Philadelphia is a walking city that most visitors only half explore. They see the Liberty Bell, eat a cheesesteak and leave, missing the Parkway’s museums, one of the country’s largest urban park systems, a riverfront that fills with hammocks in summer, and neighborhoods where the city actually lives. This list of the best things to do in Philadelphia covers 75 of them beyond the historic core, each with whether it’s free, the walk or SEPTA ride from City Hall, and who it suits.
Quick answer: Spend your first day on the historic sites around Independence Mall, then give a full day to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes, the Rodin Museum and the Franklin Institute) and an evening to Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail. Add Eastern State Penitentiary, the Magic Gardens and Rittenhouse Square, then pick one neighborhood, such as Fishtown, East Passyunk or Chestnut Hill, to see the city off the tour-bus loop.
Last updated September 25, 2026. Hours, prices and closures were checked on September 24, 2026 against each museum’s website, the National Park Service and the Philadelphia Visitor Center.
- Check closed days first: the Barnes and PAFA close Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the Rodin Museum Tuesday to Thursday, and the Academy of Natural Sciences now opens only Friday to Sunday. The Franklin Institute is open daily.
- This fall: Eastern State’s Halloween Nights runs on select nights from October 2 to November 7, the Please Touch Museum throws a free 50th-birthday weekend on October 3 and 4, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art opens a Marcel Duchamp exhibition on October 10.
- Closed now: the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site is shut for a utilities project, and the One Liberty Observation Deck closed for good in 2020.
- Getting around: SEPTA Metro renamed its lines in 2025 (the L and the B), and you can tap a contactless card or phone to ride.
On this page: At a glance | The Parkway | Center City | Parks and gardens | University City | South Philly and sports | The waterfront | Neighborhoods | Seasons and events | By interest | Getting around | What’s changed | FAQ
Two parts of the city have guides of their own. The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Museum of the American Revolution and the rest of Independence Mall and Old City make up the historic core, and Reading Terminal Market, the Italian Market, cheesesteaks and the city’s restaurants and bars make up the food scene. Longwood Gardens and Valley Forge sit in the countryside just outside the city. Everything below is the rest of Philadelphia.
Things to Do in Philadelphia by Area
Center City is compact: City Hall sits at Broad and Market, the Parkway runs northwest to the art museum, and the Delaware waterfront is a 30-minute walk east. Walking times below are from City Hall along city streets.
| Area | What’s there | From City Hall | Picks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Fairmount | Art museums, science museums, Eastern State, Boathouse Row | 10 to 35 minutes on foot | 1-12 | Art, families, history |
| Center City | City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, Chinatown, South Street, the arts district | 2 to 25 minutes on foot | 13-31 | First-timers, couples |
| Parks and gardens | The zoo, Fairmount Park, the Wissahickon, Bartram’s Garden | Ride-share, trolley or Regional Rail | 32-41 | Families, outdoors |
| University City | Penn Museum, ICA, Penn’s campus | 35 minutes on foot or SEPTA Metro L | 42-45 | History, art |
| South Philadelphia | The stadiums, East Passyunk Avenue | SEPTA Metro B | 46-49 | Sports fans |
| Delaware River waterfront | Piers, seasonal parks, the Seaport Museum | 30 minutes on foot | 50-55 | Families, couples |
| Neighborhoods beyond Center City | Fishtown, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, Germantown | SEPTA Metro L or Regional Rail | 56-65 | Repeat visitors, food lovers |
| Seasons and events | Flower Show, Mummers, holiday lights, summer festivals | Mostly Center City | 66-75 | Planning around dates |
Within each area, the strongest picks come first. Every entry opens with its cost, best season and nearest stop, and closes with the practical details and who will get the most out of it.
The Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Fairmount (1-12)
The Parkway is Philadelphia’s museum mile, a diagonal boulevard modeled on the Champs-Élysées that runs from City Hall to the art museum’s steps. Plan a full day, and check closed days: several museums here shut early in the week.
1. Philadelphia Museum of Art
Paid; year-round; a 30-minute walk from City Hall. One of the country’s great encyclopedic museums, with medieval armor, a full Indian temple hall, a Japanese teahouse and one of the world’s best Duchamp collections. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers runs through October 11, 2026, and a major Marcel Duchamp exhibition opens October 10. Friday nights bring DJs and live music to the galleries. (A 2025 rebrand was dropped in February 2026, so the old name stands.)
Plan it: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Check philamuseum.org for hours and pay-what-you-wish times before you go. Allow 3 hours at least. Best for: art lovers, couples.
2. The Rocky Steps and the Rocky statue
Free; any time; at the art museum’s east entrance. Run the 72 steps, throw your arms up at the top, then join the line for a photo with the bronze Rocky statue at the bottom. Early morning is the time to get the steps without a crowd, and the view back down the Parkway to City Hall is the real reward.
Plan it: The museum’s east entrance, facing Eakins Oval at the top of the Parkway. Allow 20 minutes. Best for: first-timers, families.
3. The Barnes Foundation
Paid, timed tickets; year-round; a 17-minute walk from City Hall. Albert Barnes hung his Renoirs, Cézannes, Matisses and Picassos wall to wall among iron hinges and folk art, and the museum keeps every arrangement exactly as he left it. Nothing else in American art looks like it. Tickets are good for two consecutive days, according to the Barnes, so you can split a visit.
