Love is in the air – and in Philly’s tagline: “The City of Brotherly Love.” So, visit Philadelphia with romance in your heart, and a passion for American History, art, and good food. There are enough straightforward, loopy, and fanciful things to do in Philadelphia to keep you occupied for weeks.
Best Things to Do in Philadelphia
Be in the halls where it happened on this Philadelphia American History Getaway
Yes, you’ll see Carpenter’s Hall, Congress Hall, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and other historic Landmarks. And you’ll also learn all about the messy, bloody, confusing American Revolution sparked by a fiercely debated Declaration of Independence. Most of these attractions can be found within the 55-acre Independence National Historical Park.
Liberty Bell Center
Nothing symbolizes our country’s origin story more than the Liberty Bell – easily the most famous historic landmark in Philadelphia’s Center City. And here it is, accessible in all its cracked glory.
Congress Hall
This pristinely preserved Congress Hall absolutely radiates colonial fervor – as it’s where the founding fathers met to shape our country’s early history.
Independence Hall
Be in the “Room where it happened” on this 20-minute tour of Independence Hall. “It” in this case is the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Carpenter’s Hall
Carpenter’s Hall housed the First Continental Congress in 1774, and Benjamin Franklin’s Library. You’ll find it just steps from the Museum of the American Revolution.
National Constitution Center
If ever there was a museum so necessary these days, the Museum of the US Constitution is it. With engaging authority, and dare we say it, entertainment value, this place of learning parses even the most confusing of our founding documents.
Museum of the American Revolution
Relatively new, the Museum of the American Revolution unspools what led up to the USA’s divorce from England; again in an engaging, well curated way. Let’s just say that our country’s founding was a lot messier, more deadly, and created more upheaval than our Middle School textbooks conveyed.
Ben Franklin Museum
Visit the Benjamin Franklin Museum for fun (and interactive) insight into one of our country’s Founding Fathers: an upbeat, robust, productive, and ultra-social man of international renown. Discovering electricity and inventing the first eyeglasses were just the beginning.
National Liberty Museum
The National Liberty Museum is a quirky little gem dedicated to the idea of Freedom and its definition. Though you’ll be captivated by beautiful Chihuly glass art, there is one compelling reason to visit. Listen to the peal of our “original Liberty Bell,” made in the same foundry in England with the same materials – this one without the crack.
Walk Elfreth’s Alley
Established in 1702, the cobblestone street, Elfreth’s Alley, is known as “America’s oldest residential street.” Colonial Philadelphia supported a beehive of artisans and “makers” from all over the world, striving by their wits and skills to make a name and a living for themselves. These artisans included a free African tailor, a Jewish furniture maker, German shoemakers and bakers, and dressmakers Mary Smith and Sarah Milton, among others, who lived side by side in 32 tiny homes that also served as shops, sales rooms, and studios.
Picnic Down By the (Philly) Riverside
Race Street Pier on the Delaware River
From Elfreth’s Ally, it’s just a five-minute walk to Race Street Pier, jutting out from the Delaware River Waterfront esplanade. There’s a patch of lawn, stairs to nowhere on which to sit, and views of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge from practically beneath it. The bridge, opened in 1926, links New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and features a pedestrian walkway offering fantastic views of downtown Philly.
See What’s New At the Art-Filled Cherry Street Pier
Located right next to Race Street Pier, the glassed-in Cherry Street Pier, a century-old municipal shipping pier, was reborn and re-opened in 2018 for artists and food vendors – and of course patrons and visitors. Have a bite, peruse artist studios, or buy something at the market. Open 7 days a week, rain and shine, a stop at Cherry Street Pier has become one of the best – and yummiest – things to do in Philadelphia.
In Summer, Frolic on Floating Barges At Spruce Street Harbor Park
Philly makes the most of its location on the Delaware River, with piers, boats, and barges transformed into parks. The Technicolor Spruce Harbor Park, open in warm weather only, provides a colorfully illuminated experience with fresh beer, floating gardens, hammocks, and cool, river breezes.
Drive Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Visit Museums and Outdoor Art in Fairmont Park
Drive from Logan Circle to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Fairmont Park. At more than twice the size of Central Park in NYC, the 2,000-acre Fairmont Park is considered the largest Urban Park in the country. Known primarily for its miles of forested trails, natural features, the Philadelphia Zoo, and public art, its Western border becomes a pink fantasia in Spring when numerous Cherry Blossom trees burst into bloom.
Run Up the “Rocky” Stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Sure, the Philadelphia Museum of Art holds troves of paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, Rubens, Duchamp, and thousands more. And yes, there are art aficionados who come specifically to marvel in marble galleries dedicated to showcasing these treasures. But, let’s face it. So many visit this august institution just to run up the stairs at the back of the Museum, throw their hands up in the air at the top, and imagine they’ll soon be in the ring with Apollo Creed. Can we get a “Yo! Adrian?”
