The 36 Most Popular Attractions in Philadelphia

The most visited attraction in Philadelphia? Reading Terminal Market , the city’s famous indoor food paradise that’s a one-stop shop for local produce, delicious sandwiches, fresh-baked pastries and artisanal cheeses available from dozens of vendors. More than 7.7 million people visited the market in 2018, and for good reason — it’s amazing. Pro tip: Check out our guide on 10 great things to eat at the market before you go.

This popular casino on the Delaware River waterfront has 1,891 slots, over 100 table games, a 28-table poker room, seven restaurants and bars, a multipurpose event space and a seven-story parking garage. The attraction stands out as one of Philadelphia’s premier entertainment destinations, attracting 4 million visitors in 2018.

The Independence Visitor Center supplies visitors to Philadelphia with useful information about where to go, what to see and how to get there. The popular starting point for many visitors (and the place to secure tickets to visit Independence Hall) welcomed more than 2.5 million people in 2018.

Many of the visitors to Independence National Historical Park line up to see the Liberty Bell , one of the park’s — and the country’s — most iconic attractions. In 2018, the famously fractured bronze bell drew over to 2.1 million visitors.

Peddler’s Village offers small-town colonial charm just one hour from Center City Philadelphia. With festivals for every season, 60-plus stores for shopping and the just-for-kids Giggleberry Fair area, it’s no wonder the Bucks County attraction welcomed 2 million visitors in 2018.

No battles were fought in Valley Forge, but the time the Continental Army spent here went down as one of their most trying periods. Exhibits, artifacts, replicated huts and the original headquarters tell the story of the pivotal winter that George Washington and his troops endured at the site. The 3,600-acre Valley Forge National Historical Park — a magnet for runners, bicyclists and picnickers as well as history buffs — attracted more than 2 million visitors in 2018.

Longwood Gardens attracts visitors — more than 1.4 million in 2018 — from around the globe to its 1,100 acres in Kennett Square that are filled with stunning gardens, woodlands, meadows and fountains. The horticultural haven also hosts hundreds of events each year, including fountain shows, gardening demonstrations, educational programs, activities for kids, concerts and musical theater.

At the Philadelphia Zoo , visitors discover Zoo360, the world’s first system of see-through mesh trails that cross over pathways, connect habitats and encourage animals to travel and explore throughout the campus. Other wild highlights of America’s first zoo: Key Bank Big Cat Falls, PECO Primate Reserve and KidZooU, a wildlife academy of dynamic displays, rare breeds and hands-on experiences. In 2018, the attraction drew more than 1 million visitors.

One of the original five squares in William Penn’s plan for the city, Franklin Square , which drew more than 815,000 visitors in 2018, is now a modern and fun family park, with a Philly-themed miniature golf course, a dazzling fountain, playgrounds and an old-fashioned carousel featuring famous Philly horses. When hunger strikes, SquareBurger (open seasonally) delivers with awesome burgers, fries and shakes — including the Cake Shake, made with Philadelphia’s own Tastykakes.

The Franklin Institute , one of the leading science centers in the country, showcases the science involved in every aspect of life. In addition to the 11 hands-on permanent exhibits like the highly interactive Your Brain , the newly reimagined SportsZone and the Giant Heart , a rotating roster of special exhibitions add to the museum’s appeal. Attracting more than 760,000 visitors in 2018, the educational space is also home to the Fels Planetarium, the Tuttleman IMAX Theater and the Joel N. Bloom Observatory.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and its the “ Rocky Steps ” may have been immortalized in the classic Rocky film franchise, but the cultural institution is even more impressive inside. The astounding collection here comprises art from across the globe and through the ages — including Renaissance, American, Asian, impressionist and contemporary masterpieces —to make the museum one of the most important art destinations in the country. In 2018, more than 730,000 visitors came to take in the museum’s seemingly endless body of work.

Attracting 650,000 people in 2018, the Elmwood Park Zoo features animals from around the globe, including bison, red pandas, jaguars, giraffes and zebras. Visitors buy tickets to hand feed some awesome animals like giraffes and bison. Treetop Adventures, a park inside the zoo that includes more than 50 challenging games and zip lines high in the trees, also offers thrills.

