall of the William Way LGBT Community Center, is a tribute to the Gayborhood in which it stands. The…

  • Gershman Y

    Chinatown & Center City East

    This Jewish cultural and community center on the Avenue of the Arts offers a wide range events, workshops and exhibitions. Its origins go back to the late…

  • Benjamin Franklin Bridge

    Philadelphia

    For breathtaking views of the city and Delaware River it's possible to walk or cycle across this 1.8-mile, 800,000-ton suspension bride, which was the…

  • African American Museum in Philadelphia

    Chinatown & Center City East

    Founded in 1976, this was the first museum in the country built by a major city to house exhibitions on the life and work of African Americans. Exhibits…

  • Powel House

    Philadelphia

    This elegant Georgian brick mansion was home to Samuel Powel, a mayor of Philadelphia in the colonial era, thus a focal point of the city's social life in…

  • Manayunk Canal Towpath

    Philadelphia

    In commercial use from 1818 until the early 20th century, the 2-mile towpath along the Manayunk Canal has been revived as part of the Schuylkill River…

  • Franklin Court Printing Museum

    Philadelphia

    These rooms are set up as a recreation of an 18th-century printing press operation similar to that used by Ben Franklin. A costumed park ranger will take…

  • National Museum of American Jewish History

    Philadelphia

    Covering four floors, with lots of multimedia displays and intriguing items such as Iriving Berlin's piano and a Yiddish typewriter, this excellent museum…

  • Mount Pleasant

    Logan Square & Fairmount

    This 1764 mansion was described by John Adams in 1775 'as the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania.' The Georgian building is closed for general maintenance,…

  • Historic Rittenhouse Town

    Philadelphia

    For over 200 years eight generations of the Rittenhouse family lived and worked in this historic village along the Monoshone and Wissahickon Creeks. Tours…

  • Perelman Building

    Logan Square & Fairmount

    This fine art-deco building, a branch of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, houses small galleries devoted to special exhibitions of costumes, textiles,…

  • Historic Strawberry Mansion

    Logan Square & Fairmount

    The largest historic house in the Fairmount Park, Strawberry Mansion features a Federal-style main section built in the 1790s with disproportionately…

  • Fireman's Hall Museum

    Philadelphia

    Learn about everything from fire safety and old fire engines to firefighting techniques and tools at this beautiful museum, housed in a restored 1876…

  • Laurel Hill Cemetery

    Logan Square & Fairmount

    Founded in 1836 this was the first cemetery in the US to be named a National Historic Landmark. Numerous prominent Philadelphians are buried here,…

  • Gloria Dei Church

    South Philadelphia

    Philadelphia's original settlers were Swedish Lutherans and this is the site of one of their first churches, built between 1698 and 1700. It's made of…

  • Cliveden

    Philadelphia

    Home to the prominent Chew family for over 200 years, this 1767 Georgian house and estate was a key location in the Battle of Germantown in 1777. Every…

  • Dream Garden

    Philadelphia

    In the east lobby of the Curtis Center is a masterpiece of American craft: a luminous, wall-size Tiffany mosaic of more than 100,000 pieces of glass…

  • Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion

    Philadelphia

    This stone Victorian Gothic mansion sits in a neighborhood that still looks pretty much as it did in the last half of the 19th century. Inside, the 17…

  • Science History Institute

    Philadelphia

    A must-stop for scientists and young explorers, this museum offers not just a look back at the history of chemicals and the materials made from them, but…

  • Academy of Natural Sciences

    Logan Square & Fairmount

    You'll find plenty of kid-pleasing exhibits at the country's oldest natural-history museum, including a hot and humid butterfly room with live specimens,…

  • Second Bank of the US

    Philadelphia

    Modeled after the Greek Parthenon, this 1824 marble-faced Greek Revival masterpiece now houses a Portrait Gallery. Many of the paintings are by Charles…

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