Located where the residence of the country’s first presidents once stood, The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation exhibition area is a highlight of Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park. Erected in 2010, the open-air gallery explores how slavery tainted the country’s struggle for freedom.
A highlight of Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, Carpenters’ Hall was completed in 1775. Best remembered as the host of the First Continental Congress in 1774, the landmark has been continuously operated by the Carpenters’ Company (the country’s oldest craft guild) and was declared a National Historic Monument in 1970.
There’s nowhere else quite like South Street—located at the southern border of Center City, this thoroughfare is known for its countercultural cool. Alternative shops, tattoo parlors, and dive bars attract the young and edgy, while performance venues, art spaces, and popular cheesesteak slingers draw Philadelphians of all ages.
After winning the Revolutionary War, America’s founding fathers established their original government in Philadelphia—among their goals was creating a single currency and founding a national bank to help build the nation. Today, the First Bank of the United States still stands on Independence Mall. Proposed by Alexander Hamilton, the bank was built in a Roman style to make the institution intentionally imposing.
More than 50,000 soldiers died in the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on American soil. Today, the Gettysburg National Military Park, located in Central Pennsylvania, is a National Park Service–run memorial to all the lives lost during the 3-day battle. The park includes the official battlefield, plus a museum, monuments, and other historic landmarks.
Set within Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, the Second Bank of the United States was the country’s national bank from 1816 to 1833. An architectural inspiration for later American banks, the Greek Revival building now houses a “People of Independence” collection of portraits and sculptures of leading 18th-and 19th-century Americans.
Located in Independence National Historical Park, Independence Visitor Center is Philadelphia's official visitor center and a helpful introduction to its Revolutionary War landmarks. Visit the center to access tourism resources, get tickets to select landmarks—including Independence Hall—and stop by its gift shop and cafe.
One of the starts of Philadelphia’s museum scene, the Barnes Foundation is home to an enviable collection of Impressionist and modern art masterworks. Located next to the Rodin Museum and minutes from the blockbuster Philadelphia Museum of Art, it has been a must-see cultural destination since relocating to the city in 2012.
From a disc of precious metal to a shiny new coin, you can watch the entire process of creating money at the United States Mint in Philadelphia. Glass-lined hallways set above the operating floor let you view coins as they are cut to size, rolled across conveyor belts, stamped with designs, and popped out looking like the change in your pocket.
Philadelphia’s grandest public square, Rittenhouse Square—and its surrounding neighborhood, which goes by the same name—is a popular destination for shoppers, sightseers, and foodies. Located in the heart of Center City, the leafy park is a popular public oasis, and the high-end stores and restaurants are their own draw.
Pennsylvania’s largest Catholic church, the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul makes a striking impression on the east side of Philadelphia’s Logan Square. One of Philadelphia’s most notable buildings, built between 1846 and 1864, the cathedral has been the site of two papal Masses. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This popular museum showcases the unique stories of African-Americans and the African Diaspora through fine art, multimedia displays, historical artifacts, and exhibits. Founded in 1976, the African American Museum in Philadelphia is the first institution built by a major US city to explore this heritage and culture. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum is home to artifacts from the Civil Rights movement, the Negro baseball league, and more.
Families traveling with young kids won’t want to skip the Please Touch Museum, which has been the children’s museum of Philadelphia since 1976. The guiding principle of the museum is teaching through play, and it offers a multitude of engaging hands-on activities, especially geared toward infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary-age children.
Formerly the Philadelphia Maritime Museum, the Independence Seaport Museum spotlights the maritime past of the city and the Delaware River. Centered on a two-story exhibition space, its attractions also span two National Historic Landmark vessels—the cruiser Olympia and submarine Becuna—alongside model ships and historical displays.
At the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, you can learn about Jewish heritage while browsing exhibits curated to showcase the culture and traditions of Jews in America. The Smithsonian-affiliated museum hosts special events and houses more than 30,000 objects, organized according to themes such as American-Jewish immigration, art, charity, sports, and religion.