Plan it: 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Open Thursday to Monday; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Guided tours run at 11:30am and 1:30pm. Allow 2 hours. Best for: art lovers, couples.
4. The Rodin Museum
Paid; year-round; a 19-minute walk from City Hall. A small Beaux-Arts museum and garden, opened in 1929, with The Thinker at the gate and one of the largest Rodin collections outside Paris. It’s quiet, beautiful and takes under an hour, which makes it the perfect warm-up for the big museum up the road.
Plan it: 2151 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Open Friday to Monday, 10am to 5pm, as of September 2026; closed Tuesday to Thursday. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: couples, art lovers.
5. The Franklin Institute
Paid; year-round; about a 15-minute walk from City Hall. Philadelphia’s big hands-on science museum, where generations of kids have walked through the Giant Heart and stood under the Baldwin steam locomotive. The rotunda holds the marble Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, and the planetarium shows are worth adding to the ticket.
Plan it: 222 N. 20th Street. Open daily 9:30am to 5pm, with holiday closures. Weekends and school holidays are busiest. Allow 3 hours. Best for: families, rainy days.
6. Academy of Natural Sciences
Paid; Friday to Sunday only; an 11-minute walk from City Hall. The oldest natural science research institution in the Americas has a dinosaur hall with a towering Tyrannosaurus, dioramas and a live butterfly room that small children love. It opens only three days a week, so plan around them.
Plan it: 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 19th Street. Open Friday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm; adults $22, children 2 to 12 $18, as of September 2026, and $2 less online. Allow 2 hours. Best for: families.
7. Parkway Central Library
Free; year-round; a 15-minute walk from City Hall. The Free Library’s grand main branch has a Rare Book Department where you can see cuneiform tablets, medieval manuscripts and Charles Dickens’s stuffed pet raven, Grip, the bird that inspired Poe. Ask at the desk about tours.
Plan it: 1901 Vine Street, on Logan Square. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: the curious, rainy days.
8. Logan Square and the Swann Memorial Fountain
Free; best in summer; an 11-minute walk from City Hall. Alexander Stirling Calder’s bronze figures of the city’s three rivers lounge in the middle of the circle, and on hot days children wade in the spray. It’s the natural lunch stop between the Parkway museums.
Plan it: Logan Circle, 19th Street and the Parkway. Allow 20 minutes. Best for: families, couples.
9. Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Free; year-round; about a 10-minute walk from City Hall. The mother church of Philadelphia’s Catholics is an 1864 copper-domed basilica built with high windows, supposedly to protect it from anti-Catholic rioters. Step in for the dome and the quiet, and be respectful during Mass.
Plan it: 18th Street and the Parkway, on Logan Square. Allow 20 minutes. Best for: architecture.
10. Eastern State Penitentiary
Paid; year-round; a 29-minute walk from City Hall. The 1829 prison that pioneered solitary confinement is now a cracked, cavernous ruin with Al Capone’s comfortable cell restored inside and a sharp exhibit on American prisons today. Halloween Nights, with five haunted houses, runs on select nights from October 2 to November 7, 2026, with timed entry every half hour.
Plan it: 2027 Fairmount Avenue. Buy Halloween Nights tickets in advance. Allow 2 hours by day. Best for: history, adults.
11. Fairmount Water Works
Free; spring to fall; a 34-minute walk from City Hall. The Greek Revival pavilions below the art museum pumped the city’s water from the Schuylkill in the 1800s, and today they hold an interpretive center and one of the best photo spots in the city, with the river, the dam and Boathouse Row beyond.
Plan it: 640 Waterworks Drive, behind the art museum. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: couples, photographers.
12. Boathouse Row and Kelly Drive
Free; spring to fall, lit year-round at night; a 35-minute walk from City Hall. The Victorian boathouses of the city’s rowing clubs line the Schuylkill, their outlines picked out in lights after dark. Walk or bike Kelly Drive at sunrise, when the crews launch, or come back after dinner for the lights on the water.
Plan it: Kelly Drive, north of the Water Works. Indego bike-share docks sit near the art museum. Allow an hour. Best for: couples, outdoors.
Center City (13-31)
Center City runs from the Delaware to the Schuylkill between Vine and South Streets, and nearly everything in it is walkable from City Hall. Stay here if it’s your first visit.
13. City Hall and the tower observation deck
Tours paid; year-round, weekdays; Broad and Market. The largest municipal building in the country, finished in 1901, was once the tallest building in the world, and an unwritten rule kept anything from rising above William Penn’s hat until 1987. The tower tour takes a small elevator up to an observation deck just below the statue.
Plan it: Book the City Hall Tower Tour or Building Tour through the Philadelphia Visitor Center; tower spots are limited. Allow an hour. Best for: first-timers, architecture.
14. LOVE Park
Free; year-round; a 4-minute walk from City Hall. Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture sits at the head of the Parkway, and the line for a photo moves quickly. From November 21 to December 27, 2026, the park fills with the stalls of Christmas Village.
Plan it: 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The Philadelphia Visitor Center has a desk here. Allow 15 minutes. Best for: first-timers, couples.
15. Dilworth Park
Free, rink paid; year-round; beside City Hall. City Hall’s west plaza has a fountain kids run through in summer and a skating rink in winter, plus a cafe and a spot to sit and watch the city go by. It’s also the entrance to the SEPTA concourse below.
