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Philadelphia see + do
It may be the cradle of American history, but Philadelphia is actually a lot like Paris—a city of distinct and strongly loyal neighborhoods, from sedately elegant Society Hill to proudly Italian South Philly. The broad Benjamin Franklin Parkway is the city's Champs-Élysées and cultural spine, home to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute Science Center, and other institutions. As you travel its length, take note of what locals call the "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost": works from three generations of the Calder family. Alexander Milne Calder's 27-ton, cast-iron William Penn crowns City Hall; his son Alexander Stirling Calder's Swann Memorial Fountain is at Logan Circle; and the white Ghost mobile that hangs in the lobby of the Art Museum was designed by grandson Alexander (Sandy) Calder.
Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences focuses on environmental research and the discovery of ecosystems. Kids will love the live...more
In the past 30 years, a vital arts community has grown up in Old City as its small factories and warehouses have been converted into galleries for the visual...more
Fairmount Park, one of the country's largest and oldest city park systems, encompasses 9,200 acres, including 62 neighborhood and regional parks. Within its...more
You gotta love the walk-through heart, which thankfully has been refurbished and expanded since it was built in 1953. (The graffiti has been erased and the...more
The city's best-kept secret, this ornate 19th-century temple designed to house the state's Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania hides in...more
At this modest South Philly museum, the local New Year's institution of mummers—men and women in sequined, lavish, and scaffolded costumes, some playing...more
Creepy, curious, and gorgeous coexist at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's Mütter Museum, where your inner hypochondriac can come face-to-face...more
Forming the northern anchor of a four-block Independence-palooza (which includes a visitor center, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall), the exterior of the...more
The nation's oldest museum and school of fine arts, founded in 1805, preens in the middle of Center City. Architects Frank Furness and George Hewitt made a...more
Founded as a museum of decorative arts during the 1876 Centennial Exposition and inspired by Greek temples, the PMA sits on nine acres and still gets a lot of...more
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