Another popular spot in Independence National Historical Park is Independence Hall , birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. A national treasure, the building is one of only 24 World Heritage sites in the nation. More than 560,000 people visited in 2018.

Recognized as one of the nation’s top children’s museums, the Please Touch Museum offers children and families play-based learning experiences across more than 60,000 square feet of interactive exhibits in Fairmount Park ’s National Historic Landmark Memorial Hall. Special temporary exhibitions, hands-on daily programming, original theatrical performances, art-making creative spaces and more are all included with general admission, helping to bring over 535,000 visitors to the museum in 2018.

This former prison introduced Americans to a new form of housing inmates: solitary confinement. Al Capone and Willie Sutton were among the 75,000 inmates who spent time at Eastern State Penitentiary , which drew more than 415,000 people in 2018 to explore its gorgeous Gothic architecture. Self-guided tours and a Halloween haunted house , along with exhibitions and special events, make the massive prison a favorite among those who dare to enter.

Adjacent to Independence Hall , the Great Essentials exhibit in the West Wing showcases original printed copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Also on display is the silver Syng inkstand, believed to be the actual inkstand used to sign the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. More than 415,000 visitors strolled through the building in 2018.

The Museum of the American Revolution has quickly become one of the most popular museums in the city, attracting more than 310,000 visitors in 2018, its first full year following its opening in April 2017. This museum tells of the dramatic founding of the United States through historic artifacts, immersive galleries, theaters and re-created historic environments. Although several hundred Revolutionary-era artifacts are on display, one of the most significant is George Washington’s Headquarters Tent, which served as Washington’s office and sleeping quarters throughout the war.

This historic building housed U.S. Congress from 1790 to 1800, during the time when Philadelphia served as the temporary capital of the United States. Originally built as the Philadelphia County Courthouse, Congress Hall welcomed more than 270,000 visitors in 2018.

The National Constitution Center suggests its visitors begin their exploration with Freedom Rising , a 17-minute, live theatrical production about the American quest for freedom. Next up: the interactive main exhibit The Story of We the People and Signers’ Hall, featuring 42 life-size statues of the delegates present for the signing of the Constitution. And don’t miss the attraction’s new-for-2019 permanent exhibit, Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality , the first in the country to explore the amendments to the U.S. Constitution that ended slavery and promised equality to all Americans in the years after the Civil War. The only museum dedicated to America’s most important document brought in 260,000 visitors in 2018.

At more than 200 years old, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is America’s oldest natural history museum. Those of all ages — and there were more than 255,000 of them who visited in 2018 — can get face-to-face with towering dinosaurs, wander through a tropical garden filled with live butterflies, meet live animals and see three continents of wildlife in their natural habitats.

Located on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway , the Barnes Foundation houses one of the finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modern paintings in the world, with a jaw-dropping 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses and 46 Picassos, along with works by Van Gogh, Seurat, Modigliani and more. The captivating collection also includes American paintings and decorative arts, metalwork, African sculpture and Native American textiles, jewelry and ceramics — all presented in Albert C. Barnes’ distinctive arrangements. The impressive collection brought more than 240,000 visitors to the museum in 2018.

The Penn Museum , one of the world’s finest archaeological and anthropological museums, attracted more than 195,000 visitors in 2018 with its collection of a million objects from across the globe. The renovated Middle East Galleries feature 1,200 fascinating objects, including one of the world’s oldest wine jars and the 4,500-year-old crowning jewelry of a Mesopotamian queen. The museum, currently undergoing a major building transformation, reopens its refreshed Mexico & Central America and Africa galleries in November 2019.

In locations throughout Philadelphia’s Historic District , modern-day visitors get the chance to experience colonial times through immersive living-history experiences that include period dinners , pub crawls and re-enactments. Storytellers also recount lively tales at the 13 Once Upon A Nation benches sprinkled throughout the district. The area’s rich historical attractions drew more than 195,000 visitors last year.