Plan it: 1 S. 15th Street. Allow 30 minutes. Best for: families.
16. The Masonic Temple
Paid tours; year-round; a 2-minute walk from City Hall. Across from City Hall, the Freemasons’ 1873 temple hides seven lodge halls decorated in Egyptian, Gothic, Moorish and other styles, each more over the top than the last. It’s one of the most surprising interiors in the city.
Plan it: 1 N. Broad Street. Check pamasonictemple.org for tour days and times. Allow an hour. Best for: architecture, the curious.
17. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Paid; year-round; a 4-minute walk from City Hall. The country’s first art school and museum, in a riotous 1876 Frank Furness building, with American painting from Charles Willson Peale to the present. Admission is $25 for adults and $10 for students, as of September 2026, and the museum lists Friday evenings from 5 to 8pm as free.
Plan it: 118 N. Broad Street. Open Thursday to Monday, 10am to 5pm, and to 8pm on Fridays; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: art lovers.
18. The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Free; year-round; a 5-minute walk from City Hall. A working studio and museum where invited artists make ambitious new work in fabric and every other material, shown on open gallery floors. The exhibitions change, so it rewards a quick look whenever you’re passing on Arch Street.
Plan it: 1214 Arch Street. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. Best for: art lovers.
19. The Wanamaker Building’s Grand Court
Free; year-round, best in December; a 3-minute walk from City Hall. The old department store’s marble atrium holds the bronze Wanamaker Eagle, a classic meeting spot, and the huge Wanamaker Organ. Organ concerts are suspended while the building is redeveloped, but the holiday Light Show returned in 2025 under the Philadelphia Visitor Center, so check its 2026 dates.
Plan it: 1300 Market Street. Allow 20 minutes, longer for the Light Show. Best for: families at Christmas.
20. African American Museum in Philadelphia
Paid; year-round; a 14-minute walk from City Hall. Founded in 1976 as the first museum of its kind built by a major American city, it tells the story of Black Philadelphians from the founding era onward, with changing exhibitions upstairs. It adds voices that the older sites a few blocks east often leave out.
Plan it: 701 Arch Street. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: history.
21. Chinatown and the Friendship Gate
Free; year-round; a 10-minute walk from City Hall. The painted Friendship Gate over 10th Street, built in 1984 with artisans from Tianjin, marks one of the oldest Chinatowns in the country. Wander the bakeries, tea shops and grocery stores, and come hungry.
Plan it: 10th and Arch Streets. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: food lovers, families.
22. Franklin Square
Free, rides paid; spring to fall, plus holiday lights; an 18-minute walk from City Hall. One of William Penn’s five original squares is now a family park with a carousel, a Philadelphia-themed mini golf course and a fountain. Its holiday festival brings an electrical light show in winter.
Plan it: 6th and Race Streets. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families.
23. Rittenhouse Square
Free; year-round; a 12-minute walk from City Hall. The city’s most elegant square, ringed by cafes and old apartment buildings, is where Philadelphians read, sunbathe and people-watch. Grab a coffee on Walnut Street and claim a bench; there’s no better way to feel like a local in 20 minutes.
Plan it: Walnut Street between 18th and 19th. Allow 30 minutes. Best for: couples.
24. The Rosenbach
Paid; year-round; about a 15-minute walk from City Hall. Two book-dealing brothers filled a Delancey Place townhouse with rare books and manuscripts, including James Joyce’s handwritten Ulysses and Bram Stoker’s notes for Dracula. The guided tour is the way to see it, and it’s a treat for readers.
Plan it: 2008-2010 Delancey Place. Guided tours cost $20 ($13 seniors, $10 students and ages 12 to 17) and self-guided visits $15, as of September 2026. Allow an hour. Best for: book lovers.
25. Mütter Museum
Paid; year-round; a 15-minute walk from City Hall. The College of Physicians’ collection of skulls, preserved specimens and medical oddities is the city’s most memorable hour for the unsqueamish. Photography is banned in the galleries, and the museum adopted formal policies on displaying human remains in 2025.
Plan it: 19 S. 22nd Street. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours. Best for: adults, the curious.
26. Schuylkill Banks and the boardwalk
Free; year-round; a 26-minute walk from City Hall. The Schuylkill River Trail’s Center City stretch includes a boardwalk built out over the river, with skyline views that are hard to beat. Walk it at sunset, then follow the trail north to the art museum.
Plan it: Enter at Locust Street or the South Street Bridge. Allow an hour. Best for: couples, outdoors.
27. Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
Paid, timed tickets; year-round; an 18-minute walk from City Hall. Artist Isaiah Zagar covered half a block in mirror shards, bottles, tile and bicycle wheels, and you wander through it like a sculpture you’re standing inside. Afterward, look for his mosaics on buildings up and down South Street for free.
Plan it: 1020 South Street. Weekend slots sell out. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: art lovers, couples.
28. South Street
Free; year-round, best in the evening; a 20-minute walk from City Hall. The city’s old counterculture strip still has tattoo shops, record stores and music venues among the chain stores, and it comes alive after dark. Walk it east from 10th Street toward the river.
Plan it: South Street from 10th to Front Street. Allow an hour or two. Best for: couples, night owls.