Consider the Juxtaposition of Artworks at the Barnes Museum
Dr. Albert C. Barnes who, prior to antibiotics, developed a compound that prevented eye infections and blindness in newborns, used his newfound wealth to buy pieces directly from Cezanne, Renoir, Rousseau, and other notable impressionists beginning in 1912. By 1922, he had amassed enough art to commission a gallery and residence in Merion, PA. And there the Barnes Foundation remained until it moved to its new Philadelphia home in 2012.
Engage with the Rarest of Books at the Rosenbach Museum and Library: Rittenhouse Square
This library-museum – The Rosenbach – contains some of the rarest works of Herman Melville, James Joyce, Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Robert Burns, Jane Austin and hundreds of other authors. But perhaps most notable – and a big draw for lovers of a certain genre – is Bram Stoker’s original notes for Dracula. Take a tour of the grand home, or sign up for Sundays with Dracula or Jane Austin, or Mondays with Sherlock or Austin.
Experience one of the Largest Outdoor Art Museums in the Country
Take the Mural Mile Center City Walking Tour
Philadelphia is considered the “Mural Capital of the World,” with the “World’s Largest Outdoor Art Gallery.” With a zeal that surpasses most cities in the US, the Mural Arts Philadelphia has overseen the creation of over 4,000 spectacularly beautiful and meaningful paintings on sides of buildings. Of those, 2,000 are still viewable by the public, and you can access them by foot, trolley, and even by train.
Thrill to A Garden Made Entirely of Ceramic Shards
Wandering this “Visionary Art Space,” the Magic Garden, is like being trapped inside a kaleidoscope. Colors, mirrors, figures within figures initially emerged from a troubled mind. Long story short, mosaic artist, Isaiah Zagar had a paralyzing mental breakdown. His shrink advised him to create art, concentrating on just one small thing at a time. A preponderance of broken pottery, pieces of shattered glass, ceramic figures, whole pop bottles, tiles, and geegaws overwhelms the senses. Docents encourage visitors to slow down and look closer to see “Zagar’s diary opened up”.
The Magic Garden and gardens of Fairmount Park two of several gardens mentioned on this Romantic Philadelphia Gardens Getaway.
Watch A Phillies Game at Citizens Bank Park
Catching a Phillies game on a summer night, if the opposing team is equally as good, could be the highlight of your Philly trip – especially if the two of you are sports nuts. They don’t call baseball “The National Pastime” for nothing.
Embrace the Macabre, Icky, And Unsettling Side of Philly
Grim Philly Tours
There’s nothing quite as sexy-historic-spooky than a traipse through downtown Philadelphia with Grim Philly Tours. (Yes, you will be walking over dead bodies; mrraaahhahaha). Guides take you on a sometimes weird, sometimes spine-tingling tour of the “underside” of the City’s history.
Mutter Museum
Warning: the Mutter Museum sf not for the squeamish. This disturbing collection of medical oddities from the past might be a bit much for some, but is fascinating for those who can stomach it.
Take an Audio Tour of Eastern State Penitentiary
It figures that Steve Buscemi’s voice would be in your ear on an audio tour of this penal institution so novel when built (in 1831), it piqued the interest of Charles Dickens: the Eastern State Penitentiary. In fact, it was one of just a couple of attractions that Dickens visited when he came to the USA. Buscemi narrates this self-guided tour that takes you into some of the creepiest cell blocks on the planet.
Iconic Philly Foodstuffs And Where to Find Them
Pick Up Lunch or A House Gift at Reading Terminal Market
There are 80 merchants inside the Reading Terminal Market – including 35 eateries. First opened in 1893, the indoor market has gone through several booms and busts – with a resurgence in the later 1990’s. Now, more than 100,000 people come here every week to buy everything from Amish Chicken Pot Pies to Zucchini Bread. A visit to the Reading Terminal Market is now one of the best things to do in Philadelphia.
Buy Authentic Italian in South Philly at One of the Oldest Open Markets in the Country
Perhaps best known for Pat’s Philly Cheesesteaks, South Philly is actually home to one of the largest and oldest open air markets in the country: the 20 block long Italian Market on 8th, 9th, and 10th streets. For over 100 years, these bakeries, butcher shops, and specialty stores – selling everything from cannoli’s to ziti, have been providing locals and tourists with personal service and homemade delights. Lately, newcomers from diverse nations have established their own independent shops, adding to Philadelphia’s great immigrant story.
South Philly is just one neighborhood featured in this Philadelphia Neighborhoods post.
Where To Eat and Stay in Philadelphia
Each Philadelphia post includes our picks by theme or neighborhood.
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