Things to do · Philadelphia · United States
20 best things to do in Philadelphia
20 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: William Zhang, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Philadelphia are Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center and Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps. Of the 20 picks below, 7 are free, 6 work on a rainy day and 6 suit children. Allow about 3 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Independence Hall
- Free sights
- 7
- Good on a rainy day
- Museum of the American Revolution
- Time to see the highlights
- 3 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Hall | Old City | 1 hour | Free |
| Liberty Bell Center | Old City | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps | Fairmount | 2–4 hours | Mid-priced |
| Reading Terminal Market | Center City | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Museum of the American Revolution | Old City | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Eastern State Penitentiary | Fairmount | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Elfreth's Alley | Old City | 20–30 minutes | Free |
| Barnes Foundation | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Rodin Museum | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| The Franklin Institute | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | 3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Academy of Natural Sciences | Logan Square | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Philadelphia's Magic Gardens | South Street | 1 hour | Low cost |
| 9th Street Italian Market | South Philly | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail | Fairmount Park | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Philadelphia City Hall and Tower | Center City | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Christ Church and Burial Ground | Old City | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Philadelphia Zoo | Fairmount Park | 3–4 hours | Mid-priced |
| Rittenhouse Square | Rittenhouse Square | 30–60 minutes | Free |
| Spruce Street Harbor Park and Penn's Landing | Penn's Landing | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Mural Arts walking tours | Citywide | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
The 20 best things to do
Historic site · Old City
1.Independence Hall
The Georgian brick State House where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the US Constitution was drafted in 1787 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ranger-led tours visit the Assembly Room, where George Washington's 'rising sun' chair still stands, and the courtroom across the hall.
Pick up or print your tour ticket first, then visit the Liberty Bell Center across Chestnut Street while you wait for your slot.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Entry is free but by timed ticket for much of the year; reserve online in advance or collect same-day tickets at the Independence Visitor Center early.
- Iconic
- History
- Free
- Architecture
Landmark · Old City
2.Liberty Bell Center
The cracked bell, inscribed with 'Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land', became a symbol for abolitionists and suffragists long after it hung in the State House. The free glass pavilion tells that story with displays leading up to the bell, which is framed against a view of Independence Hall.
Lines are shortest first thing; after closing you can still see the bell through the glass from the Chestnut Street side.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- History
- Free
- Kids
Museum · Fairmount
3.Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps
The Greek Revival temple at the top of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (long known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art) holds Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Cézanne's The Large Bathers and the world's leading collection of Marcel Duchamp, plus period rooms and armour. Its 72 east-entrance steps, run by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, end in a view straight down the Parkway to City Hall.
Run the steps and take the photo with the Rocky statue at the bottom right early in the morning, before the queue forms.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Views
- Rainy day
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Market · Center City
4.Reading Terminal Market
Opened in 1893 beneath the Reading Railroad's train shed at 12th and Arch Streets, the market has dozens of vendors selling roast pork sandwiches, Pennsylvania Dutch baked goods, scrapple, cheesesteaks and Bassetts ice cream. It is the easiest place to taste many Philadelphia specialities in one stop.
Arrive before noon on weekdays; at weekend lunchtime the aisles and the DiNic's queue get very crowded.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- Shopping
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Museum · Old City
5.Museum of the American Revolution
A modern museum at 3rd and Chestnut Streets that tells the story of the Revolution through weapons, letters and immersive galleries, including a replica Boston street and a privateer ship children can board. Its centrepiece is George Washington's original headquarters tent, revealed in a short theatre presentation.
Time your visit to catch the tent presentation early, before it fills with school groups.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
Historic site · Fairmount
6.Eastern State Penitentiary
Opened in 1829, this castle-fronted prison pioneered solitary confinement with cell blocks radiating from a central hub, and held Al Capone in a furnished cell in 1929–1930. Since closing in 1971 it has been preserved as a stabilised ruin with crumbling cellblocks, an audio tour and thoughtful exhibits on modern mass incarceration.