29. The Gayborhood and Midtown Village
Free; year-round; a 10-minute walk from City Hall. Rainbow street signs mark one of the country’s best-known LGBTQ+ neighborhoods, around 12th and 13th Streets south of Chestnut, and Midtown Village’s bars and restaurants fill its blocks on weekend nights.
Plan it: 13th Street between Chestnut and Locust. Allow an evening. Best for: couples, night owls.
30. The Avenue of the Arts
Tickets paid; fall to spring for most seasons; an 8-minute walk from City Hall. South Broad Street is the city’s performing arts spine, with the Kimmel Cultural Campus, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the 1857 Academy of Music, the country’s oldest opera house still used for its original purpose. Book a concert or the ballet and dress up a little.
Plan it: Broad Street at Spruce. Allow an evening. Best for: couples, adults.
31. Mural Arts tours
Murals free, tours paid; spring to fall; citywide. Philadelphia has thousands of murals, many made through the city’s Mural Arts program, and they turn ordinary walls in every neighborhood into galleries. A guided walking, trolley or train tour explains what you’re looking at.
Plan it: Book through Mural Arts Philadelphia, or look for murals on your own around Center City and South Philly. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: art lovers, repeat visitors.
Parks and Gardens (32-41)
Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon together make one of the largest urban park systems in the country, and they’re where the city goes to breathe. Most of these are a ride from Center City, not a walk.
32. Philadelphia Zoo
Paid; spring to fall; West Fairmount Park, 2.5 miles from City Hall. America’s first zoo, chartered in 1859, is compact enough to cover in a morning. Its Zoo360 trails send big cats, primates and lemurs through mesh tunnels above the paths, so the animals move around you instead of just sitting behind glass.
Plan it: 3400 W. Girard Avenue. Take a taxi or ride-share from Center City; parking is paid on site. Allow half a day. Best for: families.
33. Please Touch Museum
Paid; year-round; Memorial Hall, West Fairmount Park. The best museum in the city for children under 7, set inside Memorial Hall from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, with a restored carousel and play zones built at kid height. It turns 50 this year, and its free birthday weekend on October 3 and 4, 2026 brings live performances.
Plan it: 4231 Avenue of the Republic. Drive or ride-share; the free weekend will be crowded. Allow 3 hours. Best for: families with young kids.
34. Shofuso Japanese House and Garden
Paid; spring to fall; West Fairmount Park. A 17th-century-style Japanese house built in Japan, shown in New York in the 1950s and moved to Fairmount Park, with a pond garden that’s at its best in cherry blossom season. It’s small and serene; take your shoes off and slow down.
Plan it: Lansdowne Drive and Horticultural Drive. Check the season’s opening days before you go. Allow an hour. Best for: couples, gardeners.
35. Smith Memorial Playground
Free; spring to fall; East Fairmount Park. A beloved old playground and playhouse whose star is a giant wooden slide wide enough for a whole family to ride together. It has delighted Philadelphia kids for more than a century, and it costs nothing.
Plan it: 3500 Reservoir Drive. Drive or ride-share. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families.
36. Belmont Plateau
Free; year-round, best at sunset; West Fairmount Park. A high meadow in the park with the best long view of the skyline, beloved by locals for picnics and quiet sunsets. Bring a blanket and something to drink.
Plan it: Belmont Mansion Drive. Allow an hour. Best for: couples, photographers.
37. Fairmount Park’s historic houses
Paid tours; spring to fall; East and West Fairmount Park. Colonial and Federal-era country houses such as Lemon Hill, Mount Pleasant and Strawberry Mansion survive inside the park, where wealthy Philadelphians once summered above the Schuylkill. Their open days are limited, so check before you go.
Plan it: The houses are scattered along the river drives. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: history, architecture.
38. Laurel Hill Cemetery
Free to walk, tours paid; spring to fall; East Falls. A Victorian garden cemetery high above the Schuylkill, full of elaborate monuments and the graves of General George Meade, the victor at Gettysburg, and Declaration signer Thomas McKean. Guided and themed tours, including ones around Halloween, bring the stories out.
Plan it: 3822 Ridge Avenue. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: history, the curious.
39. Wissahickon Valley Park and Forbidden Drive
Free; year-round, best in October; Northwest Philadelphia. A wooded gorge inside the city limits, with Forbidden Drive, a gravel road closed to cars, running along the creek for miles. Walk or bike to the Valley Green Inn and look for the Thomas Mill covered bridge, a rare sight inside a big American city.
Plan it: Enter at Valley Green Road or Northwestern Avenue. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: outdoors, families.
40. Bartram’s Garden
Free; year-round; Southwest Philadelphia. The 18th-century home and garden of botanist John Bartram, on the tidal Schuylkill, with old trees, a riverside trail and free kayaking and boating on some summer days. It’s one of the city’s most peaceful places and still little known to visitors.
Plan it: 5400 Lindbergh Boulevard. SEPTA trolley T5 (formerly Route 36) stops nearby. Open free every day, sunrise to sunset. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: gardeners, couples.
41. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
Free; year-round, best in spring and fall migration; near the airport. The country’s first urban wildlife refuge protects the largest freshwater tidal marsh left in Pennsylvania, with flat trails and boardwalks where herons, egrets and migrating ducks feed beside the jets landing at PHL.
Plan it: 8601 Lindbergh Boulevard. Allow 2 hours. Best for: birders, outdoors.