The Mütter Museum is a riveting storehouse for the anatomically strange. The museum’s display of more than 25,000 provocative items is designed to give a beneath-the-surface perspective of what physicians study. Inside, guests find a wide smattering of abnormal body parts preserved in fluid, skeletal formations, including that of a 7-foot-6-inch man, diseased and enlarged organs and more fascinating specimens. No wonder more than 175,000 people came to explore the museum in 2018.

Mosaics bloom at this fantasy-like art showplace , presenting and preserving the work of artist Isaiah Zagar. Visitors — 160,000 in all in 2018 — can take a tour or attend a mosaic workshop led by the artist himself, a player in the South Street community since the 1960s.

The 92-acre Morris Arboretum & Gardens in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood offers an ever-changing landscape that enticed more than 140,000 people to visit its colorful gardens, champion trees and beautiful fountains in 2018. Highlights include the award-winning exhibit Out on a Limb — which takes visitors 50 feet up into treetops on a canopy walk that requires no climbing — and the outdoor Garden Railway, featuring a miniature world with model trains on a quarter-mile track.

Built to be Philadelphia’s City Hall, Old City Hall was used by the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791 until 1800 while Philadelphia was the nation’s temporary capital. More than 125,000 visitors saw the restored courtroom, where the Supreme Court made some of its first decisions, in 2018.

At Carpenters’ Hall , the First Continental Congress voted to support a trade embargo against England, one of the first unified acts of defiance against the King. In 2018, more than 115,000 people visited the building where feisty American colonists fanned the flames of independence.

Independence Seaport Museum focuses on the importance of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers to Philadelphia. Along with displays that chronicle the city’s contributions to naval and commercial maritime history and several interactive activities, the attraction — which drew 110,000 visitors in 2018 — offers folks the rare opportunity to board and explore two National Historic Landmark ships: 1890s Cruiser Olympia and the World War II Submarine Becuna.

Christ Church — once the tallest building in North America — is where colonial America made its historic break with the Church of England. Just a few blocks away at 5th and Arch streets is the church’s burial grounds , where visitors can view the graves of Benjamin Franklin and his wife as well as those of several signers of the Declaration of Independence and other early American leaders. In 2018, Christ Church drew more than 105,000 visitors.

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History delves into the stories and contributions of Jewish people in the U.S., from early settlers to history-makers such as Albert Einstein, industry giants such as Esteé Lauder and artists and entertainers, including Barbra Streisand and Steven Spielberg. The venue — which welcomed 100,000 visitors in 2018 — aims to inspire in people of all backgrounds a greater appreciation for the freedoms to which Americans aspire, with four floors of artifacts, memorabilia and interactive media that tell its narrative in chronological order.

While exploring the Battleship New Jersey museum and memorial , visitors can enjoy interactive exhibitions that display artifacts from the ship’s past. A walk down Broadway, the longest and most impressive passageway on the battleship, is part of the Turret II guided tour. In 2018, 80,000 visitors went to explore America’s most decorated battleship, which also hosts special events and overnights.

Nearly 75,000 visitors stepped inside the beautifully columned Second Bank of the United States in 2018, which today paints a picture of America’s roots with walls lined with more than 150 portraits of the nation’s earliest movers and shakers. (Just steps away, the First Bank of the United States — although closed to the public — also has a photo-worthy exterior.)

The African American Museum in Philadelphia is the first institution built by a major U.S. city to preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage and culture of African-Americans. In 2018, more than 65,000 people visited the museum, which takes a fresh and bold look at the stories of African-Americans and their role in the founding of the nation through the core exhibit Audacious Freedom . Special exhibitions and programs explore the history, art, stories and cultures of those of African descent throughout the African diaspora.

Set inside the 848-acre French Creek State Park, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site offers visitors a glimpse of daily life at a colonial-era village dedicated to producing iron. The historic site received more than 45,000 visitors in 2018.

Geared towards young adults, the National Liberty Museum aims to teach about the diversity of Americans and respect for all people through interactive exhibits, stories of heroes and works of art — and is especially known for its art glass collection. About 40,000 people walked through the museum’s doors off Chestnut Street, a short walk from Independence Mall.