The Philadelphia Zoo is perfect for families with kids looking for a break from the city’s historical sites, though it has some historical significance as well—it was the nation’s first zoo. Home to some 1,900 different animals, many of them endangered, the zoo is renowned for successfully breeding animals that are difficult to breed in captivity. And with its trails through the treetops, aka Zoo360, even the animals can wander among the greenery.
At the time of its construction in 1829, Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary was the most expensive public structure ever built, housing notorious criminals such as gangster boss Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton. No longer a functioning prison, the structure is now open to the public as a National Historic Landmark. Is it haunted? Well, in a word: probably.
Originally settled in the mid-19th century by Cantonese immigrants, Philadelphia's Chinatown is a vibrant and eclectic neighborhood known for its fresh-food markets, authentic restaurants, and diverse crowds. Its streets and alleyways are jam-packed with shops, including those selling gifts and souvenirs, novelty items, and artisan crafts.
Spanning half a city block on South Street, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG showcases the work of mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. Featuring both an outdoor sculpture garden and an indoor gallery, PMG is a unique, urban art space constructed from glass and ceramic fragments, handmade tiles, and all manner of discarded and found items.
Surely one of the strangest museums in the United States, the Mütter Museum houses one of the world’s largest collections of medical oddities. Affiliated with The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, it’s named for Thomas Dent Mütter, a 17th-century pioneer of reconstructive surgery and medical education who was fascinated by human anomalies and collected them in a wide variety of forms.
One of the five original squares drawn up by Philadelphia’s founder William Penn in the 18th century, today Logan Square is one of the city’s most vibrant and cultural districts. With Logan Circle—a public park and fountain—at its heart, the neighborhood also encompasses many leading museums along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
While visiting one of America’s most historic cities, take an opportunity to shop for unique antiques along Philadelphia’s Antique Row. The heart of this downtown district stretches along Pine Street, from Ninth and Eleventh Streets, where collectors can find shops packed with colonial-era wares and hard-to-find antique furniture.
Located in South Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Italian Market is one of the oldest and continuously operating outdoor markets in the United States. Stretching for more than 20 city blocks, you can find everything here from fresh produce, meat, seafood, and cheese to prepared foods across a wide variety of cuisines.
Old City Hall was used by the first US Supreme Court from 1791 to 1800, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital. After the federal government moved to Washington DC, the building was occupied by Philadelphia’s city hall and mayor’s office. Today it’s maintained as a historic site, and visitors can see the restored courtroom.
Since 1998, the Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia has been offering travelers a true taste of classic Americana in the City of Brotherly Love. Visitors can tuck into juicy burgers and sip on chocolatey milkshakes in a lively environment that pays homage to tons of musical greats. Relax in a cozy booth and gaze out at memorabilia from Elton John, the Beatles, and Jim Morrison.
You can find the final resting place of American founding father Benjamin Franklin on the northwest corner of the Christ Church Burial Ground, which houses the graves of many other founding fathers—including four other signatories of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin’s grave is shared with his wife Deborah, and the simple stone merely says their names and 1790, the year of his death.
First opened during the bicentennial year of 1976, Franklin Court is an indoor-outdoor museum dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, located on the site of the Founding Father’s home. Demolished in 1812, only the foundations of Franklin's home remain, but steel "ghost structures" mark its location and that of his grandson's printing business.
Open since 1857, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music is the oldest active opera house in the United States. “The Grand Old Lady of Locust Street” is today host to the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Ballet, as well as touring Broadway at the Academy performances, and is considered one of the city’s top cultural venues.
The New Hall Military Museum is devoted to early American military history, with a focus on the Continental Marines, Army, and Navy. Housed in a recreation of the historic building used by Henry Knox (the country’s first Secretary of War) and his staff, the museum is a highlight of Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park.
Situated in the heart of historical Philadelphia, the Dolley Todd House was the 18th-century home of Dolley Madison—future First Lady of the United States. Built in 1775, it offers an authentic glimpse into Dolley’s and middle-class life in Philadelphia at the time.