University City (42-45)
West of the Schuylkill, the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel fill a neighborhood with museums, leafy walks and cheap eats. SEPTA Metro’s L stops at 34th Street, and Regional Rail stops at University City station.
42. Penn Museum
Paid; year-round; a 36-minute walk from City Hall. One of the great archaeology museums in the world, with a 12-ton granite sphinx, mummies, and treasures from the royal tombs of Ur. Give the Egyptian and Mesopotamian galleries most of your time.
Plan it: 3260 South Street, next to Regional Rail’s University City station. Check hours before you go. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: history, families.
43. Institute of Contemporary Art
Free; year-round; a 35-minute walk from City Hall. Penn’s contemporary art space gave Andy Warhol his first museum show and still takes risks. Admission is always free, and after an installation break it reopens on September 26, 2026, with galleries open Wednesday to Sunday.
Plan it: 118 S. 36th Street, a 5-minute walk from the L’s 34th Street station. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: art lovers.
44. Penn’s campus and the Fisher Fine Arts Library
Free; year-round; University City. Locust Walk runs through the heart of Penn’s campus past Victorian and Gothic buildings, and Frank Furness’s red Fisher Fine Arts Library is one of the most striking reading rooms in the country. Look, but let students work.
Plan it: Locust Walk between 34th and 38th Streets. Allow an hour. Best for: architecture.
45. The Woodlands
Free; year-round; University City, a 50-minute walk from City Hall. A 1700s estate turned rural cemetery, with a Federal mansion and 54 acres of old trees and monuments where locals walk and read. It’s a green, surprising escape a few blocks from campus.
Plan it: 4000 Woodland Avenue. Allow an hour. Best for: history, quiet walks.
South Philadelphia and the Stadiums (46-49)
South Philly is rowhouse Philadelphia, a patchwork of Italian, Mexican and Southeast Asian communities that ends at the sports complex. SEPTA Metro’s B (formerly the Broad Street Line) runs straight down Broad Street to the stadiums.
46. A Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park
Paid; April to September, plus any October run; South Philadelphia. One of baseball’s friendliest ballparks, with a skyline view, the Phanatic and Ashburn Alley’s food stands. Even a Tuesday game feels like an event.
Plan it: Take SEPTA Metro’s B south to the last stop and walk over. Allow 4 hours. Best for: sports fans, families.
47. An Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field
Paid; September to January; South Philadelphia. Eagles fans are famous for their volume and their loyalty, and a game here is loud, long and memorable. Tickets are expensive and scarce, so buy only through official channels.
Plan it: Take the B south to the sports complex. Arrive early for tailgating. Allow the whole day. Best for: sports fans.
48. The Sixers and Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena
Paid; October to April; South Philadelphia. The arena formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center hosts the 76ers and the Flyers plus big concerts. The two teams plan a new shared arena on the old Spectrum site nearby, targeted for 2030.
Plan it: Take the B south to the sports complex. Allow 3 hours. Best for: sports fans.
49. East Passyunk Avenue
Free; year-round, best in the evening; South Philadelphia. A diagonal avenue of independent shops, bars and some of the city’s best restaurants, with the Singing Fountain at its heart. It’s South Philly at its most neighborly.
Plan it: Take the B to Tasker-Morris and walk east. Allow an evening. Best for: food lovers, couples.
The Delaware River Waterfront (50-55)
The Delaware waterfront has turned from parking lots into a string of seasonal parks, piers and events. It’s a 30-minute walk from City Hall; from the L’s 2nd Street station, the piers are a 10-minute walk.
50. Spruce Street Harbor Park
Free; late May to late September; a 29-minute walk from City Hall. Hammocks, lights strung through the trees, floating gardens and food stalls on the water make this the city’s best summer evening. The 2026 season ran from May 22 to September 27, and the park is now closed for the season; check the Delaware River Waterfront site for 2027 dates.
Plan it: Columbus Boulevard at Spruce Street. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: couples, families.
51. Blue Cross RiverRink
Paid; winter; Penn’s Landing. In winter, the waterfront’s outdoor skating rink and its lodge-style Winterfest fill the space by the river with fire pits, lights and hot drinks. It’s the cold-weather counterpart to the harbor park.
Plan it: Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families, couples.
52. Race Street Pier
Free; year-round; a 30-minute walk from City Hall. A two-level pier park directly under the Ben Franklin Bridge, with lawn, benches and a close-up view of the bridge’s blue steel. It’s the best place in the city to watch the river at dusk.
Plan it: Columbus Boulevard at Race Street. Allow 30 minutes. Best for: couples, photographers.
53. Cherry Street Pier
Free; year-round; a 30-minute walk from City Hall. A former municipal pier shed turned into artist studios, a garden and a covered hall for markets and events, with a view down the river at its end.
Plan it: 121 N. Columbus Boulevard. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: art lovers, couples.
54. Independence Seaport Museum
Paid; year-round; a 30-minute walk from City Hall. A maritime museum with two historic ships alongside: the cruiser Olympia, Commodore Dewey’s flagship at Manila Bay in 1898, and the World War II submarine Becuna. Climbing through them is the highlight.
Plan it: 211 S. Columbus Boulevard. Allow 2 hours. Best for: families, history.
55. Across the river: Adventure Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey
Paid; year-round; Camden, New Jersey. Two of the region’s biggest family attractions are across the Delaware in Camden: a large aquarium with hippos and a shark tunnel, and the battleship New Jersey, the country’s most decorated battleship. Both are an easy hop from Center City.
