Things to Do in Philadelphia, United States

Philadelphia · US

Underground Railroad Museum

Tucked into Philadelphia's Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River, the Underground Railroad Museum at Belmont Mansion tells a layered story of revolution and emancipation within one of Pennsylvania's earliest Palladian estates. Built in 1745, the mansion hosted Founding Fathers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but its deeper legacy lies in its role as a safehouse for enslaved people seeking freedom. The museum, operating since 2007, brings to life the network of people and places that comprised Philadelphia's Underground Railroad, anchored by the remarkable story of Judge Richard Peters' abolitionism and the formerly enslaved Cornelia Wells, who used her hard-won freedom to help others escape bondage.

Children's museum

Philadelphia · US

Please Touch Museum

Housed inside Memorial Hall — a National Historic Landmark built for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition — the Please Touch Museum is Philadelphia's dedicated children's museum, where hands-on play is the curriculum across 157,000 square feet and two full floors. Founded in 1976 and celebrating its 50th anniversary, the museum has welcomed more than two million visitors and earned a reputation as one of the nation's premier children's museums. It serves children primarily ages 1 to 7, with four exhibit areas designed specifically for toddlers three and under, plus galleries that keep older siblings and grown-ups genuinely entertained.

Museum

Philadelphia · US

Romanian Museum & Gallery

Tucked on Spruce Street in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, the Romanian Museum & Gallery is a small, devoted cultural institution introducing visitors to the art, crafts and heritage of Romania. Established in 1976, it gathers traditional clothing, textiles, ceramics, religious icons and fine art into a single intimate setting, tracing more than two millennia of Romanian history from ancient Dacian artifacts through to contemporary work. It is one of the country's notable Romanian cultural centers and a quiet, off-the-beaten-path stop for anyone drawn to folk traditions and diaspora heritage. Far from the crowds of Philadelphia's big-name attractions, this is the kind of place you visit out of curiosity and leave having discovered a culture you knew little about. Expect a compact collection of galleries rather than sprawling halls, with exhibitions and cultural events timed to celebrate Romanian history and its contributions to the wider world.

Museum

Philadelphia · US

Philadelphia Museum of Art Steps

The Philadelphia Museum of Art Steps are better known around the world as the Rocky Steps: the broad granite stairway leading to the museum's East entrance, made famous by the training montage in the 1976 film Rocky. Every day, tens of thousands of visitors recreate Sylvester Stallone's underdog sprint up those 72 steps, arms raised in triumph at the top, in what has become one of America's most beloved free photo-ops and a true rite of passage in Philadelphia. Climbing the steps pays off twice over: a selfie with the bronze Rocky statue now standing proudly at the summit, and a sweeping view down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the Philadelphia skyline. The whole experience is open-air, free and right outside one of the country's great art museums, so it slots easily into any day in the city.

Finding your next place…

A little more
of Philadelphia.

Underground Railroad Museum

Please Touch Museum

Romanian Museum & Gallery

Philadelphia Museum of Art Steps

Finding your next place…

A little more
of Philadelphia.

Underground Railroad Museum

Please Touch Museum

Romanian Museum & Gallery

Philadelphia Museum of Art Steps