10 More Must-Do Experiences in Greater Philadelphia

Instead of hoisting your arms above your head in a triumphant mimic of the Rocky statue, take your best selfie game to Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens Museum and its sister site, the Magic Gardens Studio. Mosaiced from floor to ceiling in handmade tiles, international folk art, reclaimed bicycle tires and more by prolific artist Isaish Jagar, the spaces glisten with limitless creativity.

One of Philly’s most popular urban public art installations, the museum spans half a city block along famous South Street and features two indoor galleries and an unforgettable sculpture garden. One mile away, Zagar’s former workspace represents his largest masterpiece, three times the size of the flagship museum.

Bonus: Zagar has created hundreds of mosaics around the city, including many around South Street.

Sure, a cheesesteak is a rite of passage during a visit to Philly — but this isn’t your first rodeo. Level up and try the other hall-of-fame sandwiches that locals just can’t get enough of.

First is the hoagie (not a sub, thank you very much), a sandwich housed on a long Italian roll packed with deli meats and cheeses, lettuce, tomato, onion, oregano, oil and vinegar. Among our favorite hoagie purveyors: Angelo’s Pizzeria South Philly and Liberty Kitchen PHL.

If you want your sammie hot, try a roast pork sandwich, where slow-roasted pork is slathered with melted sharp provolone cheese. John’s Roast Pork and DiNic’s Roast Pork are two of the many great places to get one.

You’ve toured Independence Hall. Now dive deeper into American history at the National Constitution Center, where you’ll leave a near-expert on the four most powerful pages in America’s history thanks to loads of interactive exhibits and artifacts. (Make sure you also leave with a selfie with Ben Franklin.)

Then make the 10-minute walk to the Museum of the American Revolution, where you’ll see what else was going on during the American Revolution beyond Founding Fathers doing the founding, with a special emphasis on the experiences of enslaved and free Africans, Indigenous peoples and women.

Home to more than 4,000 murals, Philly is a city bursting with public art. The organization that makes many of these murals happen: Mural Arts Philadelphia, the country’s largest public art program.

Mural Arts leads educational walking tours of its creations in neighborhoods like Bella Vista, Spring Arts, Manayunk and West Philly. If you’d prefer a more intimate affair, book a private tour to see the works by foot or by wheels.

Reading Terminal Market is a can’t-miss for food-loving first-timers. But you’re ready for more ground to cover (and eat your way through). The South 9th Street Italian Market encompasses 10 blocks of South 9th Street in South Philadelphia and is full of Italian butcher shops, Mexican taquerias (including the lauded South Philly Barbacoa & Casa México), bakeries, specialty cheese shops, and fruit and produce vendors.

While all of this deliciousness can seem daunting, there are a handful of tours available where expert guides offer the best eats and insights on the neighborhood.

You’ve stretched your legs and smelled the flowers at Longwood Gardens. Now, get a load of the 2,050 acres of urban park space that is Fairmount Park. Regardless of your interests, there’s plenty to do here in both East and West Fairmount Park (intersected by the Schuylkill River).

If you’re more of a picnicker, Belmont Plateau offers wide-open green space and skyline views where you can plant yourself for a few hours. If you’re the active type, go for a run or hike on Boxers’ Trail or the Trolley Trail — or climb a tree and zipline at Treetop Adventures. If you’ve got kids in tow, take them to the Philadelphia Zoo and Please Touch Museum — both spots your little ones will not want to leave. (Consider yourself warned.)

Speaking of the Schuylkill, Philly’s western waterfront offers plenty to do. The Schuylkill River Trail covers 75 miles along the river extending from South Philadelphia to Pottsville.

The Philadelphia portion of the trail takes you from Manayunk down to Kelly Drive and the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Schuylkill Banks, easily traversable via foot or bike (rentals at Boathouse Row are available in the spring, summer and fall).

It’s around here where you’ll find the 2,000-foot-long boardwalk that extends over the river. Get up close and personal with the river itself when you join a kayak tour during warmer months. Or, if you prefer to stay on dry land, summertime outdoor movie nights make for perfect riverside entertainment.

From one bell to another, the Justice Bell is a close replica of the iconic Philly version, but cast without a crack and made to promote women’s suffrage in the United States in 1915. That same year, the gong went on a road trip across Pennsylvania in the back of a pickup truck, but now it lives at Valley Forge National Historical Park, a mere 20 miles west of Philadelphia.

While you’re there, check out the park’s other historical features, like replicated huts that George Washington’s Continental Army lodged in during the Revolutionary War, rows of cannons, and the visitor center, complete with an exhibition that tells the history of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army.

Spoiler alert: Doylestown, about 35 miles north of Philly, has some excellent museums. While the Benjamin Franklin Parkway gets all the glory within city limits, the ‘burbs know how to throw down in the art department. And their museums are housed in castles — actual castles.

The Mercer Museum features a permanent collection of more than 50,000 pre-Industrial tools, while the Fonthill Castle, designed by archaeologist, collector and artisan tile maker Henry Mercer, is decorated with handcrafted tiles from Mercer’s own kilns. Speaking of tiles, The Tile Works showcases the art of tile production, and tiles are still made here today. The James A. Michener Art Museum’s permanent collection is full of a huge assortment of Pennsylvania Impressionism and more. The museum is right off of Doylestown’s Main Street — which is packed with dining options for later.

Philly’s acclaimed breweries and great company pair nicely after dinner at an acclaimed restaurant.

Try out the huge Victory Brewing Company taproom on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, hit up another spacious outpost at Yards Brewing Company on Spring Garden and support a women-owned brewery at one of two Dock Street Brewery locations.

Outside city limits, highlights include West Chester’s Levante Brewing, Bristol’s Odd Logic and Conshohocken Brewing Company, with five locations around the region.