Plan it: Cross the Ben Franklin Bridge by car, or ride PATCO from Center City to Camden. Allow half a day for either. Best for: families.
Neighborhoods Worth the Trip (56-65)
Philadelphia calls itself a city of neighborhoods, and these are the ones that reward visitors who have already seen the landmarks.
56. Fishtown
Free; year-round, best at night; SEPTA Metro L to Girard or Berks. The old riverside working-class neighborhood is now the city’s buzziest, with Frankford Avenue’s bakeries, breweries, music venues and restaurants. Come for dinner and stay for a show.
Plan it: Frankford Avenue from Girard Avenue north. Allow an evening. Best for: food lovers, night owls.
57. Northern Liberties
Free; year-round; SEPTA Metro L to Spring Garden. Fishtown’s older sibling has quieter streets, pocket parks and bars in old industrial buildings, and it’s the easiest neighborhood walk from Old City. It pairs naturally with a Fishtown evening.
Plan it: Around 2nd Street and Poplar. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: couples.
58. The Rail Park
Free; year-round; a 15-minute walk from City Hall. The first section of an old elevated rail line turned into a park, with swings, gardens and a view over the Callowhill rooftops. It’s short, so pair it with Chinatown.
Plan it: Enter from Callowhill Street. Allow 30 minutes. Best for: couples, photographers.
59. Manayunk
Free; year-round; Regional Rail’s Manayunk/Norristown Line. A former mill town on the Schuylkill with a steep, hilly Main Street of bars, boutiques and restaurants, and the old canal towpath running alongside. It’s lively on weekend nights and restful on weekday mornings.
Plan it: Main Street, Manayunk. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: couples, outdoors.
60. Chestnut Hill
Free; year-round; Regional Rail’s Chestnut Hill East or West Lines. Cobbled Germantown Avenue climbs through a stone-built village of independent shops, cafes and galleries at the city’s northwest edge. It feels like a small town that happens to have a train to Center City.
Plan it: Germantown Avenue from Chestnut Hill Avenue to Bethlehem Pike. Allow half a day. Best for: couples.
61. Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Paid; year-round, best spring to fall; Chestnut Hill. The University of Pennsylvania’s arboretum has 92 acres of gardens, a treetop walkway called Out on a Limb, and a summer garden railway that runs miniature trains past landmarks made from natural materials.
Plan it: 100 E. Northwestern Avenue. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: families, gardeners.
62. Historic Germantown
Paid tours; spring to fall; Northwest Philadelphia. Founded in 1683, Germantown holds colonial houses such as Cliveden, where the Battle of Germantown was fought in 1777, and the Johnson House, a stop on the Underground Railroad. Their open days vary, so plan ahead.
Plan it: Germantown Avenue; Regional Rail’s Chestnut Hill lines stop nearby. Allow half a day. Best for: history.
63. Wagner Free Institute of Science
Free; limited hours; North Philadelphia. A Victorian natural history museum barely changed since the 1890s, with fossils, minerals and mounted specimens in their original wooden cases. It feels like walking into a museum from another century, because it is one.
Plan it: 1700 W. Montgomery Avenue, a short walk from the B’s Cecil B. Moore station. Check its open days before you go. Allow an hour. Best for: the curious.
64. Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion
Paid; year-round; Northeast Philadelphia. Bugs, big and small, plus a tropical butterfly pavilion where butterflies land on visitors. Small, hands-on and a hit with kids who like the creepy-crawly.
Plan it: 8046 Frankford Avenue. Drive or ride-share. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: families.
65. Summer at the Mann Center
Paid; June to September; West Fairmount Park. The Mann Center’s outdoor stage is the Philadelphia Orchestra’s summer home and a big concert venue, with lawn seats and a skyline view. Bring a picnic and a blanket.
Plan it: 5201 Parkside Avenue. Allow an evening. Best for: couples, music lovers.
Seasons and Big Events (66-75)
Philadelphia’s calendar is full year-round. These are the events worth planning a trip around, with dates only where the organizers have announced them.
66. The Philadelphia Flower Show
Paid; March 12 to 21, 2027; Pennsylvania Convention Center. The country’s biggest indoor flower show fills the convention center with designer gardens, and 2027 marks the 200th anniversary of PHS, the society that runs it. PHS lists March 12 to 21, 2027, with a members’ preview on March 12.
Plan it: 12th and Arch Streets, beside Reading Terminal Market. Weekday mornings are calmest. Allow 3 hours. Best for: gardeners, couples.
67. The Mummers Parade
Free; January 1; Broad Street. Every New Year’s Day, clubs of costumed Mummers strut up Broad Street in feathers and sequins, a Philadelphia tradition more than a century old. Bundle up and find a spot near City Hall.
Plan it: Broad Street, south of City Hall. Allow half a day. Best for: families, the curious.
68. The Thanksgiving Day Parade
Free; Thanksgiving morning (November 26, 2026); the Parkway. Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, first held in 1920, is the oldest in the country. Floats and balloons run down to the art museum steps.
Plan it: Along the Parkway. Arrive early for a front spot. Allow the morning. Best for: families.