Use the audio tour; its side stories are the best part, and the self-guided route takes longer than most visitors expect.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- The autumn Halloween Nights event sells out on weekends; book well ahead if you want it.
- History
- Architecture
- Photo spot
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Street · Old City
7.Elfreth's Alley
A narrow cobbled lane off 2nd Street lined with about 30 small brick houses built between the 1720s and 1830s, often described as the country's oldest continuously inhabited residential street. The houses are private homes, but a small museum at No. 126 explains the artisans who lived here.
Visit early or late in the day for quiet photos, and keep voices down; people live here.
- Time needed
- 20–30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Photo spot
- Architecture
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Gallery · Benjamin Franklin Parkway
8.Barnes Foundation
Albert C. Barnes's collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern art includes dozens of Renoirs, Cézannes and Matisses, hung exactly as he arranged them in dense wall 'ensembles' with ironwork, furniture and African art. The galleries recreate the rooms of his original Merion house inside a modern building on the Parkway.
Allow time to look at each wall as a composition; the pairings were Barnes's whole point.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Entry is by timed ticket; book online, especially for weekends.
- Art
- Rainy day
- Couples
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Museum · Benjamin Franklin Parkway
1.Rodin Museum
Opened in 1929, this small Beaux-Arts museum and garden holds one of the largest Rodin collections outside Paris. The Thinker sits at the gateway, and a cast of The Gates of Hell stands at the entrance to galleries containing The Burghers of Calais and dozens of smaller bronzes.
Even if you skip the galleries, the garden and gateway make a calm stop on a walk up the Parkway.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Couples
- Outdoors
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Museum · Benjamin Franklin Parkway
2.The Franklin Institute
One of the oldest science museums in the country, with a giant walk-through heart, a full-size Baldwin steam locomotive, the Fels Planetarium and hands-on halls on electricity, flight and the brain. A 20-foot marble statue of Benjamin Franklin sits in the domed rotunda.
Go on a weekday afternoon after school groups have left, and pair it with the Academy of Natural Sciences across Logan Square.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
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Museum · Logan Square
3.Academy of Natural Sciences
Founded in 1812, the Academy has a Dinosaur Hall with a towering Tyrannosaurus and Hadrosaurus foulkii, the first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton found in North America. Upstairs, a tropical butterfly room and dioramas of animals from around the world make it a manageable half-day with children.
Younger children love the fossil dig in the Dinosaur Hall; arrive early in the day to have it to yourselves.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Gallery · South Street
4.Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
Mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar covered a lot on South Street with a maze of tiles, mirrors, bottles and bicycle wheels, creating an immersive outdoor labyrinth and indoor galleries. His mosaics also cover walls on dozens of nearby buildings, so the surrounding blocks are worth a slow walk.
Book a morning slot; the narrow passages feel crowded by mid-afternoon on weekends.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets are recommended on weekends and holidays.
- Art
- Photo spot
- Couples
Market · South Philly
5.9th Street Italian Market
Awning-covered stalls of produce, butchers, cheese shops and bakeries run along 9th Street in South Philadelphia, in what is often called the oldest open-air market in the country. Today Mexican taquerías and Vietnamese shops sit alongside the Italian businesses, and the rival cheesesteak stands Pat's and Geno's face each other at the southern end.
Come on a Saturday morning when every stall is set up, then walk to East Passyunk Avenue for lunch.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Free
- Shopping
- History
Waterfront · Fairmount Park
6.Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail
A line of 19th-century rowing clubhouses on the Schuylkill River behind the art museum, outlined in lights after dark. Kelly Drive and the Schuylkill River Trail run past them into Fairmount Park, one of the largest urban park systems in the country, and make an easy walk, run or bike ride.
See the lit-up boathouses from the art museum's rear terrace or the far bank on West River Drive after sunset.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- After dark
- Photo spot
- Active
Architecture · Center City
7.Philadelphia City Hall and Tower
Completed in 1901, City Hall is a massive Second Empire building of granite and marble, topped by a 37-foot bronze William Penn. A small observation deck just below the statue gives a 360-degree view over the street grid Penn laid out, and building tours cover its ornate interiors.