69. Christmas Village
Free entry; November 21 to December 27, 2026; LOVE Park and City Hall. A German-style holiday market of wooden stalls selling ornaments, gifts, mulled wine and sausages fills LOVE Park and wraps around City Hall. Weeknights are much calmer than weekends.
Plan it: philachristmas.com lists the hours. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families, couples.
70. The holiday light shows
Mostly free; late November to early January; Center City. The Wanamaker Light Show in the Grand Court, the hourly Comcast Holiday Spectacular on the Comcast Center’s lobby screen and Franklin Square’s electrical spectacular make a free holiday walking tour. Confirm the 2026 dates before you plan around any of them.
Plan it: All three are in Center City. Allow an evening. Best for: families.
71. Wawa Welcome America
Mostly free; late June to July 4; citywide. Philadelphia’s Fourth of July festival runs for days, with free museum days, concerts and a big fireworks show on the Parkway. Hotels fill early, so book as soon as the dates are announced.
Plan it: Events are spread across the city; the Parkway hosts the main concert. Best for: families, history fans.
72. The Odunde Festival
Free; June; South Street. One of the largest African American street festivals in the country, held on South Street since 1975, with a procession to the Schuylkill, music, food and hundreds of vendors.
Plan it: South Street west of Broad. Allow half a day. Best for: food lovers, culture.
73. The Penn Relays
Paid; late April; Franklin Field. The oldest and largest track meet in the country has run at Penn’s Franklin Field since 1895, with high school, college and pro races packed into three loud days.
Plan it: Franklin Field, 235 S. 33rd Street. Allow a day. Best for: sports fans.
74. The Dad Vail Regatta
Free to watch; May; the Schuylkill. The country’s largest college rowing regatta fills the river along Kelly Drive with crews and the banks with spectators. Bring a chair and cheer for anyone.
Plan it: Kelly Drive near the finish line. Allow a few hours. Best for: outdoors, sports fans.
75. October in the city
Mixed; October; citywide. Fall is Philadelphia’s best season: the Wissahickon turns color, Eastern State’s Halloween Nights and Laurel Hill’s twilight tours set the mood, and this year the Duchamp exhibition opens at the art museum. The weather is cool, the crowds are thinner than in summer, and hotels are a little easier to book on weeknights.
Plan it: Build a weekend around one ticketed event, then fill it with free parks and neighborhoods. Best for: couples, adults.
Things to Do in Philadelphia by Interest
If you’re planning around one kind of day, start here. The numbers match the list above.
| If you love | Start with | Then add |
|---|---|---|
| Art | Philadelphia Museum of Art (1), the Barnes (3), PAFA (17) | Rodin Museum (4), Magic Gardens (27), ICA (43) |
| Families | Franklin Institute (5), Please Touch Museum (33), Philadelphia Zoo (32) | Smith Memorial Playground (35), Franklin Square (22), Seaport Museum (54) |
| Couples | Boathouse Row (12), Rittenhouse Square (23), Belmont Plateau (36) | Shofuso (34), the Avenue of the Arts (30), Chestnut Hill (60) |
| Adults | Eastern State Penitentiary (10), Mütter Museum (25), the Rosenbach (24) | Masonic Temple (16), Fishtown (56), the Mann Center (65) |
| Outdoors | Schuylkill Banks (26), Wissahickon (39), Bartram’s Garden (40) | Heinz Wildlife Refuge (41), Race Street Pier (52), Laurel Hill (38) |
| Free | Rocky Steps (2), LOVE Park (14), Bartram’s Garden (40) | ICA (43), Fabric Workshop (18), Parkway Central Library (7) |
| Rainy days | Franklin Institute (5), Penn Museum (42), Academy of Natural Sciences (6) | Wanamaker Grand Court (19), African American Museum (20), Wagner Free Institute (63) |
Getting Around Philadelphia
You don’t need a car in Philadelphia, and you’ll regret having one downtown, where parking is expensive and streets are narrow. Here’s how the city actually moves.
| How | Best for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Walking | Center City, the Parkway, Old City | City Hall to the art museum is about 30 minutes; to the river, about 30. |
| SEPTA Metro L (formerly the Market-Frankford Line) | Old City, the waterfront, University City, Fishtown | Tap a contactless card or phone at the gate, or use a SEPTA Key card. |
| SEPTA Metro B (formerly the Broad Street Line) | South Philly, the stadiums, North Broad | The only practical way to a game. |
| Regional Rail | The airport, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, Germantown | From PHL, trains stop at 30th Street, Suburban and Jefferson stations. |
| PHLASH loop bus | The Parkway museums and the historic core | $5 a day; runs weekends in fall. |
| Taxi or ride-share | The zoo, Fairmount Park, late nights | Taxis from PHL to Center City charge a flat $32.50, per the Philadelphia Visitor Center. |
| Indego bike share | Kelly Drive and the river trails | Stations across Center City and University City. |
Where to stay: for a first visit, stay in Center City, near Rittenhouse Square or Washington Square West, or in Old City if history is the point of the trip. University City suits Amtrak arrivals at 30th Street. Budget for taxes: Philadelphia hotel bills add 15.5% (the city’s 8.5% hotel tax plus 7% state and local), and sales tax is 8% in the city.
Staying safe: Center City, Old City, University City and the Parkway are busy and comfortable for visitors day and night. Use big-city sense: keep valuables out of sight in parked cars, stick to busy streets late at night, and use a ride-share rather than walking long distances after midnight.
What’s Changed, and What to Skip
- Philadelphia Museum of Art: the name is back after a short-lived 2025 rebrand was dropped in February 2026.
- Academy of Natural Sciences: now open only Friday to Sunday.
- Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site: closed for a utilities improvement project, with no reopening date posted as of September 24, 2026.
- ICA: reopens September 26, 2026 with new Wednesday-to-Sunday gallery hours.
- Wanamaker Organ: concerts are suspended while the building is redeveloped; the holiday Light Show continues.
- SEPTA: the Market-Frankford Line is now the L, the Broad Street Line the B, and the trolleys T1 to T5; fares rose 21.5% in September 2025.
- Arenas: the Wells Fargo Center is now Xfinity Mobile Arena, and the Sixers and Flyers plan a new arena on the old Spectrum site for around 2030.
- Waterfront: the park capping I-95 at Penn’s Landing isn’t expected to open until around 2030.
Skip the One Liberty Observation Deck. It closed in 2020 and has not reopened, whatever old listings say; for a high view, take the City Hall tower tour instead. Skip driving in Center City. Garages are expensive and everything on this list is walkable or a short ride away. Skip the hop-on, hop-off bus if you’re staying in Center City; the $5 PHLASH covers much of the same loop in season. And skip the midday Rocky Steps in summer; go at 8am, when it’s cooler and nearly empty.
Things to Do in Philadelphia: FAQ
What are the best things to do in Philadelphia for adults?
The Barnes Foundation, Eastern State Penitentiary (especially Halloween Nights), the Mütter Museum and the Rosenbach are the most memorable adult picks. Add a concert on the Avenue of the Arts, an evening in Fishtown or on East Passyunk Avenue, and sunset on the Schuylkill Banks boardwalk.
What is there to do in Philadelphia with kids?
The Please Touch Museum (best under 7), the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, Smith Memorial Playground’s giant wooden slide and Franklin Square’s carousel and mini golf top the list. On weekends, add the Academy of Natural Sciences, which now opens only Friday to Sunday.
What can you do in Philadelphia for free?
Run the Rocky Steps, see the LOVE statue, walk Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill Banks boardwalk, and visit Bartram’s Garden, the ICA and the Fabric Workshop and Museum at no charge. The Liberty Bell in the historic core is free too, and PAFA lists Friday evenings from 5 to 8pm as free.
What is there to do in Philadelphia at night?
See Boathouse Row lit up, catch a concert at the Kimmel Cultural Campus or the Academy of Music, go to Eastern State’s Halloween Nights in the fall, or spend the evening in Fishtown, Midtown Village or on South Street. Friday nights at the Philadelphia Museum of Art add DJs and live music.
How many days do you need in Philadelphia?
Three days is right for a first visit: one for Independence Mall and Old City, one for the Parkway museums and Boathouse Row, and one for a neighborhood, the waterfront or a game. With two days, combine the historic core with the art museum and save the neighborhoods for a return trip.
Is Philadelphia safe for tourists?
The areas most visitors spend time in, such as Center City, Old City, University City and the Parkway, are busy and generally comfortable day and night. Take ordinary big-city care: keep bags out of sight in cars, stick to lively streets late at night, and use ride-shares for long trips after dark.
Where should you stay in Philadelphia for the first time?
Stay in Center City, around Rittenhouse Square or Washington Square West, so you can walk to the Parkway, the historic core and the best restaurants. Old City puts you next to the founding sites, and University City suits anyone arriving by Amtrak at 30th Street Station.
What is there to do in Philadelphia in October?
October brings Eastern State’s Halloween Nights (select nights from October 2), the Please Touch Museum’s free 50th-birthday weekend on October 3 and 4, the Marcel Duchamp exhibition opening October 10 at the art museum, and fall color along the Wissahickon. It’s the city’s best walking weather.
Sources and How We Checked
We checked the hours, prices and closures on this page on September 24, 2026 against the official sources below and compiled the list from them rather than from first-hand visits. Walking times are estimates from City Hall using OpenStreetMap routing data, rounded to the nearest few minutes.
- Philadelphia Visitor Center
- Philadelphia Museum of Art: locations and hours
- Academy of Natural Sciences: visit
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: visit
- Institute of Contemporary Art: visit
- National Park Service: Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
- PHS: the Philadelphia Flower Show
We also used the official sites of the Barnes Foundation, the Franklin Institute, the Rodin Museum, the Rosenbach, the Masonic Temple, Eastern State Penitentiary, the Please Touch Museum, Bartram’s Garden, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, Christmas Village in Philadelphia, SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia, plus reporting by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pennsylvania Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with the City of Philadelphia, SEPTA, the Philadelphia Visitor Center or any museum, team or venue named here, and no one paid to be included.
Photo Credits
- Philadelphia skyline from the Schuylkill River: photo by 颐园居, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Philadelphia Museum of Art, east entrance: photo by Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
- Boathouse Row at sunrise: photo by Domaking9000, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Philadelphia City Hall: photo by Toniklemm, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Chinatown Friendship Gate, Philadelphia: photo by Beyond My Ken, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Rittenhouse Square in autumn: photo by Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
- Philadelphia's Magic Gardens: photo by sashafatcat, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Shofuso Japanese House and Garden: photo by 松風荘, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Spruce Street Harbor Park: photo by LittleT889, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)