Tower tickets are limited to small groups per lift; buy them at the visitor centre inside City Hall early in the day.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Architecture
- History
Religious site · Old City
8.Christ Church and Burial Ground
George Washington and Benjamin Franklin worshipped at Christ Church on 2nd Street, and its burial ground at 5th and Arch holds Franklin's grave, where visitors toss pennies in a nod to 'a penny saved is a penny earned'. Several other signers of the Declaration are buried nearby.
You can see Franklin's grave through the railings on Arch Street without entering the burial ground.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
Zoo · Fairmount Park
9.Philadelphia Zoo
Chartered in 1859, the Philadelphia Zoo is known for its Zoo360 network of mesh trails that let big cats, primates and lemurs travel overhead across the grounds. It also has a children's zoo, big-cat falls and a large primate reserve, all on a site of about 17 hectares on the west bank of the Schuylkill.
Visit in spring or autumn mornings when the animals are most active and the paths are shaded.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Park · Rittenhouse Square
10.Rittenhouse Square
One of the five squares in William Penn's 1682 plan, Rittenhouse is the city's favourite park for people-watching, with bronze animal sculptures that children climb, a reflecting pool and benches under plane trees. Café terraces and restaurants line the surrounding streets.
Grab takeaway coffee and pastries nearby and eat on the benches on a weekday morning.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Couples
Waterfront · Penn's Landing
11.Spruce Street Harbor Park and Penn's Landing
On the Delaware River waterfront, Spruce Street Harbor Park fills in the warmer months with hammocks, coloured lights in the trees, food stands and floating barges. In winter the neighbouring Penn's Landing area usually becomes an outdoor ice rink with fire pits.
Go around dusk on a summer evening, when the lights come on over the water.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- After dark
- Couples
- Kids
- Outdoors
Experience · Citywide
12.Mural Arts walking tours
Philadelphia's public-art programme has produced thousands of murals since the 1980s, covering rowhouse walls from Center City to Fishtown. Guided walking and trolley tours explain the stories behind the best pieces, and a self-guided route through Center City takes in many of the most photographed walls.
If you are short on time, walk the blocks around South Street and Washington Square West, where murals and mosaics are densest.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps, Museum of the American Revolution, Barnes Foundation and Rodin Museum |
| History | Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center, Museum of the American Revolution and Eastern State Penitentiary |
| Views | Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps and Philadelphia City Hall and Tower |
| Outdoors and nature | Rodin Museum, Academy of Natural Sciences, Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail and Philadelphia Zoo |
| Food and markets | Reading Terminal Market and 9th Street Italian Market |
| After dark | Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail and Spruce Street Harbor Park and Penn's Landing |
| With children | Liberty Bell Center, Museum of the American Revolution, The Franklin Institute and Academy of Natural Sciences |
| On a rainy day | Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps, Reading Terminal Market and Barnes Foundation |
What to book ahead
- Independence Hall: Entry is free but by timed ticket for much of the year; reserve online in advance or collect same-day tickets at the Independence Visitor Center early.
- Eastern State Penitentiary: The autumn Halloween Nights event sells out on weekends; book well ahead if you want it.
- Barnes Foundation: Entry is by timed ticket; book online, especially for weekends.
- Philadelphia's Magic Gardens: Timed tickets are recommended on weekends and holidays.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Philadelphia?
Independence Hall. The Georgian brick State House where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the US Constitution was drafted in 1787 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
+What can you do for free in Philadelphia?
Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center, Elfreth's Alley, 9th Street Italian Market and Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Philadelphia when it rains?
Head indoors to Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia Art Museum and the Rocky Steps, Reading Terminal Market and Barnes Foundation.
+What is there to do in Philadelphia at night?
Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail and Spruce Street Harbor Park and Penn's Landing are best after dark.